A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
“They know more about drugs than I do …” Paul Dillon Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia (DARTA) One of the most common fears for anyone who works with young people is they believe the adolescents they have contact with know more about illicit drugs than they do. The catch-cry is usually something like [...]
The AMA Vice President, Dr Stephen Parnis, this week launched the second annual report of the Alcohol Advertising Review Board at Parliament House in Canberra. The reported provides further evidence that self-regulation of alcohol advertising is ineffective and many alcohol companies are ignoring concerns about young people’s exposure to ads through sport, TV and online. [...]
In conversations with many teachers and parents, the opinion is divided about whether to focus on the positive behavior or negative choices youth make surrounding drugs. There are those who believe most young people will try drugs at some stage, so we should shock students by telling true stories of disaster parties & those who [...]
"This is a major concern. Antipsychotics are strong drugs with serious side effects such as obesity, diabetes and sedation, and these tend to be worse in young people. Despite this, these drugs are increasingly used in situations where other treatments may be safer and more appropriate," said Karanges. Use of the main ADHD medication Ritalin [...]
Young adults who used marijuana only recreationally showed significant abnormalities in two key brain regions that are important in emotion and motivation, scientists report. The study was a collaboration between Northwestern Medicine and Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. This is the first study to show casual use of marijuana is related to major brain changes. [...]
Over the last fortnight it’s been interesting to read the reporting about the release of a couple of key pieces of alcohol data in Australia. The Australian Bureau of Statistics released its Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, Australia, 2012-13 report, which shows Australians are drinking less alcohol overall than any time in the previous 15 years. [...]
Young adults who used marijuana only recreationally showed significant abnormalities in two key brain regions that are important in emotion and motivation, scientists report. The study was a collaboration between Northwestern Medicine and Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. This is the first study to show casual use of marijuana is related to major brain changes. [...]
Pressure is mounting for Australian governments to raise the legal drinking age to 21 to protect the health of young people whose brains are still vulnerable to the toxicity of alcohol at 18, leading health experts say. Four professors of mental health and public health have joined a growing list of influential Australians to call [...]
Our boozy Australian culture may soon be extinct if the results of a recent survey are anything to go by. Published in the scientific journal Addiction, the survey led by Dr Michael Livingston of Australia’s National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre compiled the responses of more than 2500 Australians aged 14 to 17. It found [...]
Professor Mike Daube, the director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute and the McCusker Centre for Action on Alcohol and Youth, said the campaign used crass language to encourage alcohol consumption and was "pretty much the most irresponsible advertising I've ever seen". He called for the advertisements to be withdrawn immediately. The advertising campaign features [...]
