Call for Proposal: Prevention Practice In Action
The National Prevention Network (NPN) – the prevention component of the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD) – is pleased to announce the Call for Proposals for the 27th Annual NPN Prevention Research Conference. The planning committee is seeking proposals from high-quality prevention programming that have combined research, data, and practical application. The conference is scheduled to take place in Hartford, Connecticut, September 15 through September 18, 2014. The conference theme is “CONNECTing Healthy Communities through Prevention Research and Practice”. Click HERE for more information
Synthetic Drug More Potent Than Heroin
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services said acetyl fentanyl is an opioid analgesic drug that is up to five times more potent than heroin. It is an analog of fentanyl – a powerful narcotic analgesic – and is not available as a prescription drug in the United States. It often goes by the street name “China White.” On Wednesday 2/19/2014, North Carolina health officials said that three deaths have been linked to the synthetic drug acetyl fentanyl, and they’ve issued a health advisory. Click HERE to see the news story
Survey of Professionals Who Work with Adolescents
The North Carolina Division of Public Health is working to create the Adolescent Health Resource Center for the state of North Carolina. The center is designed to inform the public on health topics related to adolescent health, and is intended to reach adolescents, professionals who work with adolescents, and parents of adolescents. Your help is needed to build the Adolescent Health Resource Center website. Any professional in North Carolina, who specifically works with adolescents (10-24 year olds), is being asked to complete a survey designed to measure what adolescent health information professionals would like to see on the website, as well as…
Telebehavioral Health Training and Technical Assistance
The SAMHSA-HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions is pleased to offer you a new set of online trainings to establish telehealth services for mental health and substance use. The SAMHSA-HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions Telebehavioral Health Training and Technical Assistance Series is designed to help safety net providers and rural health clinics understand and adopt telebehavioral health services. The implementation of telehealth services for mental health and substance use allows for increased access to these services, particularly in rural or underserved areas. Divided into six sessions, the training will provide you with the tools and resources necessary to identify and implement a…
Distance Learning Center for Addiction Studies
The Distance Learning Center for Addiction Studies (DLCAS) is an internet based educational service that provides comprehensive training and information in the field of addiction studies. Such knowledge will help individuals stay current with the advances of the field, or will provide the educational training hours needed to either obtain or maintain a credential as a drug/alcohol counseling professional. Addiction Education by way of distance learning is an exciting format that can help save you considerable amounts of both time and money by allowing you to do your training in the comfort and convenience of your own home or office….
Colorado: Marijuana Legalization and School Disciplinary Problems
(The Denver Post) — In two years of work as an undercover officer with a drug task force, Mike Dillon encountered plenty of drugs. But nothing has surprised him as much as what he has seen in schools lately. There are no hard numbers yet because school disciplinary statistics do not isolate marijuana from general drug violations. But school resource officers, counselors, nurses, staff and officials with Colorado school safety and disciplinary programs are anecdotally reporting an increase in marijuana-related incidents in middle and high schools. “We have seen a sharp rise in drug-related disciplinary actions which, anecdotally, from credible sources,…
Flavored Tobacco On the Rise
(CNN) — More than two out of every five middle- and high-school students who smoke report using flavored little cigars or flavored cigarettes, according to the report. And the bigger concern may be that the majority of the kids who smoke the flavored cigars — some 60% — say they don’t plan to quit anytime soon (compared to 49% of all cigar smokers). This coupled with the increasing popularity of e-cigarettes and e-hookahs makes for an inevitable resurgence of tobacco as a popular product…. Click HERE to continue reading
3D Imaging Could Improve Detection of Children Affected by Prenatal Alcohol
According to a study conducted through the NIAAA-funded Collaborative Initiative on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (CIFASD), three-dimensional (3-D) imaging could allow earlier identification of children at risk for cognitive deficits from heavy prenatal alcohol exposure, especially those who lack the classic facial characteristics of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). The computerized image analysis can detect subtle changes in facial features that can occur when children are exposed to alcohol before birth. Click HERE to continue reading
Law Enforcement Utilizes New Techonology to Improve Community Ownership Among Youth
Our neighbors in Virginia are trying out the use of a new texting and email system to address the issues of substance abuse and crime in their community. One county has implemented this system for students in the county’s middle and high schools to send anonymous emails or text messages. Local County Sheriff Count Lane Perry say, “Emailing and texting are big things to the youth of today, and now, if a students sees something that really bothers them,” he said authorities can help before a situation “gets out of hand.” “Part of this effort also is to try to keep drug…
Early-Onset, Regular Cannabis Use Is Linked to IQ Decline
A NIDA-supported 25-year study of 1,000 individuals suggests regular cannabis use that starts in adolescence strips away IQ. Study participants who initiated weekly cannabis use before age 18 dropped IQ points in proportion to how long they persisted in using the drug, while nonusers gained a fraction of a point. “This study is important because we have precious little evidence on whether or not drug use leads to enduring changes in cognition,” says Dr. Steven Grant, chief of the Clinical Neurosciences Branch within NIDA’s Division of Clinical Neuroscience and Behavioral Research. “The issue is critical, because at stake are the…