Addiction Recovery: Getting Clean At 22; News Roundup

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Juvenile Justice Reforms Approved (PalmBeachPost.com)
  The Dream Defenders, a youth group focused on juvenile justice issues, called this week for protection from arrests at school for minor incidents. The group also called for an end to pepper spray and solitary confinement in jails run by Florida counties and to stop putting teens in the juvenile justice system for misdemeanor first offenses.
• Juvenile Detention Alternatives Gain Ground in States, DC (JJIE.org)
  “There is reason to think that we may, and I emphasize may, have reached a turning point in this era,” said Bart Lubow, director of the juvenile justice strategy group at The Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore. He made the comments Wednesday at an AECF-organized three-day conference of some 800 professionals from juvenile justice and child welfare fields in Atlanta.
• Proposal Would Keep 17-Year-Old Felons in Juvenile Court (SJ-R.com)
  Youths under the age of 18 charged with non-violent felonies will be handled at the juvenile court level, rather than being tried as adults, under a proposal passed by the Illinois House Tuesday.
• Your System, Your Choices: Teaching Youth the Juvenile Justice System (StrategiesForYouth.org)
  Dr. Miner-Romanoff found that “100% had no idea” about the juvenile justice system and the potential for harsh sentencing before their arrest and incarceration. This, she says, indicates that for these young people severe sentencing did not act as a deterrent.
• Opinion: Reduce Teen Recidivism; Treat Kids Like Kids (SJ-R.com)
  "Back in 2008, The State Journal-Register used this space to urge Illinois lawmakers to approve a bill that would allow 17-year-olds accused of minor crimes to be tried in juvenile court instead of adult court."

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Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment and Mental Health

• Almost 70% of Underage Drinking Deaths Not Traffic-Related, MADD Finds (Drugfree.org)
  An analysis of deaths related to underage alcohol use finds 68 percent are not traffic-related, USA Today reports. The study, by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), found 32 percent of these deaths are traffic-related, 30 percent are homicides, 14 percent are suicides, 9 percent are alcohol poisonings and 15 percent are from other causes.
• A Darker Side to the Downfall of the Auburn Tigers (ESPN)
  An illegal street drug, an armed robbery and the worst collapse in college football.
• Addiction Recovery: Getting Clean At 22 (Huffington Post)
  "The first time I tried it was perfect. One line erased my doubts, my fears and my insecurities. I was euphoric. Gone was the girl who wanted to crawl out of her skin and in her place was the confident, beautiful girl I always wanted to be. For six years, I chased that high on and off, but I never found it again. Instead I found self-hatred. I found pure selfishness. I found bloody noses, heart palpitations and paranoia. I found myself alone on my knees at 6 am searching for that one last hit."
• FDA Will Not Approve Generic Versions of Original OxyContin (Drugfree.org)
  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Tuesday it will not approve any generic versions of the original form of OxyContin. The move is aimed at preventing prescription drug abuse, Reuters reports. The original version of OxyContin could be crushed and then snorted or injected. Its patent was set to expire on Tuesday.

David Backes writes the Friday news roundup for Reclaiming Futures and contributes articles about juvenile justice reform and adolescent substance abuse treatment to ReclaimingFutures.org. He has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Santa Clara University. David works as an account executive for Prichard Communications.