In October, President Obama traveled to Charleston, West Virginia, a region where fatal heroin overdoses are more than double the national average, to announce new federal initiatives aimed at curbing the opioid epidemic. The president listened to stories from a police chief, a healthcare worker […]
Since the launch of drunk driving campaigns in the late 1970’s, public awareness surrounding the deadly consequences of operating a vehicle while under the influence (DUI) of alcohol has been high. Other measures, such as open-container laws, the more modern DUI checkpoints and greater access […]
In the same way that public awareness has changed society’s behavior regarding cigarette smoking, America’s consumption of alcohol is also evolving. The AMC Network show “Mad Men,” which revolved around the life of Don Draper, an executive at a Madison Avenue advertising agency in the […]
Drug abuse prevention is the most effective method of reducing the emotional and financial toll that results from illicit drug use and addiction. In 2011, the government designated October as National Substance Abuse Prevention Month in order to raise awareness and lessen the stigma surrounding […]
Lesley Stahl recently interviewed Patrick Kennedy, the son of Ted Kennedy, on a 60 Minutes episode in which he opened up about his own alcoholism and how addiction affected his family. In an era when there is still a stigma and shame that surrounds people […]
Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG) is not the opposite of Post-Traumatic Stress (PTSD), but rather a positive psychological change born out of a stressful or traumatic circumstance in a person’s life. Survivors are not only able to manage the trauma, they actually thrive because of it. In […]
Driving while intoxicated (DUI) has produced an epidemic of alcohol-related vehicle fatalities that spawned organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and raised public awareness in hopes of preventing and reducing the number of deaths each year. Since campaigns such as “friends don’t let friends […]
Right or wrong, good or bad, a new reality has arrived at society’s front door, and it’s a nurse with a hangover treatment package complete with a vitamin-enriched IV drip. According to a Gallup Poll, in the United States, 66 percent of adults admit to […]
There seems to be no end to a class of narcotics known as “designer drugs.” These are substances created to mimic the “high” of an existing drug using chemicals not yet classified as illegal. Sellers are able to peddle these unsafe chemicals legally until authorities […]
Not a year goes by without news of young people losing their lives after taking MDMA on the rave and electronic dance music (EDM) scene. There have been a handful of deaths in 2015 alone. Known on the street as “molly” or “ecstasy,” MDMA is […]
