Page 103 - March-2015-Life-in-Naples-Magazine

“We are thrilled that a majority Classical Music.
of our teens are drug and It’s In Our Nature.

alcohol free and recognize that Just like all of us, classical music lives
and breathes. Make it part of your lifestyle.
”there’s still more work to do. Tune to Classical South Florida on the
radio or online. It’s in your nature.
In order to keep our healthy kids healthy, it’s important to validate
the positive choices that so many of our kids make each day and help classicalsouthflorida.org
them understand that they are actually in the majority and are not
alone when they choose to stay drug and alcohol free. “It’s not that
complicated and it starts in elementary school,” Soulis added.

Dr. Tim Portinga, Senior Clinician and Clinical Supervisor of
Hazelden’s mental health clinic in Plymouth, MN also spoke to
the group about his experiences in working with adolescents in
treatment. As our culture condones use, the use tends to perpetuate.
“We build a house of cards and move into it,” he explained. This was
of particular interest with attendees especially in light of growing
efforts to legalize marijuana.

Lower perception of harm rates surrounding marijuana
contribute to its overall use and directly impacts youth. Dr. Portinga
explained how marijuana is “the great demotivator,” and said that
one in eight teens that use marijuana will become addicted and for
those who start in their early teens, one in six will develop cannabis
dependency. Although most teens are not using marijuana, it’s
important to clarify misperceptions.

“With such a positive reduction in overall drug use among local
teens, we celebrate the collaborative work of our community in
protecting our children from substance abuse,” said Melanie Black,
Executive Director of Drug Free Collier. “We are thrilled that a
majority of our teens are drug and alcohol free and recognize that
there’s still more work to do,” she added. “It’s up to all of us to be part
of the solution.”

LEFT: DRUG FREE COLLIER’S CORE SOCIETY IS WORKING TO CHANGE LOCAL 103
TEEN PERCEPTIONS ABOUT DRUG USE.
MIDDLE: RENEE SOULIS EXPLAINS HOW TEEN PERCEPTIONS IMPACT LOCAL
DRUG USE.
RIGHT: DR.TIM PORTINGA SPEAKS TO LOCAL TEACHERS ABOUT HIS
EXPERIENCES IN WORKING WITH ADOLESCENTS IN TREATMENT.

Life in Naples | March 2015