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Mocktails are the perfect solution for people who want to enjoy the refreshing taste of a cocktail without the buzz. As a coalition coordinator for a substance misuse prevention team, it is essential to promote healthy alternatives that reduce the risk of substance abuse. Mocktails...
Prom is a night that students look forward to long before their junior or senior year. It is idealized in pop culture for many of the reasons that keep parents awake at night with worry. Risky behaviors: AAA surveyed 16-19yr old kids asking if they or...
Today marks the 13th anniversary of National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week, an observance launched by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in 2010. The purpose of this event is to inspire dialogue with youth about the science of drug use and addiction. Although it...
Across the board, substance use is down in East Texas. Here at Next Step, we focus our work on preventing the use of four main substances most likely to be used by teens: alcohol, tobacco & vape, marijuana, and prescription drugs. The data we use comes...
by Joseph Byrum Coalition Corner is an opportunity to highlight the good work that coalition members do every day and to hear their thoughts about coalition work. Officer Patricia Davis is a School Resource Officer at Kilgore Middle School and serves as the Youth Director for the...
Most teens don’t drink regularly. Why do so many East Texans believe the myth that they do? One of the questions we ask students during alcohol presentations is “What percentage of teens do you think drink regularly?” More often than not, students think that most of their...
COVID-19 has taken over the world in recent months, and experts are still uncertain as to when the pandemic will end. While the social distancing and shelter-in-place measures are a necessary step for the good of society, they have also placed a heavy burden on...
How to support your teen’s mental health during a pandemic Teens have plenty to be stressed about under even normal circumstances. Unfortunately, the social distancing that is required to deal with the coronavirus pandemic comes with its own set of new stresses, to say nothing of...
As part of National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week, we’d like to remind parents about the importance of talking to their children and teens about underage drinking. You may be thinking, “We’re in the middle of a global pandemic, why would I worry about talking to...
By Nathan Grounds In our previous blog post, we gave a cursory summary of the War on Drugs and revealed its failure to curb the American drug epidemic. In this post we’ll discuss the modern approach to addiction, which holds great potential in actually helping people...