By Ashley Bradley/ne news editor
Students and professionals can learn about Adolescent Drug Trends in Texas 1-4 p.m. May 6 in NSTU Center Corner on NE Campus.
John Haenes, chief operations officer for Tarrant County Challenge, an organization that educates about drug use and tries to prevent it, will make the presentation.
“I will be reviewing drug and alcohol trends in northwest Texas,” he said.
His discussion agenda includes the different types of abuse with drugs and paraphernalia, the new technologies in the drug scene and drugs’ effects on brain development, functions and behavior.
Haenes runs the Challenge Training Institute that offers 30 different workshops including How to Create a Drug-Free Community and Raising a Drug-Free Child and tries to raise funding for drug prevention and education.
“If you study and review the last nine years, 27-28 percent of funding has decreased [in the county] and 12 percent of funding has decreased over the state,” he said. “Anytime you lose prevention dollars, you start seeing more trends.”
Haenes said one of the largest problems currently developing is new technology.
“We don’t know what the new devices cause to health,” he said.
One new technology he is scared of is the “electronic cigarette.” The device is tobaccoless and smokeless but is still a harmful product. Because the “cigarette” is made of ethylene glycol, an antifreeze ingredient, it is very toxic, he said.
“Most smoking laws surround tobacco and smoke products, so minors can buy this product,” he said. “They can be purchased at kiosks in surrounding malls.”
Vicki Key, clinical training coordinator at Recovery Resource Council, said she has attended several presentations by Haenes because he knows about his topics and because the seminars award her contact hours in her profession.
“He is an outstanding presenter,” she said. “He is thorough on his research and so educated on how to deal with the trends with teenagers.”
Key said she appreciates his enthusiasm in trying to raise the funds for prevention and education because it might cause fewer people to come into her clinic for treatment.
Students can attend free. Because they will be awarded three contact hours, professionals will be charged $20. Reservations are required, and a free lunch will be served before the event at 12:30 p.m. For more information or to make a reservation, contact Julie Dennis at 817-515-6417 or julie.dennis@tccd.edu.
