Looking back, Brian Unwin said a lot of warning signs were evident.

But he and his wife, Julie, didn’t know initially that those signs pointed to their teenage son’s abuse of over-the-counter drugs.

First, they noticed a change in his moods. His temper flared up. His grades declined. He changed friends.

Occasionally, they’d notice a bottle of cough medicine or Coricidin pills were missing. They thought they just forgot that their supply was low. Sometimes, their son asked for cold medication. A large bottle of mouthwash was depleted quickly. Vanilla extract disappeared.

“They should have been early warning signs to us,” said Unwin, who, along with his wife, helped create The 24 Group. The Indianapolis-based non-profit organization educates the public about the effects of substance abuse on families, based on parents’ firsthand experiences.

Like many parents, the Unwins didn’t realize their son was “robo tripping” — abusing cold and cough medication to get high. The problem has caught the attention of federal health regulators, who announced earlier this month they’re considering restrictions on the sale of these over-the-counter medications.

As is sometimes the case, the Unwins’ son didn’t stop with robo tripping. His substance abuse problems escalated to prescription pain drugs, alcohol, marijuana and speed until he overdosed on Oxycontin and decided to get clean. A treatment specialist called him a drugstore junkie.

“He would take anything to get high,” said his father. The Unwins have spoken to churches, schools and other groups in the last five years about their son’s drug use, starting at age 12, and his recovery, thanks to two years of both in-patient and outpatient treatment.

“If we hadn’t gotten him the treatment, he probably would be dead by now,” Unwin said. “He’s been clean and sober for five years. He’s working two jobs and going to college.”

The high from robo tripping is experienced from large amounts of dextromethorphan, often called DXM, found in some 125 over-the-counter cold and cough medications. Health experts say usage can be dangerous, even deadly, but that parents can take steps to try to prevent or, at least detect, abuse occurring most often in the teen years.

“I think it’s a pervasive problem,” said Dr. Aaron Whiteman, physician at the Fairbanks Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center in Indianapolis. “Many (adolescents) will start out with DXM or they may intermingle it with other drugs. I have some kids for whom the over-the-counter drugs are their favorite drugs.”

Robo tripping — also known as Robo, Skittles, Dex and Tussin — isn’t new. It first surfaced in the 1960s. The name comes from Robitussin cough medication.

Continue this story @: http://www.indystar.com/article/20100912/LIVING01/9120313/1083/Teen-abuse-of-over-the-counter-drugs-flying-under-the-radar

  The Rebellion staff traveled to Boston University for the 62nd annual Scholastic Press conference. For the second consecutive year the SKHS student paper received the Superior Achievement Award, which honors students for their hard work in journalism.

Bill Matson and Seth Noon both received individual awards for pieces they had written early in the year. Matson received the award for his piece “Dance Committee Considers Ban on Grinding” and Seth Noon for his piece “Bass Population Increase Hurts Local Fishermen.”

  The staff was proud of their work and hopes to improve on that  success next year.

St. Francis of Assisi Parish

“I felt so ashamed when I heard of the scandals in Ireland,” said Father Nicholas Smith, the Pastor at Saint Francis of Assisi Parish in Wakefield.

  Similar to many Catholics and devout priests the molestation in Ireland has left the faithful with feelings of anger and embarrassment.

  Father Smith had always remembered as a youth how admired the clergy were.

  With the surfacing of sexual abuse in the Irish Dioceses the country seems to be very different

  “I couldn’t tell you how sad it is for me to think that the Ireland I grew up in doesn’t exist anymore,” said Smith

  “Everyone considered the priesthood because of how highly they were thought of in Ireland,” recalled Smith. “Priests would come to the High Schools and make pitches about their own order.”

  Yet, with the emergence of clergy abuse, many see Irish Catholic Church as a fallen icon. Church attendance has dropped to new lows, and the new reaction of Irish citizens is to request their name be removed from the baptismal records and sever all affiliation with the Church

  “To think that the Church which dominated our lives probably too much is now irrelevant to people today saddens me immensely,” said Smith.

  After the flood of allegations in Europe, on April 21^st Pope Benedict XVI vowed “Church action” addressing those gathered in St. Peter’s Square. Benedict’s actions concerning sexual abuse have substantially differed from his predecessors.

  “It will probably consist of something that the American bishops did in America,” says Father Nick, “which is a zero tolerance policy.”

  On his trip to America in 2008, Pope Benedict did something which had never been done before. Unlike the late Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict faced the scandals head on. Recently in Malta, the Pope met and wept with victims of sexual abuse by clergy.

   “Everybody was crying, I told him my name was Joseph, and he had tears in his eyes,” Joseph Magro, one of the victims, told the Associated Press.

  While the Pope has made significant efforts to right the ship that is the Catholic Church many critics still remain skeptical of what, if any, action will be taken.

  Despite the Pope’s efforts, many still call for the Pope’s resignation.

  “There are people who say that’s not enough. The poor Pope is doing the best he can but that’s not enough,” says Smith. “No matter what he does there will be people who will say that’s not enough

  Unlike the sexual abuse scandals in America where 81 percent of the reported incidents involved a male youth as the victim, the incidents in Ireland include high profile clergy in some cases fathering children.

  The Catholic Church in Ireland has been so shaken by the scandals that three Irish bishops have resigned and two more have offered their resignations due to their lack of action in the abuse scandals. Still others call for the resignation of Irish Cardinal Sean Brady.

  In Germany, another country rocked by scandal, Bishop Walter Mixa of Augsburg offered to step down due to allegations of beating children. Mixa believes his resignation will give his diocese a “new start”. Others, such as resigned Irish Bishop Moriaty claim “renewal must begin with accepting responsibility for the past.”

  The Catholic Church for all of its greatness and charity still bears the scars of its past failing. Compared to the atrocities committed by the church in the past the sexual abuse scandals are only a footnote in the history books.

  The Church has been responsible for corruption, mass murder, and the halting of science

  “You know, Jesus chose twelve apostles, one denied him and one betrayed him and so two out of 12”, said Smith, “All the way down through time there is always that little element of failure and turning their back on Jesus and the message.  And it’s always been there.”

  According to an article run by the Associated Press, sexual abuse by clergy is not just a problem in the Catholic Church.

  In the article, three major insurance companies which insure cover the majority of Protestant churches in America revealed astounding statistics.

  On average these companies process 260 claims of children being sexually abused by protestant clergy and staff annually. In comparison, since 1950 roughly 13,000 credible American accusations have been brought against the Vatican or 228 reports per year.

  While the Catholic Church has been targeted by the media statistics show that 32 two more children are abused in protestant denominations each year.

  The actual number of incidents in both religions probably is higher due to unreported abuse.

  Father John Coughlin in New York told FOX News “Let’s be clear: the report of abuse in Protestant Churches in no way clears guilty members of the Catholic Church.”

  Statistics show that molestation of youth is not only a problem in the Catholic Church. Abuse happens everywhere, in church, sports, schools, and communities.

  “Forty five years ago when I was ordained a priest if I heard a story of a priest fiddling around with someone or doing something inappropriate he probably be reported to the bishop,” said Smith, “and the bishop would give him a telling off and that was it but it was dealt with as sin but you are forgiven.”

  The latest scandals have shown that this may longer be the case with the election of Pope Benedict XVI.