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…
November 2023 – SAMHSA has released the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health results, accompanied by a newly offered companion infographic. The 2022 sample size was 71,369 and used multi-mode collection methods in gathering the self-reported data from respondents. Some findings include the following results: • Among the 137.4 million (or 48.7%) current alcohol users aged…
HC DrugFree is proud to partner with the DEA and the Howard County Police Department for our twice a year medication and sharps collection event. On October 28, 2023 we collected 1,223.5 lbs. of medication at the HC DrugFree site in the Wilde Lake Village Center. Below is an excerpt of the press release from…
The Howard County Police Department announced that 1,278 pounds of unwanted medication and sharps were collected during #DrugTakeBackDay. The collection took place at the Wilde Lake Village Center and various drop boxes throughout the county. In collaboration with HC DrugFree and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the police hosted the event as part of a…
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 38,000 Americans are diagnosed with HIV every year. Moreover, one in ten of the new infections are among users who inject drugs. Did you know that Howard County is next to 3 counties of only 48 in the entire United States responsible for more…
In 1987 the United Nations General Assembly declared June 26th as International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. “The aim of this year’s campaign is to raise awareness about the importance of treating people who use drugs with respect and empathy; providing evidence-based, voluntary services for all; offering alternatives to punishment; prioritizing prevention; and leading with…
Beginning on July 1st Maryland residents 21 years or over will be able to purchase marijuana for recreational use from licensed dispensaries. The Centers for Disease Control issued a public warning about how using marijuana can increase the risk of mental illness, including schizophrenia, depression, and suicidal ideation. Concerningly, a graph from the National Institutes of Health shows marijuana…
Every June the CDC partners with The National Safety Council to provide weekly topical information to celebrate National Safety Month. Summer Solstice happens on June 21st, so appropriately, the theme for this week is “heat-related illnesses.” Thankfully, Howard County has not experienced any heat-related deaths in the last 5 years, according to the Maryland Department of Health 2022 Heat-related Illness…
June is PTSD Awareness Month, officially declared by President Barack Obama in 2014. PTSD is an acronym for “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.” This mental health disorder, originally identified in Veterans as early as the Civil War, has been recognized since 1980 in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), which mental health professionals use for guiding diagnoses. According to…
On May 31, 1994, President Bill Clinton signed Men’s Health Week into law to encourage men to visit the doctor as much as women to close the age of mortality gap. Initially, the bill had been introduced by Senator Bob Dole who survived prostate cancer because it was identified early. Now the U.S. Department of…
