New research on peer-led substance use prevention in schools — and it's promising. When students lead the conversation, other students actually listen. Sharing our mixed-methods evaluation of a school-based program that's worth knowing about. Read the full study

5 years and fentanyl make a big difference in per capita drug deaths per state. While the correction that started in '23 caused the U.S. total rate to be close to unchanged, the top 10 states look quite different: OR, WA, AK, NV added; MD, OH, PA, MA, NJ dropped. (2024 mortality now final)

A horrific part of the fentanyl crisis has significantly abated for the moment: Teen drug deaths almost back to pre-pandemic levels before fake pills flooded the street/social media. And young adults <25 have reversed the trend entirely and are now recording less deaths than 10 years prior.

Dads: the single biggest protective factor against teen drug use isn't rules or random drug tests. It's connection. Per SAMHSA research, teens who feel close to a parent are significantly less likely to use substances. What does that connection look like in your house?

Watch La Estrella youtu.be/Q9u0q8JE0r0 :powerful centerpiece of La Nueva Drug Talk, Song for Charlie's fentanyl awareness & mental health resource for Latino families. Awareness, education, family, community r vital upstream parts in reducing subst use harms. www.lanuevadrugtalk.org/en/page/la-e...

I’m proud to be part of this amazing team at Song for Charlie, whose programs highlight the emerging dangers of self-medication and casual drug use in the fentanyl era and encourage healthier strategies for coping with stress. www.songforcharlie.org/page/sfc-our...

Emotional regulation, coping strategies, refusal techniques and resilience are tools that help youth navigate pressure/stress without turning to substances. Prevention isn’t just about avoiding harm; it’s about filling lives with meaning, purpose & pride. www.thenationalcouncil.org/substance-us...

Per CDC data, leading causes of U.S. death for 2024 for those under age 50. In total, drugs are far ahead of cancer and nearly twice as high as guns in total, suicide, homicide, car accidents, etc. But different leaders at single ages. Reducing preventable deaths requires policy change.

Today, the state of Oregon that spends only 2% of $1B substance spend on preventing use & addiction, with near highest adolescent substance use rates in the U.S., with 1/3 of young adults <25 needing treatment and only 15% receiving it…..finally woke up to the need for primary prevention. 👏👏👏

Long overdue in Oregon: an upstream focus to prevent/delay/reduce drug use & addiction, focused on youth. OR has some of the worst youth rates of use, SUD, perception of harm, & mental health challenges in the U.S…fueling the crisis and causing massive harm. www.thelundreport.org/content/lawm...

Amazing job by @brianmannadk.bsky.social reporting on youth drug deaths. Age 20-24 broke the mold, beat fentanyl, returned to 10 yrs prior. Teens coming down, room to go, upstream mitigations needed. We need more answers on "how". Inside these data lie insights that will save lives. (1/3)

Great news, but ridiculous we don’t know…and we may cut things that work. “…changes in illicit drug supply + greater access to treatment + naloxone to seemed to be playing a role, but whether the country could sustain that progress was an open question.” www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/h...

High-potency cannabis use among Oregon’s adolescents is putting them at risk of psychosis and other mental health problems, according to mental health and addiction experts who want the state to adopt policies that will curb underage use.

Missing it (both): -Those attributing our drug problem to immigration -Those dismissing fentanyl as mythical problem We've lost more Americans to drugs than guns or MVA; < age 50: more than any cause incl cancer. New research showing 11% report illicit opioid use. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

I wonder how public opinion varies. Is seller of suicidal tool culpable enough in the death to receive enhanced penalty? How many say Y or N, no matter the tool? How many split their view if it's fentanyl or a gun? Related, is it a deterrant, "justice", both, neither? www.denver7.com/news/state-n...

Thanks @repbonamici.bsky.social for the bi-partisan FACTS Act which will reduce the harms of fentanyl to young people. “Upstream awareness, education, & primary prevention efforts are largely untapped mitigations with huge potential.” bonamici.house.gov/media/press-...

Some perspective. If you reflexively find yourself staunchly lining up behind any and all efforts to protect the U.S. from only a subset of guns, drugs, or infectious disease, ask yourself if your views are consistent. We could use a lot more critical thinking and less hive-mind.

Today, April 29, is Fentanyl Awareness Day. While overdose deaths are down from record highs, too many young lives are still at risk from fake prescription pills made with fentanyl. Learn how you can help protect our communities at fentanylawarenessday.org. #NFAD2025

On National Fentanyl Awareness Day … balancing this “genuinely good news” (@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social) — -26.5% change (national decline) in drug overdose deaths [Nov23-Nov24] — with the heartbreaking number of more than 80,000 deaths embedded in that statistic 💔 🧪🛟 www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vs...

Early results show more than 70% of people with opioid use disorder who started buprenorphine via Downtown Emergency Service Center’s new method made it to their second month of treatment, more than tripling the numbers @seattletimes-rss.bsky.social www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Underneath the positive news about reductions in drug od death and concerns that it can't be sustained with expected cuts to vital mitigations, there's this very hopeful long-term trend: Young Adults 20-24 mirrored the whole population death rates for ~20 years, but have broken that trend.

Read @brianmannadk.bsky.social on risk of Medicaid cuts slashing addiction treatment, in particular this key point: "Speaker Johnson suggested young men, who are highly vulnerable to drug addiction and account for the vast majority of U.S. OD deaths, should not qualify for Medicaid insurance."

U.S. is losing 20+ high schoolers/wk to fentanyl, after their deaths grew faster than all others & reducing slower now. Many aspects as complex as they are for the whole crisis; some, more simple: upstream investments in education & prevention matter. Hope in here. www.koin.com/video/the-ne...

Oregon has the 3rd highest rate of youth SUD & the 3rd highest rate of teen drug deaths. Yet...less than 2% of OR spending on related services went to youth prevention. The all-consuming debate about criminal justice has obscured our deeper problems. www.portlandtribune.com/news/trio-of...

Some of my neighbors in Oregon believe this process is unfair/unhealthy to people who use drugs. Most of the country likely sees it as caring and more lenient than in their communities. Consistently good reporting from @bbotkin.bsky.social on our situation.

Policy change & investments that "free buprenorphine" (Suboxone) together with a much greater emphasis on evidence-based primary prevention would make a significant difference on the demand side of our OD crisis. Supply-side or harm reduction only won't do it. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/16/m...

@nickkristof.bsky.social directly on target how we should be thinking about the demand side of our U.S. drug problem, with concrete ideas. More prevention, earlier intervention, treatment on demand, denormalize drug use without stigmatizing users in need.

🎯 @nickkristof.bsky.social “Conservatives resisted the social safety net that might have helped him in childhood, liberals coddled him w a nonjudgmental tolerance that mired him in addiction. Whatever our politics, we all need a rethink.” @nickkristof.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/02/08/o...

Those believing "most kids use anyway" and all prevention = DARE either are unaware of what the evidence shows or have other ideological and harmful views about substance use wrapped up in bodily autonomy and criminal justice reform...that ignores that kids are not little adults.

Naloxone saves lives; OR should fully fund what’s needed. Reversing OD is an absolute good & also helps bridge the gap btw harmful use & treatment. But it shouldn’t come at the expense of that treatment & primary prevention, strategies that lift us out of crisis. www.oregonlive.com/opinion/2025...

While everyone’s focused on fentanyl misinformation, tariffs, etc..don’t forget to also talk to you kids about the very real risk they and their friends face by using what they think is real pharma, easily bought on social media or passed by peers. Broader…we need more prevention and treatment.

Sagan was right about sliding into superstition and darkness. @nickkristof.bsky.social 🎯on Kennedy. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/01/o...

Tariffs & fentanyl opinion: Main point is demand focus needed. 💯. Re: tariffs, also agree seems unlikely to do much. However, geopolitical supply efforts are worthwhile. Good chance current mortality decreases partially driven by CN pre-cursor reductions. theconversation.com/why-trumps-t...

New in @thelancet.bsky.social. On kids & fentanyl/fake pills, NAILED IT: Stigma & norms shape subst. use patterns; kids don't touch heroin, Rx pills are normalized. Considerable risk comes from naiiivety. Thus prevention/education matters with fake pills & kids. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Excellent piece from @nickkristof.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/01/22/o...

School Resource: Real Talk About Fake Pills Illicit Fentanyl dominates the drug landscape, causing record numbers of US drug deaths...particularly among our Gen Z youth. Learn the facts about fentanyl, take empowered action to protect yourself & loved ones. www.songforcharlie.org/page/youth-a...

“One of the most shocking things was that kids and young adults are unknowingly being exposed to fentanyl in alarming numbers — and many are dying as a result. 70k die from fentanyl overdoses in the US every year, making it a leading cause of death for people <55.” www.ajc.com/opinion/opin...

Hurray Oregon, recording a 12mo drop in drug overdose deaths (-9%) for the first time since this crisis started! The drops are national at -22% and widespread with all but 5 states no longer growing. 🤷‍♂️ what the future holds. The main drivers are guesses w/ little objective direct evidence.

Hotspot Large U.S. Counties for drug deaths. Note Portland, San Fransisco, Seattle, which a few years ago were nowhere near being on this list. Massive unpreparedness/mismanagement amidst a fentanyl flood.

U.S. drug overdose predicted deaths continue to drop: 12 mo. deaths ending 8.24 under 90K, down 22%! Most states decreased during this period, some for the first time in a while; over a longer period, many states still at a rate significantly higher than just 3-5 years ago. Lots to do still.

U.S. adolescent death due to fentanyl in fake pills has skyrocketed. We're losing a classroom of kids every week, many preventable with the simplest of mitigations. Make sure the youth in your life are fully aware of the risk and know how to recognize & respond to an overdose. www.thenewdrugtalk.org

State supported for profit weed broker using fentanyl fear to drive sales is fascinating. youtu.be/ig3FdhPeUz4

Good choice Texas Opioid Settlement Fund! $25M to TX A&M to provide tailored opioid primary prevention services & implement a comprehensive educational program for TX schoolchildren: evidence-based abatement efforts for safer, healthier future for all kids. comptroller.texas.gov/about/media-...

The current decrease in drug overdose deaths has been sharp and widespread. Western states have grown the most in the last 5 years and are slowest to decrease. Fentanyl has had it's way with us and continues to. Oregon, Washington, & Alaska hit the hardest. Lots more work to do everywhere.

1/2 of teens still don't know that pills they may get online & pass each other are likely made of fentanyl, masquerading as Xanax, Oxy, or Adderall. They shouldn't take Rx off-script, but it's a behavior that far too many engage in, believing it's safe. Make sure they know. youtu.be/hJme4Vmdq9o

Something everyone should know: How to recognize the signs of an overdose & how to use Naloxone. Two short videos from Song for Charlie. (1/2) youtu.be/WLIRfwF6dQw?...

A man in Indiana made an AT-AT costume for his horse, intending to only get a few pictures before removing it. When he took off the headpiece the horse got upset and insisted that he put it back on, which made the horse happy again. Now the horse isn't allowing him to remove any piece of the costume

Dylan 🔥 youtu.be/NSmkeb_7uq0