Medicine Abuse Through the Eyes of a Teen; News Roundup

Juvenile Justice Reform

• The School to Prison Pipeline Issue (Corrections.com)
  The phrase “School to Prison Pipeline” has been widely used to describe what happens when school misconduct is answered with suspension, expulsion, and police intervention, as opposed to primarily internal consequences and sanctions. This “criminalizing” of student behavior, it is suggested, unfairly targets minority juveniles, often injecting them into the juvenile justice system, and increasing the opportunity for premature incarceration as a juvenile offender.
• Rewrite of Juvenile Justice Statute Would Include Prevention, Trauma-Informed Care (WGCU.org)
  The Florida Legislature is moving to overhaul the law governing the Department of Juvenile Justice during the session that starts March 4th. The rewrite would focus on preventing kids from coming into the juvenile justice system in the first place.
• Young Voices Become Strong Through WritersCorps (JJIE.org)
  Nine young people stood on a stage last week in San Francisco to read their poetry — and two others detained in juvenile hall had their recorded voices presented. "You can feel the heat and desperation," read student K.M. from his poem about the sun, recorded at the San Francisco Juvenile Justice Center.

Jobs, Grants, Events and Webinars

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Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment and Mental Health

• "Out of Reach" - Medicine Abuse Through the Eyes of a Teen (MedicineAbuseProject.org)
  "Out of Reach" is a special documentary created by a teen filmmaker who captures the issue of teen prescription drug abuse as it exists in his world. The issues contained in the film are a reflection of this issue across the country.
• Group: Early Action Needed to Stem Drug use Among Teens (Triblive.com)
  While the recent onslaught of heroin overdoses in the region has not claimed the lives of teenagers, the leader of a group whose mission is to curb drug use among youth says early prevention and detection could have saved lives.
• Will Legalization Lead to More Teens Smoking Pot? (KGWN.com)
  With medical marijuana approved in more states each year and recreational use legalized in Colorado and Washington, experts are concerned that more teens may use the drug because they believe it's safe.

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.