The News
DRINKING AND DRIVING
Written by Monica Oneill Thursday, November 03 2011 08:16
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One Stop for Drug Talk
Amanda Sherley
Drinking and Driving. Three words that can touch everyone’s lives once the words leave the lips. Whether your son was killed in an accident, your best friend arrested for DUI or you just so happen to cruise the streets after a few cocktails more frequently than you’d like to admit. We hear the words so often, “Don’t Drink and Drive,” but how often do these words actually play a role in our behaviors.
It is sad that most people have to realize the hard way, by sacrificing their lives resulting in one of two things; death or incarceration. If we’d have just left a little sooner, or not had the last 3 three drinks…..maybe this wouldn’t have happened to me.
Shockingly, after all the lessons we’ve learned and lives we’ve lost, adults reported drinking and driving about 112 million times in 2010. Eighty-Five percent of those episodes were reported by binge drinkers and 4 out of 5 of those are men. Although the rates seem alarming, in the past 5 years drinking and driving incidences have gone down by 30%, but it remains a serious problem in the United States. Alcohol impaired drivers are involved in about 1 in 3 crash deaths, resulting in nearly 11,000 deaths in 2009.
Some of the latest findings according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) are that some groups are more likely to drink and drive than others. For example, as mentioned above, men make up the majority of drunk drivers, and men ages 21-34 years old are responsible for 32% of all drinking and driving instances. Though you may be thinking…Well that’s not TOO bad, however, men ages 21-34 only make up a mere 11% of the U.S. adult population.
So, people continue to drink and drive. What should we do to protect our lives and the lives of our families while on the roads? Your best defense against a drunk driver is to buckle up every time. Seat belts reduce serious injury and deaths from crashes by about 50%. If you know you are going to have a few drinks make sure you have a designated driver.
Moreover, there are proven ways to prevent people from drinking and driving according to the CDC; more widespread use of sobriety checkpoints, keeping and enforcing 21 as the minimum legal drinking age and continuing to utilize ignition interlocks to prevent repeat DUI offenders. All of which are practiced in Highlands County and yet we still continue to lose too many lives to this rampant behavior.
Drug Free Highlands supports the Highlands County Sheriffs Office, Lake Placid Police Department, Sebring Police Department and the Avon Park Police Department in ALL of their efforts to reduce drinking and driving. If you would like to become involved in our coalition efforts, please contact Drug Free Highlands for more information.
Drunk driving is never ok. Choose not to drink and drive and help others do the same.
Amanda Sherley
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Office: 863-382-2138
Cell: 863-449-0028
WHY TEENS ARE WIRED FOR RISK????
Written by Monica Oneill Wednesday, November 02 2011 10:01
http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/19/health/mental-health/teen-brain-impulses/index.html?hpt=he_c1&utm_source=Join+Together+Daily&utm_campaign=8d12cd050d-JT+Daily+News%3A+MLB+May+Issue+Alcohol...&utm_medium=email2011 Teen Summit
Written by Monica Oneill Wednesday, November 02 2011 09:55
published: Wednesday, November 02, 2011
First Teen Summit event expected to be informative, fun
By SAMANTHA GHOLAR
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AVON PARK -- Drug Free Highlands will continue to reach students in the community by hold its first ever Teen Summit event Saturday at South Florida Community College.
The Teen Summit event will partner DFH with the Heartland Rural Health Network and Teen Pregnancy Prevention Alliance to allow middle school students and their parents to participate in an all-day event that will educate both parents and students about alcohol, tobacco, sex and other drugs.
The Teen Summit will begin at 10 a.m. and end at 3 p.m. The SFCC University Center will house the event along with lunch and a number of presenters and guests speakers.
"The teens come in separate from their parents and are separated into groups. Dr. Keatley Waldron is a well-known chiropractor in the area and will be the guest speaker at the event," said DFH Project Coordinator Amanda Sherley.
Sherley feels that breaking the students away from their parents will allow them a more relaxed and open environment to discuss issues or ask questions.
"We all know these topics can be rather tricky to talk about with our teens," Sherley said.
The teens will be separate not only from their parents but from the opposite sex for most of the day. Each of the groups will participate in the same sessions throughout the day, but the separation allows students to be much more comfortable and open.
Sherley is sure the event will be fun as well as informative and helpful to both the students and the parents in attendance. The event was created with family in mind, Sherley said, and will mark the beginning of the Week of the Family this year.
"It's during the 'Week of the Family' so it's a good event for parents and students to get out and participate in," Sherley said.
Break-out sessions will be led by experts in the areas of alcohol, tobacco, drugs, sex and media awareness (social media, cyber bullying). The alcohol, tobacco and drugs session will include 45 minutes of interactive information and fun for teens and parents provided by the Tri-County Human Services and SWAT (Students Working Against Tobacco).
Amanda Luceron (ARNP) and Erica Douberley (health educator/ Go Girls coordinator) will address the tricky topic of sex. The 45-minute session will include topics of STDs, abstinence and general health.
The media awareness session will be headed by Venise Jackson, Community SARA coach. The presentation will include tips for bullying and social media protection.
The National Guard will also hold a presentation called "Night Vision," which will discuss the four gateway drugs while interacting with teens and parents.
"We decided to do this because we are in the business of preventing substance abuse. Looking over all the research and statistics, we saw that most teens experiment while in high school. So we targeted the middle schools. The middle school would make it a prevention effort, while the high school would be more of an intervention," Sherley said.
Sherley and DFH encourage parents, students and teachers to join them Saturday for the Teen Summit event.
"We are giving away door prizes. We've worked with several local businesses and we have prizes and gift cards for the students. Any teachers who attend can receive a copy of the cyber bullying presentation that would be really effective for the classroom," Sherley said.
The Teen Summit is free to the public. There is no registration and lunch will be provided. Parents, students and teachers can sign up at the SFCC University Center beginning at 9:30 a.m. The summit kicks off at 10 a.m..
Getting the Message Out
Last Updated on Wednesday, November 02 2011 09:21 Written by Administrator Wednesday, November 02 2011 09:07
published: Friday, October 28, 2011
Drug Free Highlands getting its message out
By SAMANTHA GHOLAR
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SEBRING -- Drug Free Highlands Project Coordinator Amanda Sherley is excited about the additional exposure that the Drug Free Highlands organization recently has gained through a public service announcement.
"We worked with a company called Community Service Media to do a public service announcement (PSA). We focused on the three main substance abuse issues in our county, which are alcohol, marijuana and tobacco. Not that we ignore the other issues, we just focused on those and wanted to bring awareness to those three," said Sherley.
The PSA features three groups of students from each of the three high schools in the county. Sherley and the media company used what is known as a positive community model to create the PSA.
"If you notice anytime you see a tobacco commercial, it's always boring or negative and people don't really like them. We wanted to go a different route," Sherley said.
The PSA features members of Sebring High School's swim team, hand-picked Avon Park High School students, and a group of student volunteers from Lake Placid High School.
According to DFH, 68 percent of all Highlands County high school students choose not to drink alcohol. The PSA showed the students all spending their time swimming, playing basketball and playing volleyball instead of using alcohol, marijuana or tobacco.
The PSA will run approximately 10 weeks and Sherley, along with the entire DFH organization, looks forward to the Highlands County community seeing a positive spin on a normally negative topic.
"These kids are not out drinking and doing drugs. So many of them say no to alcohol and drugs and tobacco, way more than those who don't say no. We wanted to do this not only to let people know that, but to give them (students) something to be proud of and I'm really excited for them," Sherley said.
The DFH PSA channel schedule is as follows:
Monday through Sunday on ABC Family, Animal Planet, FX, MTV, Nickelodeon, TBS and USA between 6 p.m. and midnight.
"The kids are excited. One of them saw it on MTV and it was a huge deal for them," Sherley said.
DFH also just put up three new billboards in Highlands County, one in each of the cities, displaying the same positive awareness of teens and substance abuse.
"There is one by Wild Turkey on U.S. 27. Then there is another at (State Road) 66 and (U.S.) 98 and the other is down near Lake Henry Drive.
"There's one in each of the cities and they will be up for several weeks or until someone else purchases the space," said Sherley.
Next up for the DFH organization is the reoccurring Operation Medicine Cabinet event which will be held this weekend followed by the first time event Teen Summit on Nov. 5.
"We've just been so busy. There is so much going on and we are continuing to work and do new things for the community and for the students," Sherley said.
Lazy Larry....
Last Updated on Wednesday, October 19 2011 08:44 Written by Amanda Sherley Wednesday, October 19 2011 08:39
Check us out in the News Sun
One Stop for Drug Talk
Amanda Sherley
Forget Energy Drinks--- Now There’s A Sweet Treat to Make You Lazy!
Yet another craze has hit the shelves and the federal Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has warned the manufacturer that they consider them unsafe and could seize them from store shelves. So what’s the newest item making headlines?
Until July, Lazy Larry was known as Lazy Cakes, but the company that makes them has changed the name after some lawmakers and public officials expressed concerns about the contents of this brownie. Lazy Larry is an individually wrapped "brownie" that is marketed to make consumers sleepy and serve as a great stress reliever. Most wonder why these cakes are being ridiculed, not understanding how a simple brownie could be taken off shelves. The treats are made with melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone that helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle. the FDA does not consider melatonin to be a safe food additive and that the brownies are ‘adulterated’ because they contain it. The agency has said that it can seize the brownies if the manufacturer continues to make and market them. Under federal law, supplement manufacturers are responsible for making sure their own products are safe. When told of the product and that it was completely harmless, Michael Roosevelt of the FDA said that the agency is NOT aware of data that confirms the safety of melatonin for use as an ingredient in foods. Medical research highlights potential side effects from using melatonin including reproductive, cardiovascular, ocular and neurological issues.
So far the manufacturers have marketed the brownies as a dietary supplement that is similar to the pill form of melatonin. Moreover, the packaging on the product says it should be consumed by adults ONLY and should not be consumed before driving or operating heavy machinery. So if this is the case, then why does the wrapper of this sweet treat feature colorful artwork that evokes images of illegal substances and a logo of a smiling and relaxed brownie that visibly resembles SpongeBob SquarePants? This is yet another quest for manufacturers to lure in children and young adults, which we’ve seen from tobacco companies, bath salts and K2 vendors. Companies "dress up" these products targeting our younger generations by adding candy flavors and using colorful packaging to increase sales, and oftentimes, addiction to the products.
What is even more alarming is that each brownie - which isn't really a brownie, according to the label - contains about 24 times the recommended dose of melatonin. According to Susan Smolinske, MD, the director of Children's Hospital of Michigan Poison Control Center, the recommended daily dosage for melatonin ranges from .2 to 24 milligrams a day. Most pills contain 3 milligrams of the hormone.
It seems as though every time you turn around there is a new product that comes out to give consumers that "imitation high" by marketing it as a food or drink item. Most of these products are dangerous and our community needs to be aware of Lazy Larry’s—especially parents who may not see the small print on the package warning it’s for adults only. Drug Free Highlands and other prevention specialists work hard to inform Highlands County on the trends and dangers of these products. If you want further information on drug related issues please contact Drug Free Highlands at (863) 382-2138 or visit us online at www.drugfreehighlands.org
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