According to the DEA, intercollegiate athletics is an important part of campus life in the United States. In 2022, over 600,000 student-athletes represented their schools in sports, ranging from football to softball to track and field. With the extensive practice and travel commitments required by intercollegiate play, these students must work hard to balance the…
From Maryland’s Office of Overdose Response: The Philadelphia Department of Public Health recently distributed the attached health alert regarding medetomidine, a veterinary sedative that has increasingly been found in Philadelphia’s supply of illicit drugs. Important takeaways from the health alert are summarized below. Medetomidine Highlights Medetomidine is a veterinary sedative (alpha-2 agonist) that is more…
National Prevention Week (May 12-18) is a public education platform sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) showcasing the work of communities and organizations across the country dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of substance use prevention and positive mental health. HC DrugFree is proud to join with SAMHSA in…
On May 9. 2024, the DEA issued a press release regarding the 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment. You can read the press release and download a PDF of the report below. WASHINGTON – Today, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram announced the release of the 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA), DEA’s comprehensive strategic assessment of illicit drug…
What’s Your WHY? #MyWHYNDAFW HC DrugFree asked teen and adult residents of Howard County, MD their WHY: Why they care about drug & alcohol related education, prevention resources, and why leading by example matters. This is what they said… HC DrugFree is proud to partner with the The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and…
Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy at the White House was recently interviewed by Melanie Hogan of WVAS and discussed the immediate need to continue to dismantle trafficking of illicit drugs fentanyl. Dr. Gupta says 90 percent of fentanyl arrives in the United States through legal and commercial points…
WASHINGTON – In 2023, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration marked its 50th anniversary as the only federal agency dedicated to fighting deadly drugs and drug-related violence. This milestone celebrated a half century of dedication to fighting drug trafficking in the United States and around the world, which threatens the public safety, health, and national security of our…
Marijuana vape use surged by 10.1 percent for 12th grade students, between 2017 and 2023. Just under 20 percent of 12th grade students reported vaping marijuana in 2023. Use of the drug also increased by 5 and 3.5 percent for 10th grade and 8th grade students, respectively, over the same time period, according to the…
The widespread use of cannabis (marijuana) and its increased potency are associated with a rise in cannabis-related psychiatric conditions, according to a University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) review article that was recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine. It highlights the urgent need for doctors to screen for and treat patients who…
The Maryland Department of Health’s Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) team recently convened a multiagency workgroup to assess the presence of xylazine in Maryland. The Xylazine in Maryland Workgroup (now the Emerging Drug Trends Workgroup) has released a report of their findings, which includes an examination of post-mortem toxicology data and drug-checking data from Maryland’s Rapid Analysis of…
