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CBC: "Outaouais (Quebec) teens abusing non-prescription Xanax they buy online"


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"Addictive anti-anxiety drug widely available through online pharmacies", reads the article about teens in Quebec. It's really saddening to think of young people taking these meds and having no idea how dangerous they are. If kids start taking Xanax in high school, the long-term effects on their lives could be devastating.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/xanax-high-schools-counterfeit-teens-1.4646820 

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These kids have no idea what they could be in for. Let's hope that the services mentioned in the article will help to stem the problem. Education is needed immediately.
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All these stupid internet "pharmacies" should be shut down.  We all know they're not there to sell legitimately.
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A lot of this stuff is being bought and sold on the darknet (fully-encrypted and untraceable TOR), with transactions in untraceable bitcoin and shipments in harmless-looking packages with fake return addresses.  The manufacturing can take place anywhere in the world.  There really is no fix for this.  Education?  Peer-pressure and need to belong and "be cool" trumps education every time.  The epidemic has to run its course and hopefully burn out on its own.  When kids see the destruction and the pain and realize on their own (as they did with cigarettes) that it's not cool anymore.
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In Canada, there have been huge public health campaigns against smoking over the years, as well as legislation against tobacco companies sponsoring arts events and other things. The packaging has changed completely here. People can't smoke in restaurants or public buildings, on airplanes or any number of other places that they could a number of years ago. Cigarettes are highly taxed too. Those things have undoubtedly affected rates of smoking. I can't speak for other countries, of course.

 

I would like to see equivalent huge public health campaigns against benzodiazepines here.

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In Canada, there have been huge public health campaigns against smoking over the years, as well as legislation against tobacco companies sponsoring arts events and other things. The packaging has changed completely here. People can't smoke in restaurants or public buildings, on airplanes or any number of other places that they could a number of years ago. Cigarettes are highly taxed too. Those things have undoubtedly affected rates of smoking. I can't speak for other countries, of course.

 

I would like to see equivalent huge public health campaigns against benzodiazepines here.

 

Same here in the US.  The anti-smoking trend started here about 15 years ago and it really caught on.  Now smoking is banned in restaurants, nightclubs, public offices, on airplanes, and many other places it was allowed before.  Cigarettes are expensive too.  I like that.

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Right! So, it's not just about how cool or uncool smoking is. It's harder to do it now, and that's the whole point of all of these campaigns. I think purchasing non-prescription benzos should be made equally inconvenient, and the law against it should be enforced. It's illegal here. Any online sources should be charged and shut-down, and public health campaigns should address the dangers of starting and experimenting with these drugs.

 

At the moment, the public focus is still on opioids -- and for good reason. They're killing people. We have an upcoming provincial election here in Ontario, and the issue of what to do about it has come up a number of times in the campaign thus far. But it's also a national problem, so other provinces are dealing with it too. While benzos aren't killing people immediately, they can kill if they're mixed with alcohol or opioids, or if they're laced with unknown substances, e.g. fentanil.

 

As we all know, with benzodiazepines, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". Not starting them at all is the best thing a person can do.

 

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Outrageous.  I saw a similar article about teenagers somewhere else also abusing xanax.  I have noticed that people mention xanax in movies and tv shows too- is this product placement?  Seems like it might be time for a new "Go Ask Alice" type book for kids.  Of course that book was kind of ridiculous but damn, I still remember it. 
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I've certainly heard the phrase "Take a chill pill, Man!" or the equivalent, as if you can just take a pill to make things go away or settle down. I don't watch a lot of Hollywood-type movies or TV, but I'm pretty sure that phrase is used liberally.
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I totally agree with Lapis2 and GreenCup.

 

I also believe that there's social stigma attached to benzo use (implying mental or personal weakness, character defect, etc), that's why there's so much sneaking around, and thus business for internet pharmacies.  Educating, especially the young, is key in addressing this problem, we need to change the social attitude and re-program them.  When it's out in the open with the right social attitude, there's less sneaking around and potential for abuse.

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A lot of this stuff is being bought and sold on the darknet (fully-encrypted and untraceable TOR), with transactions in untraceable bitcoin and shipments in harmless-looking packages with fake return addresses.  The manufacturing can take place anywhere in the world.  There really is no fix for this.  Education?  Peer-pressure and need to belong and "be cool" trumps education every time.  The epidemic has to run its course and hopefully burn out on its own.  When kids see the destruction and the pain and realize on their own (as they did with cigarettes) that it's not cool anymore.

Kids have never been more "educated" about the effects of drugs here in Australia. There have been great incentives to educate school age children from 5 years to 18 years since the early 1980's. These kids knew all about peer pressure, autonomy, the danger of illicit drugs, alcohol, smoking, better than any generation before them, yet the prevalence of drug abuse has been enormous, regardless. Kid's know how to doctor shop for benzos, now they surf the dark net (TERRIFYING!!)!! It's SO unhelpful (should be a criminal offence!) when their movie/music icons laugh about popping "Xannies"!! These kids (and so called movie "stars") are also well aware of the drug related deaths of the likes of  their hero's such as Kurt Cobain, Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Anna Nicole Smith, the list goes on and on.

 

In the mid 1990's, my daughter's 15 year old friend died in a car accident, the car was driven by her older sister (18 years old). The sister said to my daughter "It's ok, Jessica is up with Kurt pulling cones!" Shortly after, the drugs in fashion became ecstasy, then GBH, now Ice, and a cocktail of the above laced with benzos. It's a crazy world, wish we could prevent all this. Perhaps, like PhotoBug says; drugs just need to somehow run their course until they become "uncool" might be the resolve? Not sure? Can only hope!! Smoking is "taboo" among adults here (prohibited just about everywhere and adults are literally embarrassed to be seen smoking); but kids still smoke regardless of the unattractive packaging, hideous real photos showing how their teeth will rot, limbs amputated, and "heavy" messages used on the packaging as warnings, TV advertising showing real people who are on deaths door pleading to kids not to smoke, also pricing being around $40 a packet!

 

Is it true that in America drug companies are allowed to advertise pharmaceuticals such as AD's on television?

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That's a pretty powerful piece of writing, Harmonee. Thank you for sharing that.

 

I'm in Canada, and like in Australia, pharmaceutical advertising is not allowed. It's only allowed in the U.S. and in New Zealand, as far as I know. Of course, we're highly influenced by the U.S. and many people get U.S. TV from across the border, so we've all seen those ads. I don't watch TV, though, so it's not really part of my life.

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"Addictive anti-anxiety drug widely available through online pharmacies", reads the article about teens in Quebec. It's really saddening to think of young people taking these meds and having no idea how dangerous they are. If kids start taking Xanax in high school, the long-term effects on their lives could be devastating.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/xanax-high-schools-counterfeit-teens-1.4646820

 

This is really sad.  If kids only knew.  They are playing with fire.

 

They should be told::

 

“Never ever trust a Benzodiazaphine. Never”

 

The brain’s prefrontal cortex and frontal lobe are still developing in the early 20s.

 

https://www.bustle.com/articles/92889-3-ways-your-brain-changes-in-your-twenties-according-to-science

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