Prom season is here. For many teens, prom and graduation are a culturally sanctioned right of passage that, unfortunately, includes risky and potentially fatal behavior. Like some adults, too many teens believe that alcohol is a necessary ingredient for celebration. But, responsible parenting doesn't stop during prom season. Parents have the responsibility to protect their teens from danger. Here are some tips in dealing with prom and graduation parties:

• Make concrete plans about how your teens will get to and from the event. If they are riding with another teen, call the parents and get on the same page about the schedule.
• For post-prom or post-graduation parties, call the parents who are hosting the party and introduce yourself, if you don't already know them.
• In your own words, inquire about the following: Will chaperones be there? Will older teens be present? Will parents be present? If the party seems inadequately planned or lacks supervision, saying no to your children is the best way to protect them.

But, here is where parenting gets tough. Your teen may be angry or embarrassed. You can soften the blow by offering to have a party at your home or by planning a well-supervised event.

If after talking with the parents you are leaning toward granting permission, sit down with your children and discuss the following issues:

• Your policy on alcohol and drug use and the consequences for violating this rule.
• The agenda for the evening. Who, what, where and when. They cannot call you at midnight and change the plans.

If anything occurs at the party that makes them feel uncomfortable, such as the presence of drugs, alcohol or older kids, they can call you and arrange to leave with no questions asked.

If, for some reason, they consume alcohol or drugs, or get into any kind of trouble, they call you and you will come and get them without a hassle.

Remember, their safety is the first concern. You can deal with the consequences later.

As parents, our first duty is to protect them, even if that means disappointing them by saying no to inadequately supervised parties.

But also remember that involved, informed parents remain the best protection between children and another prom night tragedy.

Timely advice from the brochure, The Abuse of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs,  from Parents the Anti-Drug Website:

Although illicit drug useby teens is declining, now there’s a threat from the family medicine cabinet. Parents and caregivers are the first line of defense in addressing this troubling trend.

What can I do about this problem? Think about your home. What prescription and over-the-counter drugs do you have? Where are they kept? Would you know if some were missing? The good news is that you can take steps immediately to limit access to these drugs and help keep your teen drug-free:

Download the full brochure at http://www.theantidrug.com/pdfs/resources/teen-rx/Prescription_Abuse_brochure.pdf.

The town hall meetings are meant to increase awareness of underage drinking and its consequences, and to encourage members of the community to discuss how they can implement the recommendations in The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent Underage Alcohol Use.

To find a town hall meeting in your community, visit www.stopalcoholabuse.gov/townhall.

Gambling venues are on the rise and so are problem gamblers and gambling addiction.  The Iowa Substance Abuse Information Center's (ISAIC) online store offers a variety of informational pamphlets available to the general public. Popular titles include:

About Gambling Problems
Gambling Myths/Facts
House Advantage A guide to Understanding the Odds 
How to Reach Out to a Friend or Relative
How to Spot the signs of Problem Gambling
Tips on Understanding Problem Gambling

Find these and other titles that you can order at the ISAIC online store, http://www.drugfreeinfo.org/litecommerce/cart.php.

"After several years of recovery and doing vigorous work in completing Steps One to Nine, I felt I had arrived, that my work was done," says one long-time practitioner of the Twelve Steps. "I stopped talking regularly to a sponsor. I stopped going to as many meetings. I started 'going it alone' in the fellowship. I was shocked when after three years of recovery, I used one day. That led to two decades of repeated relapses."

This woman's desperation led her to a sponsor who required her to reread the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. While studying the suggestions for Step Ten, she recalls, "I realized something that I had been missing: daily work."

The Big Book's directions for daily work on this Step (page 84) include the following passage:

Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone. Then we resolutely turn our thoughts to someone we can help.

Long-time members of Twelve Step groups can read right past these familiar words. Yet within these simple declarative sentences are instructions for a lifetime of spiritual growth. Each word is consciously chosen, written with the precision of a scientific abstract and leaving nothing to accident.

Step Ten in context
Step Ten moves us forward in recovery by grounding us in the recovery work that we've already done. Continuing to "watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear" takes us back to Step Four. The suggestion to "discuss them with someone immediately" returns us to Step Five. Asking God to remove these character defects returns us to Steps Six and Seven. And making amends is the subject of Steps Eight and Nine.

[Read Hazelden article]

National Problem Gambling Awareness Week, a grassroots public awareness and outreach campaign sponsored by The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), is March 9 - 15, 2008.

The goal of this campaign is to educate the general public and health care professionals about the warning signs of problem gambling and raise awareness about the help that is available both locally and nationally.

Research finds that 2%-3% of the US population will have a gambling problem in any given year. That’s 6 million to 9 million Americans yet only a small fraction seek out services, such as treatment and self-help recovery programs.

We hope that you will use these free materials to promote awareness of problem gambling, and more importantly, that there is hope and help for those who suffer from gambling problems.

 - Order gambling brochures and materials from the ISAIC Online Store.