News & Views
Monitoring the Future suggests danger ahead
Monitoring the Future, the only nationally representative survey of American students that examines their drug-use patterns and attitudes, is reporting today: Marijuana is the most popular illicit drug, with one-third of high school seniors...
AMA opposes marijuana legalization
Today, I applaud the American Medical Association, the United States’ largest professional organization for physicians, for rejecting marijuana legalization — and the launch of another tobacco-like industry — despite heavy lobbying that it become neutral on the subject.
Number of THC+ drivers spikes in Washington
The number of traffic cases involving drivers who tested positive for marijuana use is projected to increase this year by more than 50 percent over 2012. Here's a look at the numbers, analyzed and reported by Washington state toxicologist Fiona Couper. We'll follow up...
And the beat goes on
A long time ago, Dr. T and I stopped caring about criticism leveled at us -- which explains why it's November, and I'm just now seeing this breathless report by Michael Roberts published June 19 in Westword. That would be the Denver alt-weekly with a business model...
Pot plagues Colorado schools
Though the hard numbers for the 2013-14 academic year aren't in, officials with the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) say the state's schools
Prevalence and predictors of injection drug use and risky sexual behaviors among adolescents in substance treatment
This research's results were published in the American Journal of Addiction in November 2013. Study title: Prevalence and predictors of injection drug use and risky sexual behaviors among adolescents in substance treatment. Co-authors: Thurstone C, Salomonsen-Sautel...
Dishware teaches healthy eating for kids
A Colorado company has designed dishware aimed at helping families chart an easier path to healthy living by watching their food portions at mealtime. Livliga -- a name that comes from a Swedish word meaning lively, vibrant or vivid -- sells dining ware and serving...
More funds for Colorado youth substance treatment
Even before Colorado formally opens recreational pot shops at the start of next year, people recognize the toll marijuana already has taken on young people in this state and the need to expand access to addiction treatment for them. I am pleased to announce --...
Make it a Red Ribbon Week!
It's exciting to see the red ribbons unfurling nationwide! Red Ribbon Week, sponsored by the National Family Partnership since 1988, aims to educate youth about the perils of drug use — and to encourage their participation in drug-use-prevention activities. But make...
How Mr. Cheney should’ve answered Dr. Gupta
This week, Dr. Sanjay Gupta's sometimes contentious interview with former United States Vice President Richard "Dick" Cheney appeared on CBS' "60 Minutes." The doctor aggressively questioned -- OK, it would be fair to say "hammered" -- Mr. Cheney about whether his...
Read the book
Clearing the Haze is a guide designed to help parents determine whether their child may have a substance problem and, if so, how to begin to address it. This book includes the voices and insight of experts in substance abuse counseling, young people in recovery, and parents who have lived the nightmare of adolescent addiction.