Chatham Drug Free Warns of New Marijuana Drug

A new form of marijuana, called Ear Wax or simply Wax is sweeping across the country. It also goes by the names Butter or Honeycomb, its name coming from its appearance resembling those substances. It is usually yellow/brown in color and has a smooth, wax like texture.

Its appearance can also resemble lip balm, which makes it easy for youth to conceal and hard to detect. While Wax can be smoked like leaf marijuana in a pipe or bong, it can also be used in an electronic cigarette vaporizer that is commercially available. The process of ingesting Wax is called “dabbing” or taking a hit of “dab.”

Originally manufactured on the West Coast, Wax is much more powerful than leaf marijuana. According to the article, “Teens and Wax: A Potent Form of Marijuana” by Raychelle Cassada Lohmann published in Psychology Today, Wax can contain up to 80% THC (the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana). Leaf marijuana, which is already much more potent than the marijuana grown in the 1970’s, contains about 20% THC.

Wax is also more expensive than leaf marijuana. An investigation done by ANIMAL published in May, GrowLife Inc. CEO Kyle Tracey said that marijuana in Southern California typically cost between $15 and $20 per gram, compared to a range between $70 and $100 for Wax.

While it is easy to learn how to make Wax, the process can be very dangerous because of the need to use butane to create the substance. In Steamboat Springs, CO, four teens aged 15 – 18 were sent to the hospital after an explosion blew out the windows of their condo and triggered the sprinkler system. Similar explosions have been reported around the country. An article in the San Francisco Chronicle compared the rise of wax explosions to the outbreak of methamphetamine lab explosions in the US years ago.

According to the article “Everything You Need to Know about Marijuana Wax” by Julian Kimble as published on the Complex website, Wax in extremely hallucinogenic with reports of users experiencing intense psychotic episodes. Emergency room admissions as a result of Wax use are on the rise.

“We are worried about Wax becoming the new marijuana,” said George Greger-Holt, Community Outreach Coordinator for Chatham Drug Free. “It’s easy to hide, easy although dangerous to make, and much more powerful than usual weed,” he continued.

“Parents need to be aware of this new substance so that they can be ready to talk to their children about the dangers,” added Susan Powell, coalition coordinator. “Seeing things like butane canisters, glass or metal tubes, rubbing alcohol or coffee filters or electronic cigarette vaporizers in your child’s room or in his/her possession should initiate a conversation,” she suggested.

More information can be found at the Chatham Drug Free website, www.chathamdrugfree.org, the Chatham Drug Free Facebook page or at http://www.drugfree.org/the-parent-toolkit.

Study Says Underage Drinking Lessens the More Parents Talk

New research by a State University of New York, Buffalo psychologist reveals consistent parenting practices and restrictions about teen alcohol use can make a difference.When it comes to adolescents and drinking, the message that parents send matters, said psychologist Craig Colder. His study, "A latent growth curve analysis of alcohol-use specific parenting and adolescent alcohol use," was published recently in Addictive Behaviors.Colder said the study shows that those same parents who communicate the risks of alcohol use with their young children are often less likely to continue those discussions as their kids get older, a result suggesting that parents shouldn't underestimate the impact of maintaining that messaging as their children mature through their teen-age years."What our data are suggesting is that you can't control all of your kids' decisions, but you can help them to make good choices in situations where alcohol is available," Colder said. "You want kids to think about and reflect upon the pros and cons of drinking based on your previous discussions."Most of the literature on adolescent alcohol use has been driven by the kinds of attitudes that predict drinking, but little work has been done on how these attitudes form, according to Colder. Understanding kids’ attitudes around drinking was the inspiration for the study.The study used three annual assessments of parents and the target adolescent. For the first assessment, subjects were 10- or 11-years-old, an age before most kids initiate drinking. Researchers asked questions about drinking and the family environment. One year later, the subjects were interviewed again, and then interviewed a third time after another year had passed.In a news release, Colder said, "The research is correlational in nature, which has implications for how we can interpret causality. We're not manipulating parenting in an experimental way. We're looking at what's happening in the naturalistic environment. It's called a passive correlation design. We're just observing two things that happen over time and determining if they're related to each other and these two things are related."

The National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse, which funded the study, has funding another round of research that will allow Colder to follow the subjects for an additional three years. The successive studies will combine data obtained before the subjects started drinking and through their early phases of experimental drinking, with the data to be gathered in the follow-up study, where alcohol use can escalate to problem drinking in the late adolescent, young adult years.

KanaVape: Cannabis e-cigarette to go on sale in the UK

The vaping trend seemingly knows no bounds as the first “cannabis” e-cigarette goes on sale in the UK tomorrow.

The KanaVape, which contains hemp, has been legalised for use in France by people with cancer, multiple sclerosis (MS) and other conditions requiring pain relief.

Its creators told The Independent it will go on sale around the world tomorrow but the Home Office has cast doubt on whether that would be legal, saying the product must be tested for controlled substances.

Antonin Cohen and Sebastien Beguerie said the KanaVape cannot be compared to a joint or spliff because it does not contain THC, the chemical credited with causing cannabis highs.

A statement on its website said the product is made from certified hemp, which contains far less of the chemical than marijuana, and “does not have any psychoactive or euphoric effect”.

The KanaVape hemp vapouriser It is one of more than 60 active “cannabinoids” in the plant, which have varying effects including relaxation and pain relief.

“We made KanaVape to give millions of people a legal and tasteful way of using cannabinoids,” Mr Cohen and Mr Beguerie said.

“We craft our production with love, care and scientific research. KanaVape is good for our customers and good for the planet.”

The website boasts that the vaporiser allows the enjoyment of the “original flavour” of hemp without the accompanying smoke or psychotic effects.

“Stay relaxed, keep a clear mind and an active lifestyle with KanaVape – anytime, anywhere,” it says. “It will not make you ‘high’ but will help you relax.”

Different strains of hemp with varying cannabinoid content are grown for different uses

The hemp inside contains 5 per cent cannabidiol, which is being tested for medical applications around the world.

Licences are available to grow hemp in the UK and it can be legally sold in certain forms, including oil, paper and clothing.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said KanaVape would have to be tested for illegal substances before going on sale.

“Cannabis is classed as an illegal drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971,” he added.

"It is an offence to supply and possess a controlled drug and to supply any article believing it to be used for their administration.”

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is responsible for approving products for medical use.

From “The Independent,” February 19, 2015

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/kanavape-cannabis-ecigarette-to-go-on-sale-in-the-uk-9930443.html

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Columbus, Ohio 43229

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Know! To Role Model RESPECT for the Rx

Know is a program of

Drug Free Action Alliance
6155 Huntley Road, Suite H
Columbus, Ohio 43229

https://www.drugfreeactionalliance.org/know

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Powdered Alcohol: What's the Harm?

Medscape

By Pauline Anderson

March 23, 2015

Substance abuse experts are concerned about the imminent availability of powdered alcohol because of its health risks and abuse potential.

The flavored, freeze-dried alcohol, which looks like powdered Jell-O, can be thrown into a back pocket and taken almost anywhere, according to Harris Stratyner, PhD, regional clinical vice president, Caron Treatment Center's New York Recovery Services, and associate professor of psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City.

"You don't have to carry around a bottle of alcohol if you're going camping or for a bike ride. And when you get to your destination, you just add water or mixer to reconstitute the alcohol and voilá, you've got an instant alcoholic beverage," he said.

The powdered alcohol ― known as Palcohol ― was approved for sale earlier this month by the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.

The product, which comes in single-serving packages, each the equivalent of one shot of alcohol and weighing about an ounce, will reportedly hit retail stores and be available online by the summer.

There are five versions: vodka, rum, and three cocktails – Cosmopolitan, Lemon Drop, and Powderita, which tastes just like a Margarita. The mixed drink cocktails have natural flavorings and use Sucralose as a sweetener.

Because it is concentrated, the product would be easier than liquid alcohol to sneak into concerts and other places where alcohol is banned, said addiction specialist Petros Levounis, MD, chair, Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark.

Disaster Waiting to Happen?

The powdered substance makes it easy to snort the alcohol, which is "worrisome" and "dangerous," according to Dr Stratyner. He is also concerned about combining it with other drugs, such as cocaine and marijuana.

"Say you sprinkle it on a brownie made with marijuana, which is an antiemetic. Then suddenly you're going to have something that's inhibiting your ability to fight off alcohol poisoning."

Because the water has been removed, the percentage of alcohol by volume depends on how much liquid is added. When you add 6 ounces of liquid, it is equal to a standard mixed drink.

Dr Levounis is concerned about a product that "we don't know much about" bringing unanticipated problems. "We've been burned before" when products that appeared to be different formulations of a seemingly benign substance were approved and became a "completely new beast."

He used the example of Four Loko, a combination of alcohol and four shots of espresso. Alcohol has a "built-in protection" in that when you drink too much, you fall asleep. "But if you add four shots of espresso, you prolong your ability to continue to drink," he said.

Another concern is the misconception that products subject to abuse are safer when legal.

"The biggest disaster in addiction has come from cigarettes, not from marijuana," said Dr Levounis.

In addition, the novelty of the product might draw young people to try the powdered alcohol to impress their peers or seem cool, and to use it to excess, added Dr Levounis. He has seen first hand the fallout from such "crazy" behavior among kids.

Although approved at the federal level, the product is still subject to state regulations.

The powdered alcohol was approved before by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, but the approval was "rescinded," said Dr Stratyner. He and his colleagues at Caron Treatment Centers hope that "something can be done to take a closer look at it" again.

Sources: Interviews with Dr Stratyner and Dr Levounis, Palcohol website.