GCASA Cares will resume publication in September 2009

In September, 2009, GCASA Cares will be resuming publication twice per week on Mondays and Thursdays. It will include topics that are of concern to people interested in the Substance Abuse field.

Information specific to New York State and especially Western New York State will be emphazized. Your comments are especially welcomed.

GCASA Cares is being discontinued.

GCASA Cares is being discontinued.

Thank you for visiting while it existed.

Growing up in substance abusing home

Children who grow up in homes where substance abuse is an issue are often confused, perplexed, ashamed, guilty, and often feel responsible for the dysfunctional things that occur.

It is easy to see why these children become substance abusers themselves just as a way to cope with the dysphoric emotions that they have grown up with and become accustomed to.

These children need to hear from responsible adults the "3 Cs" - You didn't cause it, you can't control it, you can't cure it.

These children need to hear this from what Alice Miller, the Swiss Psychoanalyst who has spent her career helping aduts who were abused as children, an elightened witness.

The enlightened witness is the person who understands the situation, has credibility with child and says, "It isn't you. You're not crazy. You're Okay. It's them. They are the ones with the problems."

This is validating for the child and clears up the mystification which has occured wherein the dysfunction has been made to seem like the child's fault and responsibility. The child asks herself, "Is it me or them? Am I crazy?"
The enlightened witness says, "No, it's not you." and the child takes a big sigh of relief and feels Okay even though she must still deal with the dysfunctional sitations that occur.

This is article #15 in a series on Substance Abuse, the Family Disease.

Dysfunctional rules of substance abusing families

The featured topic in July, 2009 was Substance Abuse: The Family Disease and it did not get fully addressed for a variety of reasons so in August, GCASA Cares will continue to feature this topic as well as the topic of Recovery since September is Recovery month.

In this article we will briefly review the rules in families affected by substance abuse and other kinds of dysfunction. They are simply called the "Don't trust", "Don't feel", "Don't talk", and "Don't think" rules.

The rules are pretty self explanatory and operate to maintain equilibrium on the dysfunctional family system. The unconscious learning of these rules have tremendous bearing on the family member's life both in the family of origin where they are learned and later in subsequent relationships.

In healthy relationships the opposite is true. It is Okay to talk, to feel, to think and to trust but it may take years and therapy to learn this.

This is article #14 in a series on Substance Abuse The Family Disease.

Making Smart Choices

Click on image to enlarge for easier reading.

Dr. Nora Volkow talks with teens about drugs

Dr. Volkow, the Director of the National Institute On Drug Abuse, talks to kids about drugs.

Video lasts 9:43

Images of addiction #7

This is article #7 in a series on Images Of Addiction.

Images of addiction #6

This is article #6 in a series on Images Of Addiction.

Relationship of drugs and crime?

What is the relationship between drugs and crime? Huge!

One half to 2/3rds of arrestees are found positive for drugs. The primary drug differs from city to city. In New York City it is primarily marijuana and Cocaine.

Take a look at this new report from CESAR.

Click on image to enlarge for easier reading.

FDA says electronic cigarettes are not safe

From FDA Press Release on 07/22/09:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that a laboratory analysis of electronic cigarette samples has found that they contain carcinogens and toxic chemicals such as diethylene glycol, an ingredient used in antifreeze.

Electronic cigarettes, also called “e-cigarettes,” are battery-operated devices that generally contain cartridges filled with nicotine, flavor and other chemicals. The electronic cigarette turns nicotine, which is highly addictive, and other chemicals into a vapor that is inhaled by the user.

These products are marketed and sold to young people and are readily available online and in shopping malls. In addition, these products do not contain any health warnings comparable to FDA-approved nicotine replacement products or conventional cigarettes. They are also available in different flavors, such as chocolate and mint, which may appeal to young people.

Prevalence of substance abuse problems much higher in gay youth.

A meta-analsis published in the March, 2008 issue of the journal, Addiction, found that substance abuse is much higher in teens with a same sex sexual orientation.

Here are the conclusions as stated in the abstract:

The odds of substance use for LGB youth were, on average, 190% higher than for heterosexual youth and substantially higher within some subpopulations of LGB youth (340% higher for bisexual youth, 400% higher for females). Causal mechanisms, protective factors and alternative explanations for this effect, as well as long-term substance use outcomes in LGB youth, remain largely unknown.