Also readily available, these chemicals have deadly effects on the brain and body when inhaled or huffed, and can even cause “sudden sniffing death.”  Many common products are used as inhalants, including spray paint, airplane model glue, hairspray, air freshener, deodorant, and fabric softener.

To combat this dangerous behavior, the National Inhalants & Poisons Awareness Week (NIPAW) is held annually during the third week of March to give an opportunity to raise awareness of the dangers of inhalants and to get communities engaged on this issue.  NIPAW is a media-based, community-level program that involves youth, schools, law enforcement, health organizations and civics groups, and more, designed to increase understanding about the use and risks of inhalant involvement.  For more information on the event and resources, as well as material on inhalants, go to www.inhalants.org/nipaw.htm or www.inhalants.org.

Post expires at 7:00pm on Sunday March 21st, 2010

Click Here to read highlights from the report.

In a Commentary by Michael Josephson, from Character Counts and the Josephson Institute, Josephson notes that treating others with respect is often more an expression of our views, and our own character, than an expression of what is “due” to another person.  Noting an important distinction between respecting others in the sense that we “admire them or hold them in high esteem” and treating others with respect, Josephson asserts that respectfulness is a moral mandate and our good treatment of others is an expression of our own good character. 

People of character, according to Josephson, are obligated to treat everyone with respect, even if they don’t necessarily deserve it.   Additionally, not treating others with respect lessens their own character. For some, a great deal of self-control is necessary to show respect to people who are dishonorable or disrespectful to them/others. However, it is their own integrity that can help them resist the temptation to display what could tear them down internally.

In sharing a story about a politician who was drawn into some mudslinging with his opponent, Josephson stated that once the politician realized he was lowering himself to the opponent’s level, he stopped and said, “Sir, I will treat you as a gentleman – not because you are one but because I am one.”

Daily, we are required to manage the demands of those who are often disrespectful, but in understanding the true nature of respect as a reflection of our own character, treating others with respect becomes not only less of a challenge, but also a reminder that we teach best by example.

Character Counts is an informative website offering insightful advice about character dynamics and the usefulness of using and developing respectful approaches to students and others as well as other strategies and ideas related to the positive nature of character education.

Parents. The Anti-drug:  www.theantidrug.com

Here are some key findings.

• 59% say having photos or personal information listed on a public site is unsafe but 62% of teens report still posting photos and information on social networking sites.
• More than one-third of those surveyed have been either the victim or perpetrator of cyberbullying, and 68% think it is a serious problem. About 81% think online bullying is easier to get away with and hide from parents as bullying in person. Fifty-eight percent of online bullies report getting back at someone or “because they deserved it” as a reason for their actions. Only 28% of cyberbullies report getting caught.
• Nineteen percent of teens surveyed have engaged in sexting. Of those, sixty percent say they sent nude or nearly nude photos to a boyfriend or girlfriend, but 11% say they have sexted people they do not know. Eighty-one percent of teen sexters are under 18 and 90% report that nothing negative happened as a result of sexting, such as sending the message to the wrong person or getting into trouble. Only 14% of sexters report getting caught. However, 74% of teens surveyed believe sexting is wrong.
• Seventy-six percent are at least somewhat concerned that personal information which is posted publicly could have a negative impact on their future.
• Forty-two percent of teens report their parents know little or nothing about their online activities and 44% report having no limits or restrictions set by their parents on internet use.

Click below to download the entire study in PDF format.

Following are basic crisis planning requirements:

1. Develop a plan and not a guidebook.
   • Identify significant hazards as well as who does what when.
   • Revisit the plan regularly with staff members and other key personnel via discussions, drills, and table-top drills.
2. Develop initial response plans that do not rely on first-responders or district personnel.
   • Create an immediate responder network of crisis managers in the school; these people should also make up the Crisis Response Team.
   • Identify a command center for the school, and evaluate and plan for key areas where assistance will be necessary.
   • Train the school’s team of responders to support the plan by teaching and practicing how and when to respond.
   • Train the responder team regarding policies and procedures, first aid, including CPR and AED, NIMS and incident command, and threat/hazard awareness.
   • Make the team aware of their responsibilities and make sure they have adequate, ongoing training.
3. Establish table top and regular drills to support training. The plan should be tested by those who would have a role in the crisis.
4. Communicate with business and neighbors surrounding the school to ensure that evacuations will be as efficient as possible.
5. Use technology to communicate and have plans in place for when technology is not available. Good communication is imperative.
6. Take advantage of the Department of Homeland Security’s National Incident Management System (NIMS) training courses. (For Wichita Public Schools, The Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, 316-973-2260, can assist with this.)

The Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah has developed a website dedicated to the science of addiction and the brain. Using this fun, informative, and interactive website, students and adults get an opportunity to learn important information about addiction.  The site includes information regarding the following areas of addiction.

• Key elements of the natural reward pathways in the brain
• How drugs alter body systems
• The timing and circumstances that influence addiction
• The challenges and issues in modern addiction research and science

For a detailed scientific review of some of the latest research regarding the addiction process and key aspects of addiction go to Learn Genetics, Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah.

“[Marijuana] is the most widely used illegal drug among youth today and is more potent than ever.”

Recognizing this, the Office of National Drug Control Policy identified key facts about the drug through “Marijuana Myths and Facts.”  The following provides highlights from the report.

MYTH:  Marijuana is harmless.
FACT:  Marijuana harms in many ways.

Short-term effects of marijuana use include memory loss, distorted perception, trouble with thinking and problem-solving, and anxiety. Students who use marijuana may find it hard to learn, thus jeopardizing their ability to achieve their full potential. Effects such as these may be especially problematic during teens’ peak learning years, when their brains are still developing.

Other impairments observed in frequent marijuana users involve sensory and time perception and coordinated movement, suggesting use of the drug can adversely affect driving and sports performance. In a study reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, even a moderate dose of marijuana was shown to impair driving performance. The study measured reaction time and how often drivers checked the rearview mirror, side streets, and the relative speed of other vehicles.  Another study looked at data concerning shock-trauma patients who had been involved in traffic crashes. The researchers found that 15 percent of the trauma patients who were injured while driving a car or motorcycle had been smoking marijuana, and another 17 percent had both THC and alcohol in their blood.

MYTH:  Marijuana is not addictive.
FACT:  Marijuana research shows that use of the drug can indeed lead to dependence.

The desire for marijuana exerts a powerful pull on those who use it, and this desire, coupled with withdrawal symptoms, can make it hard for long-term smokers to stop using the drug. Users trying to quit often report irritability, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping. On psychological tests, they also display increased aggression, which peaks approximately one week after they last used. Many people use marijuana compulsively even though it interferes with family, school, work, and recreational activities. What makes this all the more disturbing is that marijuana use has been shown to be three times more likely to lead to dependence among adolescents than among adults. Research indicates that the earlier kids start using marijuana, the more likely they are to become dependent on this or any other illicit drug later in life.

MYTH: Marijuana is not harmful to your health or not as harmful as tobacco.
FACT:  Marijuana contains the same cancer-causing carcinogens as tobacco.

Although some people think of marijuana as a benign natural herb, the drug actually contains many of the same cancer-causing chemicals found in tobacco. Puff for puff, the amount of tar inhaled and the level of carbon monoxide absorbed by those who smoke marijuana, regardless of THC content, are three to five times greater than among tobacco smokers.

MYTH:  My kids won’t be exposed to marijuana.
FACT: If kids want marijuana, they can find it.

More than half (55 percent) of youths age 12 to 17 responding to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2002 reported that marijuana would be easy to obtain. The survey indicated that most marijuana users got the drug from a friend and that almost nine percent of youths who bought marijuana did so inside a school building.  Moreover, nearly 17 percent of the young people surveyed said they had been approached by someone selling drugs in the past month.

In the 2000 survey, more than a quarter of 12-to-17 year olds (26.6 percent) reported that drug selling occurs frequently in their neighborhoods. Additionally, kids who learn about the risks of drugs from their parents or caregivers are less likely to use drugs than kids who do not.

MYTH:  Youth experimentation with marijuana is inevitable; there is not much parents can do to stop their kids from experimenting with marijuana.
FACT:  Parents are the most powerful influence on their children when it comes to drugs.

Parents can create situations that help them connect with their children and stay involved in their lives. Experts suggest that parents try to be home with their kids after school, if possible, because evidence indicates that the riskiest time for kids with regard to drug involvement is between the hours of 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Parents who can’t be home with their children should consider enrolling them in after-school programs, sports, or other activities, or arrange for a trusted adult to oversee them.

By staying involved, knowing what their kids are doing, and setting limits with clear rules and consequences, parents can increase the chances their kids will stay drug free. Research shows that appropriate parental monitoring can reduce future drug use even among adolescents who may be prone to marijuana use, such as those who are rebellious, cannot control their emotions, and experience internal distress.

For detailed explanations and factual data on marijuana myths and related issues check out these down-loadable files from The National Criminal Justice Reference Service.

Marijuana Myths & Facts (opens in new window)
What Americans Need To Know About Marijuana (opens in new window)

Further information can be found on the PARENTS: the Anti-Drug website.

Things to Consider While Making Your Plan

When you do talk with an adult, he or she is likely to start off with “Just ignore him and walk away,” and if you know that doesn’t work well for you, let them know that you want help with practicing how to respond to the bully in a confident, “I-will-not-be-bullied” way.  If you need to, show them “Target Tactics I:  Dealing With Your Bully.”

Get Help
School leaders have a legal responsibility to help you, but more importantly, most want to help you. Furthermore, if the bully is bullying you, he or she is most likely bullying others, too. If you don’t get the help you need, and especially if the issue has been addressed but the bullying continues, keep asking for help until you get the action you need.

“While studies differ, what many researchers seem to agree on is that there is no single profile of a school shooter.”

Peter Langman, a psychologist who studied ten school gunmen and is the author of “Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters,” stated

“You can’t assume that a school shooter is going to look like a kid in a trench coat, who has no friends, and is skulking down the halls silently. These are diverse kids with diverse personalities. If you get stuck thinking that there’s a certain kind of kid that we can identify, then we’re going to be missing kids who are potential dangers.”

Although many of the students Langman studied had psychological disorders or had been emotionally or physically abused, Katherine S. Newman, a professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton University takes a broader view noting that psychological issues are one of the five “necessary but not sufficient” conditions that give rise to school shootings. “The other four predisposing factors are:

• The shooter sees himself as extremely marginal in the social worlds that matter to him.
• He has cultural scripts that suggest an armed attack may be a way to solve problems and elevate his status from that of a loser to a notorious antihero.
• Parents, schools, mental health services, and other ’surveillance systems’ have failed to identify the troubled teenagers.
• One common thread among the school shootings studied was what federal law enforcement experts refer to as “leakage.” Although not as much the case at the college level, at the high school level, school shooters have been found to have a tendency to “leak” their intentions. Experts believe that once students were taught to report threats, this became the “main reason that pre-collegiate school shootings dropped off after the peak years for rampage-style attacks of 1997 to 1999 . . . .”

Click here to read the full article “Lessons Sifted from Tragedy at Columbine” from Education Week.