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Racial purity is “scientifically meaningless,” say 8,000 geneticists American geneticists take a stand against the misuse of their science by racists.

Humans have a natural tendency to separate ourselves from others via categories such as skin color, cultural background, ancestry, location ,education, political affliation & socioeconomic level etc…yet we are all far more alike on a genetic level than most of us understand (including myself).  I recognized many years ago that all of us have some form of an M in our palms.  When I have pointed this out to people, it really is a magical moment of commonality.  When we take the time to get to know another despite perceived differences we can identify the common threads in our stories, our emotional, mental, physical and spiritual lives, as well as our challenges and hopes.

The following article makes it clear that the intermixing of human genes over millennia has caused a magnificent collection of combinations creating no truly “pure” representation of the race we identify with.  Thanks to Ancestry and 23&Me so many of us can see we are a brilliant mix of so many places and people.  As with dogs, interbreeding creates the healthiest dogs as opposed to “pure breeds”.

“The science of genetics deals with the very small, but cannot escape the larger societal implications that are often catalyzed by its research. Genetics have been invoked (incorrectly) by the growing white supremacy movement in the U.S. in order to justify its ideas about race. In an attempt to disassociate genetics from such views, the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG)has come out with a statement that declares the concept of “racial purity” meaningless from a scientific standpoint.

The society, which is the largest professional organization of scientists who work in human genetics, has about 8,000 members. Its statement calls the ideas of white supremacists about genetics “bogus,” “discredited” and “distorted”. The ASHG also makes a clear point that as far as the scientists are concerned, the age-old concept of race is wrong and humans cannot be split into subcategories that would be biologically different from each other.

“The study of human genetics challenges the traditional concept of different races of humans as biologically separate and distinct,” write the scientists.

The reason there is no race purity is due to the genetic intermixing of populations that results from constant migrations which have taken place all throughout human history. The constant movement of people resulted in very blurry genetic lines between groups.

And if you’re wondering whether this is something controversial in the scientific community, the statement goes on to say that the fact that there are no completely separate races is supported by decades of research, including six recent studies like the 2017 paper from the Center for Research on Genomics and Global Health, directly titled “Human ancestry correlates with language and reveals that race is not an objective genomic classifier”.

Race, according to the scientists, is a “social construct” that is derived from people self-identifying with races based on physical appearance. Furthermore, there is no genetics-based support for claiming one group superior to another, expound the researchers.

Credit: Youtube/Museum of the Moving Image

White supremacists chugging milk. NYC. 2017.

The need for actual geneticists to take a stand is driven by the spread of racial purity myths that have been soundly disproven by science. Unexpectedly, one such strange idea taking hold relates to drinking milk.Some white nationalists believe that the ability to digest lactose in milk is somehow a characteristic of racial identity. They twist genetic research to conclude that it’s a trait of white people to drink and digest milk. And if you’re not able to do it, you might as well go back to where you came from. This tends to be especially directed at people of African ancestry, writes Amy Harmon in the New York Times.

This kind of bizarre thinking led to the phenomenon of milk chugging, whereby gathered white supremacists down gallons of milk. Of course, it bears pointing out that lactase – the enzyme that breaks down milk is not specific to white people and is found in 35% of the world’s population.

Other racist misuses of genetics include the tropes of “natural” racial hierarchies – this kind of thinking was employed to justify slavery, the American eugenics movement, and the “racial hygiene” laws of the Nazis.

To continue debunking such ideas, the society of geneticists encourages its members to become more active politically and socially to “reflect their values”.

You can read their statement in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Big Think.   PAUL RATNER 24 October, 2018

FDA seizes documents from Juul in latest e-cigarette crackdown

Ankur Banerjee, Tamara Mathias-Reuters October 2nd, 2018

The FDA is currently pursuing the manufacturers of Juul electronic cigarettes for deceptive marking targeted to minors and young adults.  Juul has about 72 percent of the U.S. market for e-cigarette sales, according to Wells Fargo.

Juul’s flash-drive-like device is recharged via a USB port which appeals to young people familiar with the tech age.  The device comes with cartridges, or pods, of nicotine-based liquids in flavors like mango, creme and mint — that critics say appeal to minors.

The newest liquid blends from Juul and its imitators – called “nicotine salts” in the industry – contain a compound called benzoic acid, which lowers the pH level of the liquid.  That reduction allows users to take in more nicotine without a bitter taste, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Additionally the cartridges are available in flavors and names that appeal to youth.

“The FDA said last month it was considering a ban on flavored e-cigarettes from Juul and others as the agency grapples with an “epidemic” of youth e-cigarette use that threatens to create a new generation of nicotine addicts.

Retail sales of Juul grew more than seven-fold from 2016 to 2017, according to a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Juuling, along with “vaping,” has become a common term for e-cigarette use by teenagers on social media and at U.S. high schools. E-cigarettes vaporize a liquid that contains nicotine, the addictive stimulant that gives smokers a rush.“We want to be part of the solution in preventing underage use, and we believe it will take industry and regulators working together to restrict youth access”.

In July, Durbin, a Democrat, and Murkowski, a Republican, introduced legislation that would place restrictions on e-cigarette flavorings that appeal to children like gummy bear, chocolate cupcake and tutti fruitti.

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Insufficient sleep associated with risky behavior in teens

Mental health issues, substance abuse, accidents more likely for high school students sleeping less than six hours per night

Date:  October 1, 2018
Source:  Brigham and Women’s Hospital     
This is an important & relevant article given the increasing academic, extracurricular, social media & cultural demands on teens.

Adolescents require 8-10 hours of sleep at night for optimal health, according to sleep experts, yet more than 70 percent of high school students get less than that. Previous studies have demonstrated that insufficient sleep in youth can result in learning difficulties, impaired judgment, and risk of adverse health behaviors. In a new study, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital examined a national data sample of risk-taking behaviors and sleep duration self-reported by high school students over eight years and found an association between sleep duration and personal safety risk-taking actions. Results are published in a JAMA Pediatrics research letter on October 1.

“We found the odds of unsafe behavior by high school students increased significantly with fewer hours of sleep,” said lead author Mathew Weaver, Ph.D., research fellow, Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “Personal risk-taking behaviors are common precursors to accidents and suicides, which are the leading causes of death among teens and have important implications for the health and safety of high school students nationally.”

Compared to students who reported sleeping eight hours at night, high school students who slept less than six hours were twice as likely to self-report using alcohol, tobacco, marijuana or other drugs, and driving after drinking alcohol. They were also nearly twice as likely to report carrying a weapon or being in a fight. Researchers found the strongest associations were related to mood and self- harm. Those who slept less than six hours were more than three times as likely to consider or attempt suicide, and four times as likely to attempt suicide, resulting in treatment. Only 30 percent of the students in the study reported averaging more than eight hours of sleep on school nights.

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveys are administered biannually by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at public and private schools across the country. Researchers used data from 67,615 high school students collected between 2007 and 2015. Personal safety risk-taking behaviors were examined individually and as composite categories. All analyses were weighted to account for the complex survey design and controlled for age, sex, race, and year of survey in mathematical models to test the association between sleep duration and each outcome of interest.

“Insufficient sleep in youth raises multiple public health concerns, including mental health, substance abuse, and motor vehicle crashes,” said senior author Elizabeth Klerman, MD, Ph.D., director of the Analytic Modeling Unit, Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “More research is needed to determine the specific relationships between sleep and personal safety risk-taking behaviors. We should support efforts to promote healthy sleep habits and decrease barriers to sufficient sleep in this vulnerable population.”

California Gov. Jerry Brown signs bill banning gun sales to people under 21, citing Parkland. The new law exempts law enforcement, members of the military and people with hunting licenses from the restriction. by Associated Press Sep.29.2018.

In light of the many shootings that are plaguing our country sensible measures to restrict certain types of fire arms, requiring background checks for criminal history, mental health testing, closing the gun show loophole and establishing mandatory waiting periods should be the norm rather than the exception.  America’s history is one littered with the use of guns for protection, crime, hunting etc…based on the Second Amendment to the Constitution.  Responsible gun ownership is a citizen’s right, but many argue that the ownership of assault rifles used in the military do not belong on the streets of America, whether in urban centers or rural America.

Your thoughts?

Image: California gun shop

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Most people under 21 won’t be able to buy guns in California starting next year under a law Gov. Jerry Brown announced signing Friday.

It will prevent people under 21 from buying rifles and other types of guns. State law already bans people under 21 from buying handguns.

The new law exempts law enforcement, members of the military and people with hunting licenses from the restriction.

It was one of dozens of bills Brown took action on.

Democratic Sen. Anthony Portantino pointed to the shooting at a Florida high school earlier this year that killed 17 people as the reason for his bill banning gun sales and transfers to people under 21.

“I was determined to help California respond appropriately to the tragic events our country has recently faced on high school campuses,” Portantino said in a statement. “I feel it is imperative that California leads when Washington refuses to act.”

Brown also signed a bill to prohibit gun ownership for people who have been hospitalized or otherwise placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold for risk of hurting themselves or others twice in one year. That law would let those people ask a court every five years to return their guns.

He also signed a bill to ban people with certain domestic violence misdemeanors from owning guns for life.

In addition to the gun-related bills, he vetoed a measure that would have let bars in some cities serve alcohol until 4 a.m., which he said would result in more drunken driving.

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Evidence that addictive behaviors have strong links with ancient retroviral infection

This is a fascinating development as our society continues to struggle with the substance abuse epidemic.

New research from an international team led by Oxford University’s Department of Zoology and the National-Kapodistrian University of Athens, published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), shows that an ancient retrovirus — HK2 — is more frequently found in drug addicts and thus is significantly associated with addiction.

The human genome is “littered” with remnants of ancient retrovirus infections that invaded the germline of our primate ancestors. Only one of these may still be proliferating in modern humans named HERV-K HML-2 (HK2), and not all humans have the same HK2 viruses in their genomes. One specific uncommon HK2, which lies close to a gene involved in dopaminergic activity in the brain (RASGRF2), is more frequently found in drug addicts and thus is significantly associated with addiction.

The Oxford University and University of Athens research teams have shown that HK2 can manipulate nearby genes. Their study provides strong evidence that uncommon HK2 integrations can be responsible for the unappreciated pathogenic burden of addictive behaviours.

The team analysed samples of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)-infected patients from the UK and HIV-infected patients from Greece who had become infected according to distinct, known routes of infection (injecting drugs), to determine the frequency of the HK2 integration in individuals. The particular HK2 insertion in the RASGRF2 gene is usually prevalent in 5-10% of the population.

This study shows that people with well-defined addictive behaviour i.e. Persons Who Inject Drugs (PWID) are 2 to 3 times more likely to have the integration of HK2 within RASGRF2 (a gene involved in regulating dopaminergic activity in the brain). It is thus a strong indication that HK2 within RASGRF2 predisposes these people in addictive behaviour.

Professor Katzourakis, from the University of Oxford, who co-directed the study said: ‘We know of clear biological roles for a small number of human endogenous retroviruses. However, there has never before been strong evidence in support of a role in human biology of an endogenous retrovirus that is unfixed, in other words not shared by all individuals in the population. Our study shows for the first time that rare variants of HK2 can affect a complex human trait. The replication of this finding in the distinct Athens and Glasgow cohorts is particularly important.’

Dr Magiorkinis, from the University of Athens, who led the study added: ‘Most people think these ancient viruses are harmless. From time to time, people have shown overexpression of HK2 in cancer, but it has been difficult to distinguish cause from effect. Back in 2012, following a 20-year controversy regarding their pathogenic roles in humans, we sought to test the high-risk hypothesis that HERVs can be responsible for human disease. Our proposal was supported by the Medical Research Council, and now we have strong proof that HERVs can be pathogenic. For the first time, we are able to make a distinction between cause and effect in HERV pathogenicity.’

The integration of the virus predates the emergence of modern humans, as it has been found in Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes, and therefore it is not the behaviour of PWIDs that determines the presence of the virus. Rather, it is likely that the virus is associated with addictive behaviour. Not all PWIDs carry this virus so there will be many other genetic and behavioural factors involved, but this is an important predictive factor in addiction. Furthermore the researchers’ experimental work supports a causal role in the expression of RASGRF2 and hence addiction.

By providing support for a strong genetic predisposition of addictive behaviour, the Oxford research team advocates in support of medical-pharmacological interventions in support of addicts. Their study shows that new sequencing technologies and large genomic projects such as the 100,000 genomes project will deliver enhanced understanding of genetic features that were previously not well-understood.

Dr Magiorkinis said: ‘Looking into this “dark” part of the genome will unlock more genomic secrets.’

Most HERVs in the genome are shared by most human individuals. So if you pick two random people and check to see if they have the same HERVs in the same genomic location, it will be there. This is not true of some copies of HK2; there is variation, with certain individuals carrying extra copies in their genomes at distinct locations. Amazingly, it appears there are some rare variants where the integrated virus is ‘coding competent’. In other words, it is an unbroken blueprint that could be used to make more viruses which could be active and cause problems to the human host.

HERVs carry signals to manipulate the host’s replication machinery, and they do this for their own selfish purposes — to increase their copy number at the expense of the host. However, if they integrate near a gene, these same signals will affect the expression and function of the gene near which they have integrated. While researchers still have gaps in their understanding of how exactly this happens, the experiments of this research team show that by inserting HK2 within a gene the transcription of the gene was significantly altered.

Since the discovery of HIV and (Human T-Lymphotropic Virus) HTLV, this is the third case in which a human retrovirus has been strongly linked with a harmful effect in humans. In this case, the harmful effect that researchers have identified is a complex behavioural condition. It could be said that this virus is ‘conditionally pathogenic’ as many individuals could carry it and not suffer negative consequences.

HIV spreads between individuals; differences in prevalence of HK2 are largely heritable, although it is possible that some HK2 viruses could still be infectious in the human populations. A very promising area of future research are the interactions between HK2 and other infectious human viruses. It is notable that the two cohorts of PWIDs that the researchers investigated are chronically infected with HIV and HCV respectively.

The researchers hope that by understanding the mechanistic-biochemical features of addictive behaviour better pharmacological targets can be developed for drug development. And as HK2 (the predictive factor) is a retrovirus it is possible that existing drugs could be used as starting points for research into this area.

Doctors Play A Role In The Opioid Addiction Epidemic, Study Finds

A quarter of patients given a short-term prescription for painkillers transitioned to long-term use.

Staff Writer, The Huffington Post
Posted: 09/04/2015 06:22 PM EDT | Edited: 09/04/2015 06:25 PM EDT

We know how opioid addictions end: all too often, in death by overdose. About 16,000 Americans every year die of an overdose of opioid painkillers, such as oxycodone or fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

We know less about how opioid addictions start. It’s much harder to find and study people who start taking too many pills than it is to count dead bodies. But it’s becoming clear that the opioid addictions, which have ruined millions of lives over the past decade, rarely begin the way you might imagine a life-ruining addiction begins — on some gang-ridden street corner.

Many start with an innocuous visit to the doctor’s office.

To begin to figure out how many, a team at the Mayo Clinic, led by pain specialist Dr. W. Michael Hooten, analyzed the medical records of 293 patients given a short-term prescription for opiates for the first time in 2009. These patients were being treated for acute pain — from traumas such as sprained ankles or major surgeries — so their doctors did not expect them to become long-term users of painkillers.

Yet just over 1 in 4 of these patients went on to use opioid painkillers for longer than 90 days, researchers found. A quarter of this subset engaged in so-called long-term use, defined as receiving at least 120 days’ worth of pills or more than 10 separate prescriptions.

It’s not yet clear how many of these patients developed an opioid addiction, Hooten said. (He’s planning on conducting further research in an effort to find out.) Past research has indicated that the “long-term” use category seems to be a key threshold for dependence: a large share of patients who take more than 120 days’ worth of opioids for longer than 90 days are still taking them a year later.

“This study looked at behavior in 2009. If you went back and found the people who were long-term users then, I can guarantee you that many of them became addicted,” said Dr. Andrew Kolodny, an expert in opioid addiction who was not involved in the study. “And I would not be surprised if some of them wound up dying of opioid overdoses.”

The other key finding of the study was that patients who used painkillers for at least 90 days were much more likely than the rest to have issues with other types of addiction. About 37 percent of smokers in the study used painkillers for at least 90 days, compared to 20 percent of non-smokers, and 51 percent of those with a history of substance abuse did, compared with 24 percent of those with no history.

“The patients’ age, their sex and even the severity of their medical problems are as not good predictors of short- or long-term use as a history tobacco use or of substance abuse,” Hoten said.

This correlation indirectly supports the idea that the transition to long-term use was an addictive-type behavior, Hoten said. It also suggests that doctors should be especially cautious when prescribing opioid painkillers to patients with a history of substance abuse or smoking.

“Before you provide an opioid prescription to a patient, it’s important to recognize that if they have a tendency to abuse substances, you should have a heightened sense of vigilance,” Hooten said.

Doctors and governmental agencies have already take steps to cut down on abuse of opioid painkillers — in part because it’s become increasingly clear that the drugs are not very effective for treating chronic pain.

“They don’t work well when you take them long term. They can even make pain worse,” Kolodny explained.

Several states require that doctors check an electronic prescription database to see whether patients are receiving opioid painkiller prescriptions from other doctors before writing a prescription for the drugs.

But the efficacy of such measures is limited because those with drug addictions who get cut off by their doctor often seek out other sources of painkillers. They can buy or steal them friends and family or purchase them from a drug dealer or off the Internet. A tragically large share of them also switch to heroin, abuse of which has almost doubled since 2002.

For that reason, Kolodny said, it’s crucial that doctors think carefully about whether to prescribe an opioid painkiller in the first place — and that patients think carefully about whether to begin treatment with those drugs, especially if they have a history of addiction.

That’s not to say that doctors should never prescribe opioid painkillers. “These are extremely important medicines for end-of-life care,” Kolody said. “I think they play a very important role when used short-term — for a few days after major surgery or a serious accident, for example. But using them long-term is a very bad idea.”

Heroin Overdoses Antidote

9 Things You Should Know If Your Child Is Using Heroin

by Jeremy Galloway

The recent spike in the use of heroin and other opioids, sparking frightening headlines about addiction and overdose, has left families struggling to find solutions. When my family discovered I was using heroin over a decade ago, when I was in my mid-20s, they spent years trying to help, but didn’t know where to begin. Together, we learned the hard way that many potential “fixes” end up being dead ends. Some might cause even more harm.

There are so many things which, had we known them then, might have spared us years of pain and strained relationships. This isn’t a comprehensive guide, but these tips should be a helpful starting point for family members looking for answers.

1. Who’s to Blame? Well, It’s Just Not That Simple…

Experimenting with substances is normal. People have been using psychoactivesubstances for thousands of years and only a fraction of us become addicted. Contrary to the “gateway theory,” only 4 percent of Americans who try marijuana go on to experiment with heroin (1). The UN and leading experts—including Influence columnists Stanton Peele and Carl Hart—agree that most drug use, regardless of the type of drug, does not turn out to be significantly problematic.

Of course, that’s little consolation to the parents of people who do become addicted or otherwise place themselves at risk. It’s common for parents to either blame themselves or divert blame onto someone else, such as the “wrong crowd”, or a romantic partner. Given the pain and fear you may be experiencing, it’s natural enough to feel like you need someone to blame.

But there are parts of our lives you never see. Things we can’t share. Abusive situations where you struggled to keep us safe, alive, off the streets. Trauma, stress, or mental health issues that even we won’t understand until years later.

Pointing fingers is a distraction: People continue using substances, despite harmful consequences, for reasons.

Our first objective should be reducing any harms related to substance use. Only then can we help loved ones who want to seek additional help or to change their lives in other ways.

2. You Need to Get a Naloxone Rescue Kit for Yourself and For Your Kid

Naloxone is a medication that reverses opioid overdoses. It has no misuse potential and is currently legal to possess in 43 states. It’s accessible by prescription, through overdose prevention organizations, and over the counter in some states. Most EMTs and many police now carry naloxone and it’s reversed tens of thousands of overdoses.

If your child is using opioids—even as prescribed—get them a naloxone rescue kit. Hang on to one for yourself, too. This doesn’t mean you support what they’re doing. It means you value their life, regardless of what they’re doing.

Don’t get a rescue kit and just tuck it in a drawer. Give your child a kit, teach them how to use it, educate them about overdose prevention, and try to help them avoid feeling the need to use alone (naloxone can’t be self-administered).

3. Methadone and Buprenorphine Are Our Most Effective Tools for Opioid Addiction

Decades of clinical research and consensus statements show medication-assisted treatment (MAT) with methadone or buprenorphine (Suboxone) is the most effective treatment for opioid use disorders. Many parents fall into the trap of trusting the first results that pop up in an online search, which might contain misinformation, and refuse to consider this option.

MAT vastly reduces risks, improves quality of life by almost every measure, and has the highest retention rate of any treatment. Most of the negative claims about it—that it rots your bones, that switching one drug for another doesn’t help, that withdrawal is worse than heroin—are simply myths, with no clinical evidence to support them.

If your child asks for help getting into an MAT program, help them. It won’t solve all their problems immediately, but will greatly increased their chance of staying alive, while creating an environment conducive to making further healthy choices. It took me nine long years to accept this option, and even then, stigma against this treatment set me up for a bumpy ride. Encourage your loved one to stay in MAT for as long as they, and their doctor, deem necessary.

4. Syringe Exchange Improves Health and Can Be a Gateway to Other Positive Changes

You may find this difficult, but when you come across a stash of your child’s syringes, tossing them in the garbage is not the best choice. Instead, you can use it as an opportunity to discuss transmission of diseases like HIV and hepatitis C(HCV).

This isn’t enabling. It’s educating someone who will probably continue using anyway, and equipping them with tools to protect their health. HIV and HCV have devastating, lifelong health effects that can cause more long-term damage than substance use.

It’s also an opportunity to locate a local harm reduction or syringe exchange program (SEP), if you’re lucky enough to have one. Access to harm reduction services doesn’t increase drug use and can serve as stepping stones toward healthier choices. (2) SEPs are also shown to increase the chance your loved one will seek treatment.(3)

5. “Traditional” Treatment Models Carry Significant Risks

The dominant narrative that rehab and 12-step programs are the “go-to” treatment options has crumbled in recent years. Still, many parents pour tens of thousands of dollars into “luxury” rehabs—often taking out second mortgages or draining college funds to pay private facilities, which aren’t subject to government or professional oversight. Many 12-step-based treatment programs cite high success rates, with little or no supporting data (many patients drop out before completing programs). If staying off of drugs entirely is the aim, 12-step programs’ real “success” rate is no higher than 10 percent.

Sober living homes, which can also be extremely expensive, are almost completelyunregulated and rarely offer counseling. They can be operated by anyone, even individuals with no clinical experience, making them ripe for exploitation. This discredits facilities that actually do offer professional care and evidence-based treatment. The problem is, it’s hard to tell the difference.

Drug courts also demonstrate limited success. They rarely permit MAT, frequently cherry-pick cases that artificially inflate success rates, and many don’t accept participants with long histories of heroin use. (4) Studies indicate participants might serve more jail time than if they’d just accepted a sentence up front. (5)

Abstinence-only models can reduce tolerance and result in an overdose in the case of relapse. This isn’t to say these models aren’t right for some people, but giving your child a voice in determining what level of care is right for them, and adjusting it as needed, is critical to long-term success.

6. We Are Not Safer in Jail

I served years in jail because of my heroin use and have heard countless parents with good, but misguided, intentions make statements like: “At least I know where my baby is,” or “at least they’re safe” when they’re in jail.

No. Jail is not safe. It’s the worst place we could be—worse than living on the streets. Our culture is obsessed with trying to solve problems through incarceration, an attitude that’s flooded jails and prisons with nonviolent drug offenders.

We’re often denied medical care during withdrawal, which can lead to serious health conditions, including death. Jails and prisons rarely resemble the sanitized settings of voyeuristic “prison porn” or sensationalized television and films. They’re dangerous, filthy places where incarcerated people are subject to physical and sexual violence from other inmates and corrections officers.

Incarceration can create lasting mental and emotional trauma. Psychiatrists have identified post-incarceration syndrome (PICS), a proposed sub-type of PTSD, as a consequence of incarceration. Symptoms includes increased risk of recidivism and reactive substance use. On top of that, a criminal record robs us of future opportunities for education and employment.

7. It’s Important to Be Aware of the Role Mental Health Can Play

A 2014 SAMHSA report shows almost 40 percent of people with a substance use disorder (SUD) also have a diagnosed mental health disorder. Over two million of this population are diagnosed with serious mental illness (SMI). More than half of adolescent mental health disorders are undiagnosed. That likely extends into adulthood, as it did for me.

I’ve heard parents share stories of children who begged, “Please, try to understand.” It’s difficult for parents to understand when even we don’t understand the symptoms we’re living with. The stigma associated with mental illness, worries about being a social outcast or parasite, and media portrayals of people with SMI converge to prevent us from seeking help.

When I was 16, I first noticed my own symptoms of conditions that wouldn’t be diagnosed until two decades later. Onset of most mental illness begins at an early age. Talking with children about mental health, helping them understand what’s happening in their rapidly-changing brains, and screening for symptoms during adolescence can prevent more serious issues later on. Screenings and brief interventions can interrupt mental health and substance use issues before they become unmanageable.

8. Valuable Resources and Educational Tools Are Available to Families

Helping a child with an SUD shouldn’t come at the cost of caring for yourself. But “detaching with love,” a concept promoted by Al-Anon, won’t reconnect you with your child (often called “the addict”, a depersonalizing term I hope you never use). There are alternatives to Al-Anon, like SMART for Family and Friends, which offers tools and support options to reconnect while still prioritizing self-care.

The Drug Policy Alliance offers resources for parents, which can equip them with skills to talk openly and honestly about drugs before their children start using or once they’ve started experimenting. It’s important for parents to be able to distinguish between substance use and harmful substance use.

Confrontational tactics, like interventions, can isolate and traumatize a child, while coerced treatment is less successful than voluntary treatment. Structured programs, like Community Reinforcement Approach and Family Training (CRAFT), offer healthy, evidence-based alternatives for approaching your child. We’re looking for understanding and we need compassion—not “tough love.”

9. The Most Important Thing You Can Do Is Create the Connections That Lead to Healing

So we return to where we started: Why do people use substances like heroin? There is no one reason. But there are several common factors, some sort of trauma, unmanaged stress and social isolation among them. Unlike mental health disorders, these factors are sometimes easier to address.

Dr. Gabor Maté, a renowned physician and harm reductionist, writes that unconditional love is key to healing the pain that leads to addiction. One woman he worked with explained that her first time using heroin felt like “a warm, soft hug.“

My first time produced a similar sense of comfort—what I would consider “normalcy.” What others take for granted as part of life somehow skipped over me.

Johann Hari, the author and Influence columnist, makes a similar connection, placing social isolation at the center of addiction (there’s evidence to support this).Hari identifies a likely starting point for the healing process: “[T]he opposite of addiction is not sobriety. It is human connection.”

My journey toward healing wouldn’t begin until I made that connection, accepted myself and others unconditionally, and found a sense of community in other parts of my life.

I don’t have all the answers you want, but I hope this is a helpful starting point. Be aware of the good news that, even without treatment, most people with substance use disorders do get better.

Put your wellness first, but remember: Your simple, compassionate connection and willingness to meet your love one where they are in life can set them on the path toward healing.

This article was originally published by The Influence, a news site that covers the full spectrum of human relationships with drugs. Follow The Influence on Facebookor Twitter.

References:

1. Huddleston, West, Doug Marlowe and Rachel Casebolt. Painting the Current Picture: A National Report Card on Drug Courts and Other Problem-Solving Court Programs in the United States, National Drug Court Institute 2(1), 2008
2. Jennifer Murphy, Illness or Deviance? Drug Courts, Drug Treatment, and the Ambiguity of Addiction, 2008
3. Ralph E. Tarter et al, “Predictors of Marijuana Use in Adolescents Before and After Licit Drug Use: Examinations of the Gateway Hypothesis,” The American Journal of Psychiatry 163, no. 12 (2006)
4. Institute of Medicine. Preventing HIV Infection Among Injecting Drug Users in High-Risk Countries. An Assessment of the Evidence. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press; 2006.
5. Hagan H, McGough JP, Thiede H, Hopkins S, Duchin J, Alexander ER., “Reduced injection frequency and increased entry and retention in drug treatment associated with needle-exchange participation in Seattle drug injectors,” Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, vol. 19, 2000, p. 247-252.

Jeremy Galloway is harm reduction coordinator at Families for Sensible Drug Policy, program director at Southeast Harm Reduction Project, co-founder of Georgia Overdose Prevention, and a state-certified peer recovery specialist. He lives in North Georgia with his wife and three cats. He writes and speaks regionally about drug policy reform, harm reduction, his experiences, and the importance of including the voices of directly impacted people in policy decisions.

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Bullying

The Dignity for All Students Act

New York State’s Dignity for All Students Act (The Dignity Act) seeks to provide the State’s public elementary and secondary school students with a safe and supportive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment, and bullying on school property, a school bus and/or at a school function.

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Learn more on the NYSed.GOV website.

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A personal note from Wendy Van Buren

PERSONAL NOTE FROM WENDY:

The recent epidemic of gun violence in our nation is causing all of us to reassess the safety of our schools and communities. The ways in which we cope with the inevitable stress and trauma that comes from this unpredictability is paramount and requires support, education and definitive action.   In addition, the demands of a changing world, the influence of pop culture, media violence, physical, emotional and sexual acting out as well as the pace of innovations in technology are creating the “perfect storm” that can lead our children adrift.  They are increasingly adopting a wide range of negative and destructive behaviors, which require our intervention, on-going support and love.

Our children are expressing low self-esteem, disrespect of adult intervention, avoidance of difficult tasks and accountability, mental illness and psychiatric disorders such as ADHD, anxiety, narcissism, depression, eating and sleeping disorders, suicide/cutting, oppositional behaviors and substance abuse.

Many children are not mastering the developmental milestones of maturation, which will continue to make their experience of the world around them more difficult.  As these deficits follow them into adulthood we become a society marked by chronologically aged adults driven by base needs and emotional immaturity.

As a presenter with over 20 years experience in the mental health, social services, criminal justice and education field I understand the concerns and stressors facing professionals, parents, students and educators. As adults it is our responsibility to nurture the relationship we share with our children and provide the safe haven, open dialog and respectful relationships all humans need to develop.  Considering the inevitable generation gap and our own responses to these stressors, reaching our kids has become even more difficult, but it doesn’t need to cause undue pressure or surrender.

We must first understand our own personal history and how our experiences inform who we are, how we behave and ultimately how we intervene in our children’s lives.  We too are children in need of validation, respect, compassion, inclusion, and love.  We can create a foundation for effective relationships with our children and each other and minimize the sources of conflict and rejection of sources of guidance and support.

Therein lies the opportunity for growth through crisis; teachable moments that can form collaborative bonds that outlast the crisis and build strong foundations for change.

I hope you will join me on this path of discovery, education and powerful change.

We are ALL individual members of our collective village

We are “Raise The Children”