Historically, 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 .......
WASHINGTON — Texans in Congress are pushing bipartisan legislation to increase access to fentanyl testing strips after a similar effort fizzled in the Texas Legislature earlier this year. The legislation comes after a bill to decriminalize the test strips passed the Texas House but died in the Senate despite support … Continue to full story .......
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 .......
“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
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 .......
Despite 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 .......
Alcohol plays an outsize role in firearm fatalities. An estimated one in three individuals who committed homicide with a firearm had been heavily drinking when they murdered their victims. More than 30 percent of gun homicide victims had been heavily drinking when they were killed, and a quarter of 
Nearly 70% of the time “alcohol to-go” was ordered for delivery or pick-up, no ID was requested. Due to the pandemic, many small businesses were kept afloat thanks to new laws such as ‘alcohol to go’ passed in 2021. It allows beer, wine, and mixed drinks to be included in … Continue to full story .......
Austin Public Health (APH) has published a new dashboard that will help community members access and view data on opioid overdoses. These efforts are part of preventing new overdoses – and especially deaths. “This dashboard is part of an ongoing commitment by Austin Public Health and community partners to prevent
Helping teens maintain their mental health is more important than ever. Focus on helping them improve handling stress and relating to others by encouraging social interactions and emotional awareness, says Austin Oaks Hospital.
Ideas for maintaining mental health this summer:
Try a new activity or learn a new sport … Continue to full story .......
What appears more certain is that levels of THC in cannabis products have risen in recent years, according to an analysis, published in 2020 in the Addiction journal, of 80,000 cannabis samples collected in the United States and Europe. Minors’ illegal use of cannabis products has become a concern in … Continue to full story .......
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Preventing Opioid Misuse Among Girls – Community of Practice (CoP) grant from the Federal Office of Womens Health