There has been an alarming rise in the cases of injuries and deaths associated with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, which has become part of a growing public health crisis in our community and across the nation. Deaths from overdoses reached a staggering 107,622 in...
For the first time since the closures in 2020, San Clemente High School’s Wellness & Prevention Coalition (WPC) had the opportunity to attend CADCA’s National Leadership Forum in National Harbor, Maryland. With funding from the Centers for Disease Control Drug...
Have you lost a loved one to a drug or illicit substance overdose? You are not alone. Preliminary data released by the CDC show that drug overdose deaths reached a record high of 93,331 in 2020. While these estimates are not final, this number is 20,000 deaths higher...
A recent study published in the Journal of American Public Health reports that 67.7% of youth surveyed reported decreasing or quitting e-cigarette use during the COVID-19 pandemic. This promising trend comes only two years after the US Surgeon General declared youth...
By Gina Sisca Hazlett When Susan Parmelee asked me to write a guest Wellness & Prevention column the answer was an easy yes. The Wellness & Prevention Coalition was established to bring resources together that support healthy youth and families in South...
As we transition from Thanksgiving into the winter holidays, I find myself both excited and a little anxious as in the past I was known in my family for being so worried about the perfect Christmas that I often turned into the Grinch. Now, a few years older and wiser,...
Both parents and educational professionals often ask me what substances young people seem to use the most and what today’s trends are. Often, adults who pose this question have a preconceived notion of what the predominant substances are and, not surprisingly these...
The data is in that medical marijuana laws have not significantly increased the number of youth using marijuana. However there is concern that newer blasé attitudes towards marijuana amongst adults and kids have resulted in more frequent use among youth and an...
I speak to a parent or student who has been hurt by the disease of addiction on a daily basis. The damage that this disease causes to families and communities is devastating. I would like to suggest one tool all parents can use to lower rates of illegal substance use...
The data is in that medical marijuana laws have not significantly increased the number of youth using marijuana. However there is concern that newer blasé attitudes towards marijuana amongst adults and kids have resulted in more frequent use among youth and an...