Town Meeting at Ambridge High School ~ Post provided by Wilma Posted by:Sally--Sunday, May 22, 2011

I live in Allegheny County but tonight I attended a program entitled "Drug and Narcotic Identification Evening" which was held at Ambridge Area High School ( I was invited by a friend). It was sponsored by the Beaver County District Attorney's Office and The Beaver County Anti-Drug Task Force. The Drug Alliance
http://www.drug-alliance.org/ was also there and a representative from Gateway Rehab.
The meeting was very informative.

We got to see actual drugs and paraphernalia. For some parents in the audience this was all very new to them including the lingo. I mentioned my favorite resource, urban dictionary.com.

One parent commented that she wouldn't even know what weed smelled like. (I felt like a veteran). Seeing how common things we have in our homes can be used to manufacture drugs or be used as other kinds of drug paraphernalia was very scary but also helpful so that parents would know if items are missing or even finding things they know they hadn't purchased as red flags that there is a problem.

The officer talked about the effects of drug and alcohol on the developing brains of our teens as well as what they will do to get the next fix. One thing I hadn't thought of was how diseases such as HIV can be spread not just from sharing needles but passing around a joint with who knows how many people and sharing saliva. I'm sure our teens don't think of sharing a joint as risky behavior.

A mother who lost a son to a heroin overdose and the aunt of girl who died from taking ecstasy also spoke. Their stories were very sobering.

One thing a couple of the speakers spoke to, though, was the fact that there were so many empty seats in the auditorium (though it could have had something to do with the Pen's game) and how sad (might not be the word they used) it was that the people who know our kids the best (parents, grandparents, guardians ) weren't there learning things that could ultimately save a teen's life.

I just wanted to mention this meeting as I know we may have readers of the blog that may not live in Allegheny County to know that there are resources out there in surrounding communities that could help them on this roller coaster ride of their child's addiction.

Wilma