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Spring Clean Your Medicine Cabinet

(Consumer Reports, March 22) Your medicine cabinet can become a dumping ground for old drugs. But Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs says the risks for accidental poisoning for kids increase –– with every bottle of pills you keep.

Americans struggling with opioid addiction miss 50% more work than everyone else

(MarketWatch, March 22) Workers with substance use disorders miss nearly 50% more days than their peers, and up to six weeks of work annually, according to an analysis released Wednesday from the National Safety Council, a nonprofit and nongovernmental agency.

Most Teens Who Abuse Opioids 1st Got Them from a Doctor

(Live Science, March 20) Researchers looked at trends in the use of prescription opioids among U.S. adolescents from 1976 to 2015.

Elks Partner with DEA to Produce Comic, 'What Heroes Do'

\"What Heroes Do\" is the newest comic book published by the Elks Drug Awareness Program.

Dentists try a new approach for pain: fewer opioids

(WHYY/Kaiser Health News, March 11) Dentists have long been frequent prescribers of immediate-release opioids like Vicodin and Percocet for the pain from tooth extractions.

Teen Brain on Pot: New Study Examines First Exposures

(Live Science, March 15) The chemical tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in marijuana is known to trigger responses in brain regions related to thinking, perception, coordination and memory, and to have a lasting impact on users when taken frequently over time. 

Americans use far more opioids than anyone else in the world

(The Washington Post, March 15) Even when the list is restricted to the top 25 heaviest consuming countries, the United States outpaces them all in opioid use, according to UN report.

Report Shows Depressed Teens More Likely to Use Drugs

(Campus Safety Magazine, March 6) A report found that teenagers who have experienced a major depressive episode in the last year are more likely to use many types of drugs.

Key parenting factors for preventing underage drinking and drug use

(Michigan State University Extension, March 9) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance (YBRS) widespread drug use among the American youth is an issue of extreme importance.

Study Links Pot Use to Higher Risk for Stroke, Heart Failure

(CBS NEWS, March 10) New research analyzing millions of U.S. medical records suggests that marijuana use raises an adult’s risk of stroke and heart failure.