Presentations focus on county youth drug and alcohol abuse

Others may not be aware that teens are reaching into their parents’ medicine cabinet and helping themselves to prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

And many might be amazed to learn how early some Carroll County youngsters start experimenting with gateway drugs, such as alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana, that could lead to harder substances.

According to Junction, a Carroll County drug prevention and treatment organization, some county youngsters reported trying cigarettes at the age of five, marijuana at the age of eight and alcohol at seven.

The Carroll County Health Department in partnership with several agencies joined together for the 12th annual Risky Business Prevention Conference to inform the community of these and other trends in Carroll County.

‘‘We tried to make it as county-specific as possible,” said Kim Spangler of the health department.

The conference takes place from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday and features professional speakers who will discuss risk factors, prevention strategies and resources regarding teen substance abuse in the county.

Staff at the Carroll County Health Department, the Cigarette Restitution Fund Program and Carroll County Community Conferencing is scheduled to participate.

The conference is open to parents, health workers, guidance counselors, nurses and other professionals who work with teens.

The day will provide an in-depth look into addictions and risk factors that may influence a teen’s ability to stay away from drugs and alcohol.

David McDuff, a clinical associate professor at the School of Psychology at the University of Maryland, will focus on the effects of drug abuse on the adolescent brain and discuss ways parents can screen their children as well as strategies they can use to prevent abuse.

In the second part of the conference, agencies will present data on the most recent trends related to teen use of alcohol, such as the growing trend in prescription drug abuse.

Another segment will focus on risky behaviors as a result of drug and alcohol abuse, such as unprotected sex or teen pregnancy, said Linda Auerback of Junction.

‘‘It’s all kind of inter-related,” she said. ‘‘This is a way to get the information to the community.”

FoolProof – a group of teens who have signed contacts promising to stay alcohol free —will be available to answer questions from the audience.

Agencies, such as the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department, the YMCA and the Rape Crisis Intervention Services of Carroll County, will have booths.

Everyone who attends the event will receive a free handbook of the latest teen trend data on risky behaviors.

‘‘It’s just a day of a lot of information,” Auerback said.

Past conference focused on a variety of issues, including teen suicide, self-mutilation, bullying, stress, teen pregnancy and AIDS.

The theme for this year’s conference was selected based on requests from community members who attended last year, Auerback said.

About 160 community members attended last year and about 125 people have registered so far this year, she said.

‘‘We don’t do this to make money,” she said. ‘‘We do this as a community service.”

Event info box

What: 12th annual Risky Business Prevention Conference

Where: St. John’s Portico, 43 Monroe St., Westminster

When: 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., June 17

How much: $25. Teens pay half price. Cost includes breakfast, lunch, informational materials and a resource book on the latest Carroll County teen trend data

How to register: Call Carroll County Health Department at 410-876-4425 or e-mail Janet Mays at jmays@dhmh.state.md.us