In the News: The Link Between Cannabis Use and Psychosis
A study posted on March 19th, 2019 by the U.K. medical journal The Lancet – “The Contribution of Cannabis Use to Variation in the Incidence of Psychotic Disorder Across Europe” caused quite a stir in the U.S. media in the weeks following its publication. The headlines generated by several high-volume, high-exposure media outlets trended toward […]
Alcohol Awareness Month: Help for Today, Hope for Tomorrow
In 1987, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) established Alcohol Awareness Month. Their goal was to reduce stigma around alcohol and alcoholism by reaching out to the nation each April with facts about alcohol, alcohol abuse, and recovery. In the beginning, a primary purpose of Alcohol Awareness Month was countering the idea […]
Drug and Alcohol Facts Week: The Latest Data on Adolescent Drinking
In 2010, a group of scientists at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) launched an important initiative. Their goal: teach teenagers the real facts about drug use and drug addiction. By real facts, we – and the scientists who began the initiative – mean those facts supported by research, backed by data, and published […]
National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week: The Effects of Alcohol on The Major Organs
This article follows up on the information presented in our post Alcohol Awareness Month: Help for Today, Hope for Tomorrow. In that article, we presented a string of statistics about teens and alcohol. We asked you to think about how to use this latest round of data from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) […]
Know the Signs and Symptoms of Drug Overdose
We’re sure you’ve all heard of the opioid crisis. It’s been in the news for the past several years for good reason: the number of deaths due to overdose and the rates of opioid addiction are impossible to ignore. Part of this is due to the increase in prescriptions for opioid pain relievers, which often […]
Marijuana Decriminalization: Effect on Use in Teenagers
Back in 2012, when citizens in the states of Washington and Colorado voted to legalize recreational marijuana use, critics predicted doom and gloom. People who see marijuana as a gateway to harder drugs like cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine were convinced things would go haywire. Legal pot would mean easier access for everyone, not just the […]
Teens Want to Know: Do I Have an Alcohol Problem? Take the Quiz
Let’s get something out of the way right from the start: you’re the one reading this article. Only you. Not your parents, not your teachers, and not your friends. Just you. So there’s no reason to be anything other than completely honest. We mean honest with yourself, in your mind, as you read what we […]
Facts About Secondhand Marijuana Smoke
Dangers of Secondhand Smoke First, let’s talk about cigarettes. Secondhand cigarette smoke is a huge health risk: nothing new there. That’s why restaurants, bars, and even nightclubs across the U.S. are smoke-free. If you’re a teenager reading this, you might not know it used to be perfectly legal and socially acceptable to smoke cigarettes virtually […]
Why Can’t I Quit? There May Be More Than One Problem
What is Dual Diagnosis? Do you ever have bad days? Do you have lots of bad days in a row? Do they build up until you can’t stand it any longer? Until you need a release? Until you need something to numb the pain? Everyone has a bad day now and then. Some days, you […]