“Decriminalization” is Misconceived: Towards Improved Drug Policy

• By: Michael B. Friedman, LMSW Public Policy Analyst and Mental Health Advocate
• October 23rd, 2023
• addiction, alcohol, criminalization, decriminalization, drug control, drug policy reform, drug-related violence, Fall 2023 Issue, illicit drug use, medications, overdose deaths, regulation, substance misuse, tobacco
• 261    0

Recent reports about the problems that have emerged with Oregon’s experiment in the decriminalization of drugs have rekindled debate about this approach to reducing the damage that results from the current policy of criminalizing illegal substances. I tilt against decriminalization as currently...

Most Reported Substance Use Among Adolescents Held Steady in 2022

• By: | The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
• January 17th, 2023
• adolescents, alcohol, fentanyl, heroin, marijuana, Monitoring the Future Survey, prescription medications, substance use, vaping
• 424    0

The percentage of adolescents reporting substance use in 2022 largely held steady after significantly declining in 2021, according to the latest results from the Monitoring the Future survey of substance use behaviors and related attitudes among eighth, 10th, and 12th graders in the United...

Marijuana and Hallucinogen Use Among Young Adults Reached All-Time High in 2021

• By: | The National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• October 7th, 2022
• addiction, alcohol, Fall 2022 Issue, hallucinogen, marijuana, research study, vaping, young adults
• 635    0

Marijuana and hallucinogen use in the past year reported by young adults 19 to 30 years old increased significantly in 2021 compared to five and 10 years ago, reaching historic highs in this age group since 1988, according to the Monitoring the Future (MTF) panel study. Rates of past-month nicotine...

The Loneliness Epidemic and its Consequences

• By: Ashley Brody, MPA, CPRP Search for Change, Inc.
• January 1st, 2021
• alcohol, heart disease, loneliness, opioids, physical health, social isolation, social media, winter 2021 issue
• 1009    0

Former Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy described loneliness as an epidemic long before the Coronavirus emerged and disrupted relationships in ways we might never have imagined (McGregor, 2017). Despite extraordinary advances in telecommunications technologies that have enabled us to connect in...