Troubled Teens Resources

On way that teens can be sure to end up being sent to troubled teen boarding schools or some kind of boot camp is to post videos of themselves getting high on YouTube. We posted a drug alert earlier advising parents to be aware of the hallucinagenic drug Salvia Divorium , warning that in many states it still has not been outlawed.

Well, troubled teens are privy to the same information and instead of reading about the severe effects of this drug and taking heed, they are instead ingesting it and then videotaping themselves as they stumble about like demented banshees. Yup, that will really get you far in life.

“Even scarier than the websites just talking about Salvia, now teens are video taping and posting their experiences on websites like youtube. [Senator] Bulloch says, “I went to YouTube and saw all these different postings. And I looked at a lot of them. And its just, its scary, the high that it creates. The hallucination effect that it puts on the body and the dangers of young people, if they have other medical problems maybe their not aware of. This high could really create problems for them.”

Bulloch proposed a bill that would make selling or having it in your possession a misdemeanor in Georgia…Bulloch adds, “There are roughly 15 states now that have passed laws or have study committee looking at the law.”

Bulloch hopes eventually the United States will ban Salvia on a federal level…This strain, Salvia Divorium is native to Mexico, not the U.S., and would be the only form banned.”

(source)

Instead of the usual tales of teen age drug abuse, it’s nice to divert attention to some positive teen items for a change. Not every teen is a candidate for troubled teen boarding schools. A survey conducted by The Associated Press and MTV on what makes teens happy produced some interesting and reassuring results.

It seems that family and parents are the primary contributors to a teen’s sense of well being and happiness.

“They’re my foundation,” says Kristiana St. John, 17, a high-school student from Queens in New York. “My mom tells me that even if I do something stupid, she’s still going to love me no matter what. Just knowing that makes me feel very happy and blessed.”

Another result that seems to contradict prevailing wisdom about teens is that money isn’t a big factor in their sense of contentment.

“Money may make the world go around, but when asked what one thing makes them happiest, almost nobody in the poll mentioned money or anything material. Still, money does play a role in happiness.

Those who can’t afford to buy many of the things they want are less happy with life in general. Just under half of young people think they’d be happier if they had more money, while the same percentage (49 percent) say they’d be just as happy.”

And oddly enough, 92% of the 1,280 teens surveyed definitely intend to be married and have a family. I imagine this remark would put some feminists in a tither.

“I don’t want to be one of those career businesswomen who just doesn’t ever settle down,” says St. John, the New York high-school student.”

(source)