ADDICTION IS A COMPLEX DISEASE.
IT AFFECTS THE FUNCTIONING OF THE BRAIN AND BODY.
PEOPLE ABUSE SUBSTANCES LIKE DRUGS AND
ALCOHOL FOR VARIED REASONS.
THEY ENGAGE IN BEHAVIORS THAT BECOME
COMPULSIVE AND OFTEN CONTINUE DESPITE HARMFUL CONSEQUENCES.
HOW DOES HARMFUL SUBSTANCE USE AND ADDICTIVE BEHAVIORS DAMAGE
THE BRAIN?
CONNECTING POINT'S RAY HERSHEL SAT DOWN WITH AN EXPERT IN THE
FIELD, DR.
RUTH POTEE, THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR FOR ADDICTION
SERVICES FOR THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH NETWORK TO LEARN MORE
ABOUT WHAT DRUG USE DOES TO OUR BRAINS, AND WHY PEOPLE BECOME
ADDICTS.
>> YOU KNOW, I THINK FOR SO LONG WE HAVE STIGMATIZED PEOPLE WHO
STRUGGLE WITH A SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDER AND ACTED FAS THEY'RE
BAD PEOPLE OR WEAK PEOPLE YET ALL OF US STRUGGLE.
I MEAN, IF WE'RE BEING HONEST WITH OURSELVES MANY OF US EAT
TOO MANY COLLEGE WE TURN TO FOOD AND SUGAR FOR COMFORT AND WE
HAVE BEHAVIORS THAT ACTUALLY ISN'T HEALTHY AND SOMETIMES IT'S
FOOD, SOMETIMES IT'S ALCOHOL AND WHAT WE KNOW IS WE UNDERSTAND
ABOUT BRAIN SCIENCE IS WITH ANY SUBSTANCE, WHETHER IT'S NICOTINE
OR MARIJUANA OR OPIATES OR ALCOHOL, YOU DISRUPT THE
NEUROTRANSMITTERS IN THE BRAIN.
NOT ANY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IN THE BRAIN WITH
ANXIETY, DEPOSITION AND ANOTHER MAJOR MOOD DISORDER OR QUITE
HONESTLY THE WAY TRANSMITTERS CAN GET DISRUPTED IN THE
PANCREAS WITH DIABETES.
WHEN YOU THINK THE BRAIN IS A ORGAN AND THE THINGS CAN GET
ARRAY HOW DOES IT FIGURE IN WITH THE KIDNEY.
IT'S A DISEASE.
IT'S A DISEASE THAT HAS MANY ORIGINS.
>> AND IN TERMS OF THE DAMAGE OF BRAIN.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE -- I KNOW YOUNG BRAINS ARE SUSCEPBLY
SUSCEPTIBLE.
YOUNG PEOPLE UNDER THE AGE OF 21.
TALK ABOUT THE PHYSIOLOGY ABOUT THAT.
>> I WOULD SAY UNTIL AGE 25 -- THE BRAIN IS FULLY DEVELOPING UP
UNTIL THE AGE OF 25 AND WE KNOW ADDICTION IS CONSIDERED A
PEDIATRIC DISEASE.
IF YOU ASK SOMEBODY WHO STARTED WITH A SUBSTANCE HOW OLD WHEN
YOU HAD A SUBSTANCE WAS IT MARIJUANA, NICOTINE, HOW OLD
YOU.
THE AVERAGE AGE IS 12 TO 13.
THERE'S ALMOST NOBODY WHO SAYS OH, I'M DOING FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN MY LIFE WHEN I WAS 30.
IT JUST DOESN'T HAPPEN THAT WHAT I IT STARTS TO GROOVE DOWN IN
THE BRAIN WHILE THE BRAIN IS PLASTIC AND DEVELOPING AND ONE
OF THE REASONS I'M COMING TO WEST SPRINGFIELD HIGH SCHOOL TO
TALK ABOUT ADDICTION IS BECAUSE I AM ONE OF MANY PEOPLE WHO
BELIEVES THIS IS A PREVENT VALUABLE DISEASE.
IF EVERYBODY HAD THE KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU AND I HAVE, THIS IS A
DISEASE THAT DOESN'T HAVE TO EXIST.
>> SPEAKING OF THAT EVENT, IT'S GOING TO BE THURSDAY, JANUARY
23RD, WEST SPRINGFIELD HIGH SCHOOL, 6:00.
YOU'LL BE SPEAKING.
WHAT WILL YOUR MESSAGE BE TO YOUR COMMUNITY AT THAT POINT?
WHAT'S THE MAJOR POINT YOU WANT TO BRING HOME TO THEM?
>> I THINK THE MAJOR POINT IS THE ONE YOU ALREADY BROUGHT UP
THAT THIS IS A PREVENTABLE DISEASE.
I ACTUALLY SPEND A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT ADOLESCENT BRAIN
DEVELOPMENT AND EXACTLY WHAT GOES AWRY.
I TALKED ABOUT MARIJUANA BECAUSE MARIJUANA HAS BECOME THE
NORMALIZED DRUG AND WHEN YOU THINK OF THE AVERAGE YOUNG
PERSON WHAT THEY THINK IT'S GOOD.
IT SOLVES ALL MY PERSON, AND IT'S LEGAL.
IT HELPS ME BE BETTER IN THE CLASSROOM AND AS AN ATHLETE.
WHAT THEY KNOW ABOUT MARIJUANA AND WHAT WE KNOW AS SCIENTISTS,
PEDIATRICIANS, THERE'S A WIDE CHASM OF THOSE TWO THINGS.
I SPEND TIME TALKING ABOUT VAPING.
AS YOU KNOW PEOPLE ARE PARTICULARLY ADOLESCENTS VAPING
BOTH NICOTINE PRODUCT ALSO MARIJUANA PRODUCTS, I COVER OVER
A PERIOD OF OVER AN HOUR -- MOST OF THE SUBSTANCES THAT WE MIGHT
STRUGGLE WITH.
>> WE HEAR A LOT ABOUT VAPING THESE DAYS, WHAT DO YOU SEE IN
YOUR LINE OF WORK ABOUT VAPING.
HOW DANGEROUS IS VAPING?
>> WE HAVE BEEN SEEING FOR THE LAST 4 YEARS A RESURGENCE OF --
A RETURN TO A NICOTINE ADDICTION.
IT HAS BEEN THE FASTEST RETURN TO SOMETHING WE'VE EVER SEEN
SINCE WE'VE BEEN COLLECTING DATA IN THE LAST 40 YEARS, SO OUR
KIDS ARE SO SMART AND THEY HAD TURNED THEIR BACK ON NICOTINE
AND DISGUSTED ABOUT CIGARETTES.
IF YOU ASK THE AVERAGE PERSON THEY'RE DISGUSTING THEY'RE
TERRIBLE AND CAUSE BLADDER CANCER AND THEN THIS COOL THIS
HIGH TECH DESK THOUGHT IT WAS WATER VAPOR AND FLAVORING.
IT WASN'T THAT AND THERE'S OTHER CHEMICALS WHICH WE DON'T
UNDERSTAND HOW THEY IMPACT THE BODY AND A KIDS A THIRD OF HIGH
SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE VAPING RESIGNING AND IT'S A ROUTINELY
ADDICTIVE AND A LOT OF IT HAS NICOTINE WHICH IS ADDICTIVE.
>> WHAT ARE THE RISK FACTORS IN TERMS OF ADDICTION -- WHY DO
PEOPLE BECOME INVOLVED IN ADDICTION.
I KNOW GENETICS IS PARTLY OF THE EQUATION, TOO, BUT TALK ABOUT
THE RISK FACTORS AND HOW PEOPLE GET HOOKED ON ADDICTION.
>> I WOULD SAY THERE'S 3, MAYBE 4 THINGS THAT ARE SET UP.
GENETICS IS A BIG ONE.
SO IF YOU HAVE A PARENT OR GRANDPARENT WHO STRUGGLES YOU
HAVE A 50% OF SOMEONE SUFFERING WITH A SUBSTANCE ABUSE ITSELF.
YOU DON'T GET TO CHOOSE YOUR PARENTS OR GRANDPARENTS BUT I'M
A BELIEVER TALKING TO YOUR KIDS ABOUT THE GENETIC RISK IS MAKING
BETTER DECISIONS.
SO STARTING ANY ADDICTIVE SUBSTANCE DURING ADOLESCENCE IS
THE SET -- IF YOU POSTPONE YOUR USE OF EVERYTHING UNTIL AFTER
YOUR BRAIN IS FULLY DEVELOPED, 24, 25 THE LIKELIHOOD OF
DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION IS 2%.
THE THIRD ONE THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IS HAVING A VERY
TRAUMATIC CHILDHOOD.
HAVING BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO YOU, THAT MAKE YOU WANT TO ESCAPE THE
FEELING OF THOSE TRAUMATIC EVENTS.
PEOPLE WILL SELF-IS ANOTHER, SELF-MEDICATE WITH SUBSTANCES IN
ORDER TO NUMB OUT FOR TRAUMA.
SO ACKNOWLEDGING WHAT TRAUMA DOES AND GETTING OUR KIDS HELP
FOR THEIR TRAUMA OR OTHER ISSUES LIKE ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION AND
OUR KIDS HAVE HAD MORE ANXIETY OR DEPRESSION PARTLY BECAUSE
KIDS ARE GLUED TO THEIR SMART PHONES AND THAT INTERACTION WITH
A SCREEN ALL THE TIME IS NOT A CONNECTION TO ANOTHER HUMAN
BEING.
THEY'RE BEING JUDGED NOT BY THEIR MIDDLE SCHOOL FRIENDS OR
THEIR ENTIRE MATH WORLD AND THEY'RE AFFECTED BY OTHERS
OUTSIDE OF THE SCREEN.
>> I THINK YOU MADE A POINT IN YOUR RESEARCH AND TALKS BEFORE
THAT WHEN YOU TALKED ABOUT THE LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA, FOR
EXAMPLE, MARIJUANA TODAY IS DIFFERENT MARIJUANA WAS YEARS
AND YEARS.
IS IT MUCH MORE POTENT THESE DAYS.
>> THE MARIJUANA WE HAD UP UNTIL THE EARLY 90s WAS ABOUT 3% THC
WHICH IS THE PSYCHOACTIVE CANNABINOID IN MARIJUANA AND
TODAY GROWN IN THE PIONEER VALLEY MOST MARIJUANA IS SITTING
17% AND 18% AND THEN IT GETS MORE POTENT.
IF YOU BUY A CANDY BAR WITH MARIJUANA IT COULD BE 15 TO 20%
THC.
IT'S LIKE COMPARING TYLENOL TO MORPHINE THEY'RE NOT THE SAME
DRUG.
SO THOSE WHO GETS ADDICTED TO MARIJUANA IS HIGHER THAN WE'VE
EVER SEEN.
KIDS WILL SAY IT'S NOT ADDICTIVE.
THAT'S NOT TRUE.
>> THERE ARE PARENTS WATCHING THIS PROGRAM GOING TO WEST
SPRINGFIELD ON THURSDAY WHO ARE SAYING: WHEN SHY TALK TO MY
YOUNG CHILDREN ABOUT THESE ISSUES I TALKED ABOUT.
HOW YOUNG IF THEY START WHEN THEY TALK TO THEIR KIDS?
>> YEP, SO HERE YOU AND I ALREADY SAID THE AVERAGE AGE OF
FIRST USE IS 12, 13, AND 14.
THAT'S SEVENTH AND EIGHTH GRADE.
SO REALLY YOU SHOULD BE HAVING THE CONVERSATION IN FIFTH AND
SIXTH GRADE.
I MEAN, YOU WOULD HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH A KIRNER ABOUT
DRUGS AND HERE'S HOW THE KINDERGARTEN WOULD GO.
IF YOU EVER FOUND A PILL ON THE GROUND, DON'T TOUCH IT.
GET AN ADULT.
COMMON DRUGS COULD KILL A KIRNER.
IT HAS TO BE AGE APPROPRIATE BUT IN FIFTH AND SIXTH GRADE THAT'S
WHEN OUR KIDS ARE EXPERIMENTING WITH VAPING PRODUCTS SO HAVING A
CONVERSATION THAT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S IN THIS, LOW AND BEHOLD
IT'S ACTUALLY HARMFUL YOU CAN SUCCUMB TO PEER PRESSURE BUT YOU
COULD BE THE KIND OF KID I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT.
I WANT TO PROTECT MY LUNGS AND BRAIN.
>> IS THERE THINGS A PARENT SHOULD BE LOOKING OUT FOR WITH A
YOUNG PERSON GETTING INTO AN ADDICTION ISSUE.
>> IT DEPENDS THE SUBSTANCE WHICH WAY I WOULD SAY IS CLUES.
VAPING IF WE'RE GOING TO TAKE VAPING AT A YOUNG AGE RIGHT NOW,
IT ALL HAS A VERY STRONG SMELL TO IT.
SO ONE OF THE AMAZING THINGS THAT MASSACHUSETTS DID BOTH THE
LEGISLATIVE BODIES AND GOVERNOR BAKER, THEY HAVE SIGNED WHAT NO
OTHER STATE HAS DONE WE HAVE BANNED ALL FLAVORED VAPING AND
HAVING SAID THAT THERE'S A COMPUTER ON YOUR SMART PHONE YOU
CAN ORDER ANYTHING ONLINE TO GET SHIPPED TO AND IF YOU'RE WALKING
IN AND IT'S ROUTINELY SMELLING LIKE WATERMELON, BUBBLEGUM AND
IT'S VERY INTENSE IT COULD BE IS MY KID VAPING.
IT COULD BE A CANAL BUT IT'S CONCERNING WHEN THAT SMELL IS
WHEREVER.
>> EVERY EVERYWHERE.
>> AND LAST LAST QUESTION ONE PARENT SHOULD NEVER LOSE HOPE.
THERE'S HOPE AND HELP FOR PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO ARE ADDICTED.
>> PEOPLE GET BETTER AND IT'S NOT EASY AND IT DOESN'T HAPPEN
THE FIRST TIME AND IT'S NEVER A STRAIGHT PATH.
IT'S A REALLY MESSY PATH.
THESE DAYS OPIATES ARE KILLING PEOPLE.
IT'S A DEADLY DISEASE AND STICKING BY YOUR KID AND HAVING
HOPE IS ONE OF BEST THINGS YOU CAN DO.
IT IS DEVASTATING TO FAMILIES AND IT'S NOT EASY TO LOVE
SOMEONE WHO STRUGGLES THAT MUCH.
THEY HAVE DONE HARM, THEY HAVE DONE HARM TO YOUR RELATIONSHIP
WITH THEM AND TO SOCIETY AND TO THEMSELVES AS A PARENT MYSELF OF
3 KIDS IT'S A DEVASTATING THING TO WATCH BUT DON'T LOSE HOPE
BECAUSE PEOPLE GET BETTER.
WITH TIME PEOPLE CAN HEAL. ♪