A new study finds that involvement in a spiritual or religious community, service attendance, meditation, and prayer can reduce an individuals’ risk of dangerous alcohol and drug use by 13%. This reduction was even greater (18%) for individuals attending religious services at least once per week. The results were consistent … Continue to full story .......
Austin-area residents are being warned about cychlorphine, a newly identified synthetic opioid that early lab data suggest is several times stronger than fentanyl and tied to dozens of deaths across the country. The drug can be pressed into fake pills or mixed into street powders without a user’s knowledge, turning … Continue to full story .......
Mental health conversations took center stage Tuesday at Travis County Commissioners Court, as leaders launched an initiative on children’s mental health. The plan, called “Connecting the Dots for Children’s Mental Health,” is a five-year strategy designed to strengthen families, expand services and make it easier for children and … Continue to full story .......
A large new study published in JAMA Health Forum, reports that teens who use cannabis may have a substantially greater chance of developing serious psychiatric conditions by young adulthood. The longitudinal study followed 463,396 adolescents ages 13 to 17 through age 26 and found that cannabis use in the past
In a risk/benefit analysis for cannabis most people don’t realize that adolescents and young adults obtain no benefits from cannabis use, although they are the most likely to be harmed by regular or high-dose use. Adolescence and young adulthood are also life stages when suicidal behaviors, mood disorders, and substance
The rates of substance use among US high school students have been declining over the last decade, with decreasing overall trends observed in use of alcohol, marijuana, illicit drugs, and prescription opioids. Despite these improvements, the latest data (2023) indicate that 22% of high school students currently consume alcohol and … Continue to full story .......
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Friday instructed state senators to study a broad range of policy issues ahead of next year’s legislative session, including THC and more. Patrick indicated a continued focus on banning hemp-based THC products, charging the Health and Human Services Committee with studying “the impact of THC … Continue to full story .......
The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man in connection to the fentanyl death of a mother. Garrett Wise is accused of selling fentanyl to 30-year-old Jensen Anders who later died. 33-year-old Garrett Wise was taken into custody on March 19 for the death of Jensen Anders.
Sheriff Matthew
New state rules that eliminate natural smokeable hemp products and increase licensing fees will go into effect at the end of the month of March 2026. Hemp industry leaders say these new regulations will eliminate a majority of their inventory and force those who don’t have extra income to meet
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — An 18-year-old Northern Arizona University student died after attending a fraternity hazing event. The Autopsy for Colin Martinez revealed a BAC level of .425%—more than 5 times the legal limit— now 3 fraternity members have been arrested for hazing. Medical findings showed that the 18-year-old suffered from
In December of 2025, Janica Mendenhall took her daughter to a local urgent care. The 16-year-old had a respiratory infection with excessive coughing that worried her mother. Providers at the clinic sent the teen to a nearby hospital – her condition reported as “severe complications of the flu, exacerbated by
Williamson County commissioners have voted to expand the alcohol sales buffer zone around churches, schools and hospitals. In Texas, the typical buffer zone is 300 feet past the property line, but state law allows it to be expanded to 1000 feet, or about the length of three football fields. The … Continue to full story .......
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