With Science and Songs, Students Celebrate National Drug Facts Week
4 Comments The second annual National Drug Facts Week was in full swing on November 2 at the House of Sweden at a hallmark event for NIDA’s 2011 health observance in Washington, DC.
More than 100 high school students from 7 schools in the District of Columbia and Baltimore, MD, attended the “Drug Facts Rally” headlined by NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, M.D., and Grammy-nominated R&B recording artist Mario Barrett. Other students participated in the event via Skype from the Baltimore Mayor’s office.
Ask Anything
Attendees had the unique opportunity to interact directly with Dr. Volkow, asking their most pressing questions about drugs and addiction during an energetic Q&A session. Dr. Volkow also answered two questions submitted from students in Sweden. (To read other questions from high school students and the answers direct from NIDA scientists, read NIDA’s 2011 Drug Facts Chat Day transcript.)
After speaking with NIDA’s Director, the students broke into small group sessions to show off their knowledge in a Jeopardy-style trivia game with peer health educators from the George Washington University Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Education.
Using Music To Send a Message
One of the day’s most memorable moments came when Mario Barrett took the stage. He surprised an attendee who had been invited to sing a few lines from one of his songs by joining her in the second verse.
Originally from Baltimore, MD, Mario grew up with a mother who was addicted to drugs. He was exposed to violence, gangs, and drugs on a daily basis. Eventually, he rose to the top of the R&B charts with songs like “Just a Friend 2002” and “Let Me Love You.”
With a goal of giving back, he uses his Mario Do Right Foundation to mentor and support the children of substance abusing parents. He strives to create a support system that he didn’t have for much of his childhood.
T-Shirt Contest Winners
Miss DC International, Dr. Allison Hill, a certified pharmacist, attended the event to help announce the winners of a t-shirt contest sponsored by international fashion retailer H&M and the Mentor Foundation USA. The contest challenged District of Columbia high school students to design a slogan to express what motivates them to stay drug free now and in the future.
The following students, all from the César Chávez Public Charter Schools for Public Policy–Parkside, won the competition:
1st place: Damani Johnson
2nd Place: Temple Reed
3rd Place: Tina Starr
Each attendee received a t-shirt featuring Damani Johnson’s winning slogan, which read:
Front: I’M > DRUGS
Back: I’M GREATER THAN DRUGS
BREATHE IN COMMON SENSE,
EXHALE IGNORANCE
STAY POSITIVE, TEST NEGATIVE
STAY DRUG FREE
Besides the t-shirt and loads of facts about drug abuse and healthy choices, attendees also had the opportunity to take away photos of the event. Students also could visit a video booth to give a shoutout about why they are drug free and what they learned during the day to shatter the myths about drug abuse.
Now we want to hear from you as well. Hit the comments below and tell us your personal slogan against drug abuse or give us a shoutout about why you’re drug free.
Embassy of Sweden Event Partners
Meet Dr. Nora Volkow, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse
First, a quiz. What doesn’t belong in this list?
a) World History
b) Running
c) Dark Chocolate
d) Brain Science
Dr. Nora Volkow is a Mexican-born psychiatrist who fell in love with the brain very early in her scientific career, thanks to an article she read as a medical student in Mexico about a new brain technology, Positron Emission Tomography—or PET scans. With PET scans, scientists were able to peer into people’s brains to map what kind of connections are inside a living, breathing human being, and to see where certain behaviors were linked to that map. It was more than just looking at a photograph of the brain, it was looking at snapshots of emotions, desires, and thoughts, and it set her on a path towards understanding the triggers in the brain that lead to abuse—or addiction—to everything from prescription drugs to chocolate to the computer game Tetris.
What could such different things possibly have in common? According to an interview in the New York Times, Dr. Volkow has a one-word response: dopamine. The surge of this hormone through the body stimulates the brain’s pleasure and reward system, tricking the brain into wanting more. This feeling of getting “high” makes it harder for some people to experience the normal pleasures in life—including friends, family, and healthy activities.
Dr. Volkow’s scientific career includes not only directing the National Institute on Drug Abuse at NIH, but also conducting brain research at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. In case you’re curious about how a researcher can also run a government institute, as Dr. Volkow says, “Science and politics are intertwined.”
So have you figured out the answer to our quiz: What doesn’t belong in this list?
Aha, a trick question! The correct answer is they all belong—a, b, c, and d are all things that can describe Dr. Nora Volkow.
a) Her great-grandfather was Leon Trotsky, one of the architects of the Russian Revolution who went into exile in Mexico City.
b) Running is the activity that Dr. Volkow indulges in that produces the “runners high” caused by an exercise-induced dopamine reward in the brain.
c) Chocolate, for Dr. Volkow, is its own reward.
d) Brain science is what she loves even more than chocolate.
In fact, neuroscience (the science of the brain) is emerging as the key to creating treatments to counteract the drug-induced brain changes that can lead to addiction, a belief held by many policy experts and researchers like Dr. Volkow.
How Scientists Approach Their Research
“We always start with a question…”
We love getting the comments you send us in response to important or controversial posts. As you know, Sara Bellum has the opportunity to interact with some of the world’s most renowned researchers to understand more about drug abuse and addiction. Since many of you have commented on blog posts questioning the science or wondering how NIDA scientists reach their conclusions, we invited NIDA’s Director, Dr. Nora Volkow, to talk about how scientists go about the process of discovery. Dr. Volkow explains:
In scientific research, we always start with a question. It could be something monumental—like setting out to map every neuron in the human brain to help determine its precise structure—or something that applies in only certain cases—like why do some people get addicted to drugs more easily than others?
Once we have a question in mind, we investigate existing research to see how others have looked at the question, or maybe even answered it. Sometimes, this helps a researcher refine the question or discover whether other conclusions could have been drawn from existing data.
Science is about testing and retesting our assumptions
Based on current research on differences in addiction between individuals, we might look through data to identify common features for drug-addicted persons: are they based on a family history of addiction? Are there environmental factors like the availability of certain drugs? What about mental health considerations?
From there, we would form a hypothesis. For example: “In certain individuals, heredity is a factor in drug addiction.”
Then we would devise a way to test that hypothesis in an experimental group vs. a control group. The only way we can verify results is to have someone else conduct the experiment independently and replicate the findings. Science is about testing and retesting our assumptions. Only then can we call it a science-based fact.
So, you can see that scientists are, by nature, curious about why and how things work. Maybe you’ve been curious enough to do a science experiment yourself?.
Maybe you’re like teens Daniel Martin, Jada Dalley, and Sehar Salman, who all found themselves pursuing scientific mysteries: Daniel wondered if he could prove the urban myth that scavengers in the deserts of the Southwest will not touch human remains with even a trace of methamphetamines in their bodies. Jada and Sehar examined tsetse flies (a common experimental source for scientists) to discover something completely new: effects of third-hand smoke. They searched for answers using the scientific method Dr. Volkow describes above, and designed research projects that earned them a 2009 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Addiction Science Award.
Check out what Daniel, Jada and Sehar found, and how they reached their conclusions.
Keep asking questions.
Guest Blog from Dr. Nora Volkow, NIDA Director
Hello! I am just back from speaking at a news conference about NIDA’s 2010 Monitoring the Future Survey (MTF)—a big crowd of reporters showed up to hear the latest numbers with regard to teens and drug use. I wrote about MTF last year, remember? To remind you, MTF is an anonymous survey of more than 46,000 8th, 10th and 12th graders around the country. The survey measures drug and alcohol use. It also assesses teens’ attitudes about drugs by asking these questions: “Do you think drugs are harmful?” “Do you disapprove of drugs?” And… “How available are they?” This year we had some surprising changes that have me worried.
For one thing, marijuana use is going up, especially among 8th graders. The survey also showed that fewer teens think marijuana is harmful. This is one of the biggest drug myths out there. Not only does marijuana affect learning, judgment, and motor skills, but research tells us that about 1 in 11 people who use marijuana even once will later become addicted to it. AND, the younger people start, the more likely this will happen. Therefore, I am especially concerned by survey results showing that daily marijuana use increased significantly among all three grades, so that in 2010, 6.1 percent of high school seniors, 3.3 percent of 10th-graders, and 1.2 percent of 8th-graders were daily marijuana users.
In some cases it looks as if marijuana is becoming more popular than cigarettes. In 2010, 21.4 percent of high school seniors used marijuana in the past 30 days, while 19.2 percent smoked cigarettes. The good news is there are still a lot of wise teens who stay away from both marijuana and cigarettes. Research shows that these kids will be more successful in school, and in life.
(note: Video is from 2009)
The MTF Survey also tells us that abuse of prescription drugs remains high. That is when you use a medication not prescribed for you or in a way not intended—such as taking ADHD drugs before a test or taking a pain reliever to get high. In fact, 6 of the top 10 drugs abused by 12th-graders in the past year were prescribed or purchased over- the- counter. Prescription pain relievers (opioids) are a particular problem, with many more overdoses occurring than in the past.
NIDA would like to hear your feedback—why do you think more teens are using marijuana, and fewer are disapproving of its use?
SBB Attends International AIDS Conference
Lighting fixtures made from used pill packets, as a reminder about the importance of medicines for HIV/AIDS.
- Methadone Man and Buprenorphine Babe at the 2010 International AIDS Conference in Vienna
SBB attended the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria, and wow, what an experience! More than 20,000 people from all over the world came together in one place to discuss the progress being made in preventing and treating HIV and AIDS. Scientists, doctors, community activists, and many other groups all met to push for more support of AIDS programs. SBB was there because NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow was speaking at the conference about the link between drug abuse and HIV/AIDS. She said that many people who use drugs contract HIV through (1) sharing needles used to inject drugs (like heroin) and (2) doing risky things when they’re on drugs, like having unprotected sex.
Many creative people were there. They even made art from pill packets used to hold HIV/AIDS medicines, making the point that catching people early in the disease and starting them on antiretroviral medications can greatly lower HIV spread and help prevent the progression to AIDS. Also, “Methadone Man” and “Bupenorphrine Babe” made an appearance—a compelling way to remind people that effective medicines are also available for drug abuse, and that drug abuse treatment can help prevent HIV. It is an urgent problem. In some parts of the world people who are addicted to drugs and have AIDS are just locked up in prison—with no treatment for either their AIDS or for their drug addiction.
To learn about the connection between drug abuse and HIV/AIDS, take a look at NIDA’s Learn the Link campaign at http://hiv.drugabuse.gov/index.html
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National Institute on Drug Abuse | National Institutes of Health | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
