Another Hays CISD student dies from suspected fentanyl poisoning; “killing us at a rapid rate”

Report Highlights Fentanyl's Deadly Role In The Overdose Crisis : Shots - Health News : NPRThe Hays County Sheriff’s Office said a 15-year-old died from a suspected fentanyl poisoning Monday.  In May, Hays CISD said in an email to parents that six students have died due to suspected fentanyl overdoses since summer 2022.  “It’s touching every portion of Hays County. It doesn’t matter where you’re

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Drug treatment centers are closing across state; Phoenix House’s teen center in Austin among those closing

After decades of treating low-income Texans fighting substance addiction, Phoenix House Texas is closing down all six of its outpatient clinics and its last residential treatment center for teens this week because they can no longer count on the state to help fund them, the nonprofit group’s director said Tuesday.

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Should Texans be concerned about health risks of Delta-8 products? UT Health San Antonio professor comments.

Delta-8 is easily accessible, but it’s never been evaluated for safe use by the FDA.  As other states have moved toward legalizing recreational marijuana, Texas remains a holdout. But is the Lone Star State as careful as it ought to be when it comes to other cannabis products?  Take delta-8, … Continue to full story .......

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Raising Awareness About Suicidality, Self-Harm in Adolescents

With some of the most effective antidepressants containing a black box warning, safe and effective treatment for young adults is hard to come by.   We should be counseling adolescents who are starting a new antidepressant on the risks associated with suicidal ideation and self-harm.  Know the warning signs and communicate … Continue to full story .......

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Fatal Overdoses Involving Fentanyl Plus Coke, Meth Rose 50-Fold Over a Decade

Fatal ODs Involving Fentanyl Plus Coke Meth Rose 50Fold Over a Decade |  Community Healthcare SystemThis is akin to playing Russian roulette.  The “fourth wave” of the U.S. overdose crisis involves the use of illicit fentanyl mixed with stimulants such as cocaine or methamphetamine, and it’s killing people in droves. The proportion of U.S. overdose deaths involving both fentanyl and stimulants jumped by more than

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Will Texas’ new fentanyl awareness curriculum for public schools succeed where other anti-drug messaging failed?

Fentanyl Response - Elysian Fields Independent School DistrictHistorically, anti-drug messaging in schools has failed to acknowledge the mental health reasons that youth self-medicate. Without that key lesson, advocates worry House Bill 3908 will be another D.A.R.E. campaign. More than 40 years after former First Lady Nancy Reagan launched her famous “Just Say No” advertising campaign, Texas and … Continue to full story .......

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Texans in Congress now leading bipartisan efforts to allow fentanyl test strips

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Fentanyl: Accelerant of the Adolescent Opioid Crisis

Drug Overdose Symptoms - The Ranch PA %Deaths from unintentional opioid overdose have risen at an unprecedented rate over the past decade, with extraordinarily broad geographic and sociodemographic reach. Although there has been a significant focus on the opioid epidemic among adults, adolescents and young adults have experienced a greater increase in overdose mortality than the general … Continue to full story .......

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Adolescent Substance Use: Reasons for Optimism and Concern

Although adolescent substance use is a topic that can be challenging for families and clinicians alike, data demonstrate that interventions during this time are effective for preventing, identifying, and reducing risky use.”  There are reasons to be optimistic about adolescent substance use given an overall consistent decline in use

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“We have the ‘teenage mental health crisis’ wrong; Depression drives social media use, not the other way around,” says Salon Commentary

Full analysis of the CDC’s massive survey data conclusively shows social media is a trivial issue, according to a Salon Commentary.  Parents’ and household grownups’ abuses are the major factor closely associated with every serious teenage trouble — a reality institutional America clearly does not want to engage. The correlation … Continue to full story .......

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Study shows that law enforcement strategies to curb underage drinking has decreased over past decade

Minor Alcohol Sting | Aransas Pass Police DepartmentDespite the harm that excessive alcohol consumption can cause in a community, use of some alcohol-related enforcement strategies remained low or decreased from 2010 to 2019, according to a new report in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. In particular, researchers found a drop in enforcement of underage … Continue to full story .......

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Alcohol plays an outsize role in firearm fatalities, says new report about alcohol as a risk factor for gun violence

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