Thalia Williams's blog

Hardly a week goes by without another news article about vaping. In 2014, vaping was selected as Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year, beating out other candidates like “Bae” and “Budtender”. If they were picking a word today, it would more likely be JUUL or Juuling, the wildly popular “stealth vape” of adolescents. Juuling kids are vaporizing flavored e-juices with nicotine, but what about vaping marijuana? According to Monitoring the Future, an annual survey of nearly 50,000 adolescents, 3 percent, 8 percent and 10 percent of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders respectively had vaped marijuana in 2017. Read more about How to Know if Your Kid is Vaping Marijuana — and What to Do About It

Sometimes you simply need a one-on-one connection. The Partnership fo Drug-Free Kids has trained and caring master’s-level specialists ready to help any parent struggling with a son’s or daughter’s drug or alcohol use. They are here to listen, help you find answers and make an action plan. (A note about parents: We know supportive roles in a child’s life come in many forms. Whether you are a parent, stepparent, grandparent, foster parent, aunt, uncle, supportive sibling or another caregiver, our Helpline is here for you.) Find out how to connect with Helpline specialists by phone, Email, or text here: https://drugfree.org/article/get-one-on-one-help/ Read more about Get One-on-One Help to Address Your Child’s Substance Use

Deaths from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids (not including methadone), rose a staggering 72 percent in just one year, from 2014 to 2015. Government agencies and officials of all types are rightly concerned by what some are describing as the third wave of our ongoing opioid epidemic. As a concerned parent, whose top priority is keeping your child safe — and alive — the following are the most important things to understand about fentanyl. Read more about 5 Things Parents Need to Know about Fentanyl