TEEN MARIJUANA USE UP, ALCOHOL USE DOWN

A NEW US SURVEY SHOWS A SURGE
IN DRUG USE AMONG HIGH SCHOOLERS

WASHINGTON (AP) - In what can be termed as a disturbing national trend of marijuana use among eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders, a new government survey found it to be the most widely used illicit drug by teens today, beating cigarette smoking. America’s teens are using more marijuana and less alcohol, according to an annual government study of eighth–, 10th– and 12th–graders across the country. Some 6.1 percent of high–school seniors reported using marijuana this year, up from 5.2 percent in 2009, according to the Monitoring the Future survey released by the National Institutes of Health. Marijuana use by 10th–graders climbed from 2.8 percent to 3.3 percent, and for eighth–grade students it edged up from 1.0 percent to 1.2 percent. “These high rates of marijuana use during the teen and preteen years, when the brain continues to develop, place our young people at particular risk,” said Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
On the other hand, binge drinking is on the decline. While 23.2 percent of high school seniors reported having five or more drinks in a row, that’s down from 25.2 percent a year earlier. On other topics the survey found: Use of ecstasy, which had declined in the early 2000s, is on the increase again. There was a small increase in teens injecting heroin, but only among 12th–graders. Use of cocaine remained low after declining from levels in the 1980s and 1990s. The survey conducted by the University of Michigan covered 46,482 students in 396 schools.


According to statistics which assesses drug and alcohol use among American youth, the rate of high school seniors who used marijuana rose by 10 % or more over the last year. The reason: heavy marijuana use during adolescence and pre-adolescence, when the brain continues to develop, influencing learning, trial and motor skills, and also causes adolescents to become addicted. Thus, marijuana's use not only can harm teens' short-term performance, but also their long-term potential. Drug overrides the intelligence and prevents us to grow and advance spiritually.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Drugs symbolize the escape, escape from ordinary life boring, a life without courage and without philosophy, a refuge in the darkest ignorance. ... Many of those who use drugs become depressed, and also have to start taking pills not to go crazy. Thus, they cause much pain to everyone, even friends they have to leave. Drug leads people to do ugly things, like stealing from loved ones what they need, abuse the feelings of others and their rights. ... Drug and drug addicts are the symbol of the deviation from the path to God. The desire of enjoyment leads them to destroy everything in life, even love, that precious aspect of each that allows shaping the self to please God and other beings. This precious love becomes totally unavailable for the addict. Krishna is the only thing that can save us. The great Master Swami Prabhupada revealed the secret knowledge of ancient Vedic scriptures and thus saved many of the drug. ... In conclusion, the lack of spiritual awareness and a materialistic mentality are one of the causes of drug addiction.

Śrīla Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Mahārāja :
“Yoga vs. Drugs”
“Vedic Wisdom Collection”
http://www.sabiduriavedica.org/sv.php?id=48_57
http://luchasindrogas.blogspot.com/2007/09/yoga-vs-droga.html
http://bhaktipedia.org/english/index.php

FIREWORKS & FLAMES: WORLD GREETS 2011

WORLD CELEBRATES NEW YEAR
FIREWORKS TO MARK START OF 2011

www.voanews.com - Revelers around the world are marking the start of the New Year with celebrations and fireworks displays. South-Pacific countries are the first to mark New Year’s Day as the rest of the world counts down to the event. The New Year first reached the tiny Pacific island nation of Kiribati. New Zealanders welcomed 2011 with a spectacular firework show in Auckland and celebrations elsewhere, while in Sydney, Australia, at least 1.5 million people gathered for the annual fireworks show on the Harbour Bridge. At midnight in Dubai, fireworks exploded from all sides of the world’s tallest building. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered along Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor to watch fireworks explode from the roofs of 10 of the city’s most famous buildings. About a quarter-million people watched the colours of the Union Jack light up the sky over the River Thames in London.

In Madrid, about 50,000 people gathered in the central Puerta del Sol square for Las Uvas, or “the grapes,” a tradition in which people eat a grape for each of the 12 chimes of midnight. North America’s first 2011 celebrations will be in Newfoundland and Labrador, while south of the border in New York City, about one million blizzard-hardened revelers are expected to cram into midtown Manhattan for the traditional midnight ball drop at Times Square. The city has been reeling from a heavy snowfall earlier in the week that brought air and ground traffic in and around the city to a near-standstill for several days. With 32,256 LED lights and 2,688 Waterford crystals, the four-meter-wide Times Square ball had a picture-perfect test run on Thursday.


Nearly 45 % of Americans will make one or more New Year’s resolutions. The top resolutions we make have to do with eating healthy, weight loss, exercise or quitting smoking. Typically, 75 % of people who make a resolution stick to it within the first week. After six months the number drops to 46 % of people who are still following their resolution. Today is a Day for Reflection. New Year’s Day marks the beginning of a new opportunity to be better human beings. It is a time to reflect upon the past, be grateful to our spiritual masters, think over the lessons they have taught us and look forward to strengthen our humble efforts to revive and refresh God consciousness everywhere in the world.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The real problems of the world, and the solutions to the problems, are revealed by the grace of God to the simple heart. ... So harmonizing the temporary phenomena of this world, of what comes into our lives, with the higher principle of bhakti - watering the root of the tree - is the only solution. In this year of 2010 the world is really a mess. Economically it is a mess. There are wars and potential wars in so many places. There are persecutions and harassments and genocides. There are ecological disasters growing worse and worse. So many problems. ... We are coming into this new decade, 2010. Let us try to re-habituate ourselves to have simple hearts and resolve the complications of the world with the simple solutions and never leave that. ... It means to be the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant and feel oneself “anu”, very grateful. If you feel yourself qualified for something, you are not grateful. If you feel yourself unqualified, you are really grateful. So when you are humble you can be grateful, and when you become grateful you become full of greatness, because you become full of Krishna, who is great.

Śrīla Radhanath Swami Mahārāja :
“Thoughts For The New Year”
A talk on January 2, 2010 at Bhaktivedanta Manor, England
www.radhanathswami.com
www.radhanathswamiweekly.com
http://jivacow.blogspot.com/2010/01/thoughts-for-new-year-by-radhanath.html