This includes over $19 billion in traffic crashes and $29 billion from violent crime, plus other costs to society for medical care, pain and suffering, lost work, etc. Fetal alcohol syndrome among teen mothers costs $925.6 million annually in the U.S. (Source: OJJDP, Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE.)

In California, the cost of underage drinking was estimated at $7.5 billion in 2001. This included some $586 million in preventable medical costs, and $5.1 billion in pain and suffering. This translates to $2,207 per youth each year. Alcohol-related youth violence costs a staggering $4,565.5 million, and youth traffic crashes cost approximately $1,356.6 million.

Other tragedies include high-risk sex, sexual assault, property crime, injury, poisonings, psychoses, homicide, suicide, fetal alcohol syndrome and treatment. (Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE), March 2004.

Research estimates that teenage girls who binge drink are up to 63% more likely to become teen mothers.

Source: T.S. Dee, "The Effects of Minimum Legal Drinking Ages on Teen Childbearing," The Journal of Human Resources 36, no. 4 (2001): 824-838. There is no compensation for the emotional suffering of a family that loses a loved one, or an individual who is seriously injured due to preventable drunkenness.

What’s the big deal about binge drinking?
There is growing concern throughout the nation, California, and Santa Barbara County, about the following problems associated with binge drinking.

Among youth enrolled in Santa Barbara County alcohol and drug prevention programs, 100 % strongly agree that it is dangerous to drive after drinking a little and 100% view alcohol as a problem in the teen community. (Youth Leadership Institute Survey, 2005)

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Drinking and Driving
What’s the big deal about drinking and driving?
You lose your judgment when you drink alcohol or use drugs. It is often the first thing about you that changes. Loss of judgment, or good sense, affects how you react to sounds, what you see, and the speed of other vehicles around you.

It takes about one hour for the body to get rid of each “drink.” If a person has had more than one drink an hour, one hour of “sobering up” time should be allowed for each extra drink. Better still, someone who has not been drinking should drive. (See information about the Designated Driver Program.)

Drugs And Driving
Much of what has been said about alcohol also applies to drugs. California’s drunk driving law is also a drug driving law.
It refers to “driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.”
If an officer suspects you are under the influence of drugs, the officer can require you to take a blood or urine test. Drivers who refuse these tests are subject to longer license suspensions and revocations. Anyone convicted of possessing, selling, or manufacturing illegal drugs is subject to a six-month suspension.

The use of any drug (and the law does not distinguish between prescription, over-the-counter, or illegal drugs), which impairs your ability to drive safely, is illegal. Check with your physician or pharmacist and read the warning label if you are not sure you should drive after taking any medication. (CA Driver Handbook, www.dmv.ca.gov)

• Some drugs, such as those used for colds and allergies, or to calm nerves or muscles, can make a person drowsy.
• Medicines taken together, or combined with alcohol, can be dangerous or have unexpected side effects
• “Uppers” and diet pills can make a driver more alert for a short time. Later, they may cause an inability to concentrate or affect vision.
• Any drug that “may cause drowsiness or dizziness” is one you should not take before driving.
• Read labels. Know the effects of drugs. To learn the rules about drinking and driving, visit: www. dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk
  http://duilawyers.org/alcohol-impairment-chart.html
  

MORE ABOUT DRINKING AND DRIVING:
Prof. David J. Hanson, Ph.D., has done intensive research on the drinking and driving problem.

Here are some life-saving tips from Prof. David J. Hanson, PH.D, recommended by many experts in the prevention field:

• Call a cab
• Take your drunk friend’s keys
• Provide food at a party
• Cut-off alcohol service 1-2 hours before a party ends
• Offer guests a place to sleep
• Purchase cars with airbags and other safety features

Small things can save lives.

Dr. Hanson’s research showed that high Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) drivers tend to be male, aged 25-35, and have a history of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) convictions and polydrug abuse.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 18-20% of injured drivers are using drugs and although drinking is on the decline, drugging is on the increase.

Dr. Hanson suggests consumers look at improving traffic safety by driving cars with air bags, and improving roadways with elevated yellow divider lines and corrugated shoulders so driver’s are warned by a loud noise when they drift off the highway.

As for jail and prison sentences for alcohol offenses, Hanson’s research showed that stiff fines appear to be of little value in deterring HIGH BAC drivers.

“Such sentences may deter low BAC drinkers, but such drivers are not the problem. Incarceration is probably ineffective with high BAC drivers, who tend to be alcohol dependent individuals with very serious problems who need treatment.”

For more of Dr. Hanson’s insights, go to: http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/DrinkingAndDriving.html

Why do otherwise responsible people get behind the wheel after drinking alcohol?

“ I’m fine, I can drive. ”

How often have we heard people say: “I’m fine, I can drive.”

People may want to appear strong, independent and capable. When someone is “under the influence,” judgment is impaired.

Alcohol can create a false sense of confidence.

Every day we hear of another friend, neighbor or family-member killed or injured in an auto crash after drinking.

Hosts sometimes offer their guests a place to sleep, only to have their offer refused with “No, I’m fine, I can drive myself home.”

It is important for each person to know when his/her blood alcohol content is at a level to impair reflexes, response time, judgment, vision and basically their ability to operate a moving vehicle when impaired.

How much alcohol in what amount of time takes a person over the legal limit?

What’s the definition of a drink?

A drink is considered to be 12 oz. of beer, an “alcopop” or flavored malt beverage, 5 oz. of table wine or a shot of hard liquor (like tequila, vodka or rum).

One drink is generally the equivalent of 1.5 oz. of 80-proof liquor.

Many specialty drinks served at restaurants or bars, like special margaritas, cosmopolitans and long island iced tea, contain more than 1 shot.

Note: “Alcopops” and flavored alcoholic beverages and malt liquors, are considered to be the drink of choice for underage teens – especially girls. These drinks often come in colorful, child-oriented packaging with sweet-flavors that hide the taste of alcohol. These drinks are a growing concern in public health, as the flavoring makes them easy to consume for the uninitiated drinker.

How fast do people get drunk?

You can become intoxicated in less than one hour if you have not eaten, if you are small, if you are elderly, or if your body metabolizes alcohol at a slow rate.

It takes about one hour to get rid of each drink. Contrary to popular opinion, coffee is not a true solution to “sober up fast”.

Peak blood alcohol concentrations are achieved in fasting people within 0.5 to 2.0 hours (average 0.75 - 1.35 hours depending upon dose and time of last meal). Non-fasting people exhibit peak alcohol concentrations within 1.0, and in extreme cases up to as much as 6.0 hours (average 1.06 - 2.12 hours).

As a rule of thumb, a person will eliminate one average drink or .5 oz (15 ml) of alcohol per hour. Several factors influence this rate. The rate of elimination tends to be higher when the blood alcohol concentration in the body is very high or very low. Also, chronic alcoholics may (depending on liver health) metabolize alcohol at a significantly higher rate than average. Finally, the body's ability to metabolize alcohol quickly tends to diminish with age.

How much alcohol does it take push the average person over the legal limit?

Click the following link to find out: http://duilawyers.org/alcohol-impairment-chart.html

Bicycling:

Bicycle crashes are a growing problem in Santa Barbara and in the U.S. Safe practices include wearing a helmet, and riding sober.

In California, 22,441 people were severely injured and 619 killed in bicycle-related crashes between 1996-2000.

Sadly, the lifetime costs to care for one person with a traumatic brain injury can exceed $4.6 million.

(Source: CA Dept. of Health Services, Epidemiology and Prevention for Injury Control Branch. -EPIC)

Motorcycles:

The new statistics show that in 2005, there were 12,945 fatalities in crashes involving a driver or motorcycle operator with a BAC of .08 or higher, the legal limit throughout the U.S. Fully, 39 percent of all traffic deaths last year involved alcohol. All told, 16,885 people died in alcohol-related crashes. NHTSA also released state-by-state statistics for alcohol-related fatalities.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

The bottom line: If you know someone who uses meth, urge him or her to get help. If you're using meth--stop! The longer you ignore the real facts, the more chances you take with your life.

It's never too late. Talk to your parents, a doctor, a counselor, a teacher, or another adult you trust

To find out more about Meth, view the Meth page or take the Quiz.

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By using steroids, you bulk up by increasing growth hormone levels like testosterone. But as a teen, you already have all the testosterone and energy that you need to bulk up and reduce body fat! Starting at puberty, your testosterone levels increase rapidly, peak at 20, and stay level until around 401. Nature has already given you everything you need. All you have to do is exercise, eat healthy, and sleep!

Remember, more-and-more high schools and all colleges test their athletes for steroids. Not only will testing positive for steroids cause a student to be banned from sports, it could also cause his/her team to forfeit a game or entire season.

Whether it’s steroids or weight loss supplements, drug dealers and drug companies all claim to have the answer to happiness through products that claim to improve our bodies. But they never tell you about the price that you can pay: the cancers, depression, liver damage, acne, balding, or anger that can result. Happiness and athletic success don’t come from a pill or needle; they come from hard work and practice!

About Steroids
There are many kinds of steroids, but when you hear about them in the news in relation to sports, “doping,” or performance enhancement, they almost always mean Anabolic-androgenic steroids. These are man-made substances that are related to male sex hormones such as testosterone (the same stuff that make boys start puberty).

1. When used legally, these drugs help patients who do not produce enough natural testosterone, or whose muscles are wasting away from a debilitating disease like AIDS or injury such as paralysis. Any use without a prescription can lead to serious health problems, some irreversible, even death.
2. Often patients who carefully use steroids with the direction of a doctor, still have negative side affects.

Get the Facts
Steroids affect your heart. Steroid abuse has been associated with cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke. These heart problems can even happen to athletes under the age of 30.

Steroids affect your liver and kidneys. Steroids can cause high blood pressure and kidney and liver tumors. Steroid use can also cause blood-filled cysts to develop in the liver. Both the tumors and cysts can rupture, causing internal bleeding.

Steroids affect your appearance. In both sexes, steroids can cause male-pattern baldness, cysts, acne, and oily hair and skin.

Steroids can affect your growth. Under normal conditions, sex hormones trigger growth spurts during puberty and also signal the body to stop growing when they reach a certain level. When teens take steroids, the resulting high sex hormone levels can signal bones to prematurely stop growing, stunting the user's growth.

Steroids affect gender-specific features:
For girls - growing of facial hair, shrinking of the breasts, deepened voice, masculine changes in the shape of the face, and cessation of the menstrual cycle.

For guys - shrinking of the testicles, development of breasts, and infertility.

Steroids affect your mood. Steroids can make you angry and hostile for no reason. This is commonly referred to as “roid rage.” This can also include suicidal thoughts and/or attempts, fatigue, restlessness, loss of appetite, and insomnia. There are many cases of steroids causing users to become violent towards themselves and others, and some users developed behavioral problems that were so extreme that they could not function within their workplace or society.

Steroids increase your risk of infection. Sharing needles, or using dirty needles to inject steroids, puts you at risk for diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. Because many steroids are imported illegally, they can be tainted with bacteria, toxins, or other dangerous byproducts

Steroids are addictive. Withdrawal symptoms include mood swings, suicidal thoughts and/or attempts, fatigue, restlessness, loss of appetite, desire to take more steroids, and insomnia.

Before You Risk It
Know the law. Steroids are illegal to possess without a prescription from a licensed physician. It is illegal for individuals to sell steroids.

Get the facts. Doctors prescribe steroids for specific medical conditions and are only safe for use when a doctor monitors the patient. Monthly blood tests are required to check for liver damage.

Know the risks. Illegal steroids are made overseas and smuggled into the United States or made in underground labs in this country. They pose greater health risks because they are not regulated by the government and may not be pure or labeled correctly

Look around you. The majority of teens aren't using steroids. Among teenage males, where most steroid use is concentrated, past year use was reported by 1.1 percent of 8th graders, 1.3 percent of 10th graders, and 1.5 percent of 12th graders.

Know the Signs
How can you tell if a friend is abusing steroids? Sometimes it's hard to tell, but there are signs you can look for. If your friend has one or more of the following warning signs, he or she may be abusing steroids:

For Guys:
• Baldness
• Development of breasts
• Impotence

For Girls:
• Growth of facial hair
• Deepened voice
• Breast reduction

For Both:
• Jaundice (yellowing of the skin)
• Swelling of feet or ankles
• Aching joints
• Bad breath
• Mood swings
• Nervousness
• Trembling

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What is it?
Marijuana is a green or gray mixture of dried, shredded flowers and leaves of the hemp plant Cannabis Sativa. It can be eaten in certain foods or smoked. It is an illegal drug.

What does it do?
The effects vary from person to person depending on how strong the marijuana is, how it's taken, and whether other drugs or alcohol are involved. At first, pot can make people feel relaxed, in a good mood and even silly. Users will likely experience dry mouth, rapid heartbeat, some loss of coordination and poor sense of balance, and slower reaction times, along with intoxication. Blood vessels in the eye will expand causing the red-eye effect. NIDA

Smoking marijuana may impair short-term memory while people are using the drug. This happens because all forms of marijuana contain THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), the main active chemical in marijuana, which alters the way the brain works. After a few minutes, paranoia or anxiousness may set in, then intense hunger (a.k.a. the munchies), and finally, sleepiness. NCADI For some people, marijuana raises blood pressure slightly and can double the normal heart rate. This effect can be greater when other drugs are mixed with marijuana.

Who uses it?
Marijuana is the most widely used illegal drug in the United States. Fewer than one in four high school seniors say they are current users. Between 1991 and 2001, the number of 8th graders who used marijuana doubled from one in ten to one in five. Monitoring the Future, 1975-1999. What would you do if someone offered you pot? Take a trial run through our scenarios so you'll be prepared. Click here.

Marijuana affects memory, judgment and perception even in the short-term, as was found in a study conducted by Pope and Yurgelun-Todd published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It can mess you up in school, in sports or clubs, or with your friends. Several studies, including one reported a few years ago in the American Journal of Public Health, indicate that if you're high on marijuana, you are more likely to do things that could embarrass or even hurt you-such as driving under the influence or engaging in risky sexual behaviors. For athletes, THC's effect on timing, coordination, and movement-which can last for several hours-can seriously hurt performance. NCADI

Over the long term, smoking pot can cause you to lose interest in how you look and how you're getting along at school or work. NCADI It can also be much worse for your respiratory health than smoking cigarettes; the amount of tar, carbon monoxide, and cancer-causing chemicals inhaled in marijuana smoke are three to five times greater than that inhaled from the same amount of tobacco smoke. (NIDA Infofax)

It's important also to remember that marijuana is an addictive drug, responsible for about 60% of all the teenagers who seek admission to drug treatment centers in the U.S. Smoking marijuana leads to some changes in the brain similar to those caused by cocaine, heroin and alcohol. (Di Chiara's study-in NIDA information). Research at the University of Columbia demonstrates that people who regularly smoke marijuana experience withdrawal symptoms after they stop using it.

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Some people experiment with prescription drugs because they think they will help them have more fun, lose weight, fit in, and even study more effectively. Prescription drugs can be easier to get than street drugs: Family members or friends could have a prescription. But prescription drugs are also sometimes sold on the street like other illegal drugs. A 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed that among all youths aged 12 to 17; almost a quarter had tried prescription drugs for recreational use at least once.

Why? Some people think that prescription drugs are safer and less addictive than street drugs. After all, these are drugs that moms, dads, and even kid brothers and sisters use. To Angie, taking her brother's ADHD medicine felt like a good way to keep her appetite in check. She'd heard how bad diet pills could be, and she wrongly thought that the ADHD drugs would be safer.

But prescription drugs are only safe for the individuals who actually have prescriptions for them. That's because a doctor has examined these people and knows that they won't have a bad reaction to the drugs. The doctor has also told them exactly how they should take the medicine, including things to avoid while taking the drug - such as drinking alcohol, smoking, or taking other medications.

Other people who try prescription drugs are like Todd. They think they're not doing anything illegal because doctors prescribe these drugs. But taking drugs without a prescription - or sharing a prescription drug with friends - is actually breaking the law.

Which Drugs Are Abused?
The most commonly used prescription drugs fall into three classes:

• .Opioids
• Examples: Oxycodone (OxyContin), hydrocodone (Vicodin), and meperidine (Demerol).
• Medical uses: Opioids are used to treat pain or relieve coughs or diarrhea.
• How they work: Opioids attach to opioid receptors in the central nervous system (the brain and the spinal cord), preventing the brain from receiving pain messages.
  
  Central Nervous System (CNS) Depressants
• Examples: Pentobarbital sodium (Nembutal), diazepam (Valium), and alprazolam (Xanax).
• Medical uses: CNS depressants are used to treat anxiety, tension, panic attacks, and sleep disorders.
• How they work: CNS depressants slow down brain activity by increasing the activity of a neurotransmitter called GABA. The result is a drowsy or calming effect.
  
  Stimulants
• Examples: Methylphenidate (Ritalin), amphetamine/dextroamphetamine (Adderall), and atomoxetine (Strattera).
• Medical uses: Stimulants can be used to treat narcolepsy, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, obesity, and asthma.
• How they work: Stimulants increase brain activity,resulting in greater alertness, attention, and energy.

Over-the-Counter Drugs
Some people mistakenly think that prescription drugs are more powerful because you need a prescription for them. But it's possible to abuse or become addicted to over-the-counter (OTC) medications, too. For example, dextromethorphan (DXM) is found in some OTC cough medicines. When someone takes the number of teaspoons or tablets that are recommended, everything is fine. But high doses can cause problems with the senses (especially vision and hearing) and can lead to confusion, stomach pain, numbness, and even hallucinations.

What Are the Dangers of Abusing Medications?
Whether they're using street drugs or medications, drug abusers often have trouble at school, at home, with friends, or with the law. The likelihood that a person will commit a crime or have an accident is higher when that person is abusing drugs - no matter whether those drugs are medications or street drugs.

Like all drug abuse, using prescription drugs for the wrong reasons has serious risks for a person's health. Just a single dose of an opioid can lower a person's breathing rate and even kill when the wrong person takes it. This risk is higher when opioids are taken with other substances like alcohol, antihistamines, and CNS depressants.

CNS depressants have risks, too. Reducing or stopping them can lead to seizures. Taking CNS depressants with other medications, such as prescription painkillers, some over-the-counter cold and allergy medications, or alcohol, can slow a person's heartbeat and breathing - and even kill.

Abusing stimulants (like some ADHD drugs) may cause heart failure or seizures, both of which can kill. These risks are increased when stimulants are mixed with other medicines - even over-the-counter ones like certain cold medicines. Taking too much of a stimulant can lead a person to develop dangerously high body temperatures or an irregular heartbeat. Taking several high doses over a short period of time may make a drug abuser aggressive or paranoid. Although stimulant abuse might not lead to physical dependence and withdrawal, the feelings these drugs give people may cause them to use the drugs more and more often so it becomes a habit that's hard to break.

The dangers of prescription drug abuse can be made even worse if people take drugs in a way they aren't supposed to. Ritalin may seem harmless because it's prescribed even for little kids with ADHD. But when a person snorts or injects Ritalin, it can be serious. There are also many variations of the same medication (the dose of medication and how long it stays in the body may vary). The person who doesn't have a prescription may not really know which one he or she has.
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Probably the most common result of prescription drug abuse is addiction. People who abuse medications can become addicted just as easily as if they were taking street drugs. The reason many drugs have to be prescribed by a doctor is because some of them are quite addictive. That's why most doctors won't usually renew a prescription unless they see the patient - they want to examine the patient to make sure he or she isn't getting addicted.

Finally, never use someone else's prescription, and don't allow a friend to use yours. Not only are you putting your friend at risk, but you could suffer, too: Pharmacists won't refill a prescription if a medication has been used up before it should be. And if you're found giving medication to someone else, it's considered a crime and you could find yourself in court.

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Links to Information on Other Drugs:
Heroin
Ecstasy
Cocaine

There are several resources available throughout Santa Barbara County to help you. Click on the link below to find out more.
Local Resources