News & Events
Much of our work involves measuring the difference others make. Getting involved and making our own difference is also an important part of who we are as individuals and as an organization.
There is an opioid epidemic in the United States that stretches into California and San Diego County. People who use drugs are dying from overdoses in record numbers, including 12 kids under the age of 18 who died in San Diego County from opioid overdoses in 2021. A proven strategy to address the rising opioid overdose deaths is through widespread naloxone distribution in our communities which should include local school campuses for grades 6-12. Even one child using drugs and putting their life in jeopardy is one too many.
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September is Suicide Awareness Month, and San Diego health experts all came together Thursday at the City Heights Family Health Centers of San Diego to inform parents about the risks of marijuana use on youth mental health.
Experts have said they have seen a link to mental health and marijuana use.
“Every day I treat patients who suffer from cannabis use disorder,” said Dr. Joe Sepulveda, chief of psychiatry and medical director for substance use disorder services at Family Health Centers San Diego.
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We are excited to host our first Meet the Media training in support of our Countywide Media Advocacy (CWMA) project. This free virtual training is open to community prevention advocates looking to grow their skills and knowledge to effectively engage news media outlets. Training details and flyer below.
Date: October 20, 2022
Time: 1:00 - 2:15PM (PDT)
Keynote Speaker: Chuck Westerheide, Jr., Public Safety Group Communication Officer, County of San Diego
Registration Link: Click here to register
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Prenatal cannabis exposure following the middle of the first trimester—generally after five to six weeks of fetal development—is associated with attention, social, and behavioral problems that persist as the affected children progress into early adolescence (11 and 12 years of age), according to new research supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health. These conditions may put these children at a greater risk of mental health disorders and substance use in late adolescence, when youth are typically most vulnerable to these disorders and behaviors.
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For 30 years, Dr. Libby Stuyt, a recently retired addiction psychiatrist in Pueblo, Colorado, treated patients with severe drug dependency. Typically, that meant alcohol, heroin, and methamphetamines. But about five years ago, she began to see something new.
“I started seeing people with the worst psychosis symptoms that I have ever seen,” she told me. “And the worst delusions I have ever seen.”
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