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They say that “the only thing permanent in life is change,” and that may very well be true. But just because change is natural, that doesn’t make it any easier – especially for teens. Studies show that adolescents who haven’t tried drugs or alcohol are more likely to start during times of transition in order to cope with stress. But don’t worry – while change is a part of life, risky behavior, like drug and alcohol use, doesn’t have to be. This guide has everything you need to know to help keep your child healthy – and even happy! – during transition periods.

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Know the Signs. Save a Life. Opioid Overdose Basics Prescription opioids (like hydrocodone, oxycodone, and morphine) and illicit opioids (like heroin and illegally made fentanyl) are powerful drugs that have a risk of a potentially fatal overdose. Anyone who uses opioids can experience an overdose, but certain factors may increase risk including …

The marijuana industry and its boosters have been actively advertising marijuana as a solution for the opioid epidemic; they claim that marijuana is an effective substitute for opioids in pain management and have even gone on to say marijuana can be used as a treatment for opioid use disorder. A deeper look at the scientific literature reveals that those who use marijuana are at much higher risk for developing opioid use disorders and that population studies claiming a correlation between state marijuana legalization and reduced opioid deaths have serious deficiencies. Better studies are now showing marijuana is a risk factor in the increased non-medical use of opioids.

This at-a-glance resource provides an overview of the opioid overdose problem; an inventory of risk and protective factors associated with overdose, and evidence-based strategies for preventing overdose; and a glossary of commonly-used terms in overdose prevention.

Although it has been around for over a decade, vaping’s popularity exploded in 2017, taking many families, schools and healthcare providers by surprise. Vaping, or Juuling as it is often referred to by teens and young adults (named after a popular vape device called JUUL), is the inhaling and exhaling of an aerosol produced by using a vape device.

Search Institute’s research is demonstrating that when young people experience developmental relationships with parents, educators, youth program staff, and other adults their outcomes are better, their risk behaviors are lower, and they are more likely to be on the path to thrive in life. Staff in schools and youth programs do not need to and should not stop seeking to build developmental relationships with young people while they are at home during the nation’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. Every time you take one of the relationship-building steps below in the critical weeks ahead, place a check next to it and know that you have made a valuable contribution to helping young people weather this storm.