Latrisha Whitelatch Interviewed on "Comcast Local Edition"

Substance abuse prevention director Latrisha Whitelatch appeared on "Comcast Local Edition," which airs on Comcast's HLN in Ohio and Marshall counties, during the month of December. Whitelatch talked about the work of the Marshall County Family Resource Network, the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition and the Marshall County Winter Carnival on Dec. 31.

You can see the entire five-minute interview with WTRF/Comcast Local Edition's Stacy Rich below, or you can check out the video on YouTube here.

Marijuana Making Comeback With Teens

Marijuana is becoming more popular among teens, drug czar Gil Kerlikowske said in the "Monitoring the Future" study of the nation's 8th, 10th and 12th graders that was released Monday by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Fewer 8th and 10th graders perceive "great risk" in using marijuana and disapproval of marijuana use is also declining, ONDCP said. Marijuana use among youth has been flat for the past three years after several years of declines.

Other findings:

-- Seven of the 10 most-abused drugs by high school seniors are prescription or over-the-counter drugs. Twenty percent of 12th graders used marijuana within the past month, up from 18.3 percent in 2006.

-- Inhalant use among 10th graders has increased.

-- Teens alcohol use has declined but it's still the most commonly abused substance.

-- Fewer 10th graders see binge drinking as harmful and fewer high school seniors see problems with having one or two drinks daily.

"The 2009 Monitoring the Future study is a warning sign, and the continued erosion in youth attitudes and behavior toward substance abuse should give pause to all parents and policymakers," Kerlikowske said in a statement. "Considering the troublesome data from other national and local surveys, these latest data confirm that we must redouble our efforts to implement a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to preventing and treating drug use."

For more information, see the ONDCP news release here.

In Marshall County, the Anti-Drug Coalition has been seeing some disturbing trends as well. According to the 2008 PRIDE Survey of students, 6th to 8th graders report their first use of alcohol as 11 and marijuana is 12. The survey found that 3.1 percent of Marshall County students said they used marijuana within the past year. Among 9th through 12th graders, 15.6 percent used marijuana within the last year.

For information about Marshall County trends from the 2008 PRIDE Survey, please see here.

Should TV and Radio Stations Accept Marijuana Advertising?

Medical marijuana has been decriminalized in 13 states, even though it's still illegal under federal law. That has put media outlets into a bind when it comes to deciding whether to accept advertising from marijuana dispensaries. The Poynter Institute writes about that issue today.

The Denver Post and a Sacramento radio station, for example, are accepting advertising. A Denver alternative weekly paper is even running reviews of marijuana dispensaries.

The National Association of Broadcasters isn't taking a stand on whether stations should take the ads or not. NAB executive vp Dennis Wharton said the trade group's legal experts say there doesn't appear to be an law preventing a station from airing a medical marijuana ad. Yet the Poynter Institute said that the station should think about what kind of reaction the public would have and check with its own lawyers.

Kentucky Courts Review Cases Involving Pregnant Women Who Use Drugs

The Louisville Courier-Journal writes that Kentucky's Supreme Court is looking again at a decision involving a mother and a newborn who both tested positive cocaine after the child's birth.

Ina Cochran had been charged following her daughter's birth but the charge was later dismissed on the grounds that an unborn child doesn't qualify as a person in the state's penal code. Now the indictment has been brought again after an appeal by prosecutors.

"It would be absurd to recognize the viable fetus as a person for purposes of homicide laws but not for the purposes of statutes proscribing child abuse," said the Kentucky attorney general. That includes pregnant mothers who abuse drugs, they say.

But others, including Cochran's lawyers and women's groups, say that such prosecutions will discourage women from prenatal care and hospital births.

Times Profiles A. Thomas McLellan

The New York Times profiles A. Thomas McLellan, who became deputy director of the Office on National Drug Control Policy in August.

McLellan was professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert on addiction when he was asked by vice president Joe Biden to join the government. For McLellan, the issues are not just professional. His youngest son died at age 30 last year from an overdose; his older son has been in residential treatment and his wife is a recovering cocaine addict.

"I thought it was some kind of sign, you know," McLellan told The TImes. "I would never have done it. I loved all the people I've worked with, I loved my life. But I thought maybe there's a way where what I know plus what I feel could make a difference."

More of the story here.