Blog
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Take the American Medicine Chest 5 Step Challenge This Saturday
The 6th Annual American Medicine Chest Challenge National Day of Awareness of Prescription Drug Abuse and Safe Disposal will be held on this Saturday, November 14th. As we approach the AMCC, I continue to encourage families throughout our state to take the 5-Step Challenge. I’m also looking back on how far we have come and so much has been achieved – hundreds of permanent disposal sites have been installed and thousands of tons of prescription drugs have been collected.
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Smart Approaches to Marijuana Ranks the 2016 Presidential Candidates
Now that the 2016 presidential campaign is in full swing, it’s important for the American people to understand where their presidential candidates stand on the issues of marijuana. Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) released an analysis and rating of every candidate's position on a range of these issues.
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Opiate Addiction Endangers Our Youth
While addiction to opiate-based prescription painkillers and their illegal street cousin, heroin has spread to all demographic and age groups, teenagers and young adults are particularly at risk. The teenage years are a “critical window of vulnerability for substance abuse disorders,” according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, “because the brain is still developing and still malleable.”
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Easy Access to Narcan in New Jersey Will Save Lives
It has been over two years since Governor Christie signed the Overdose Prevention Act into law. Since that time many lives have been saved thanks to new and innovative efforts to get the message out about the opiate overdose antidote Narcan and calling 911. In an effort to save more people from dying, this week the pharmacy chain CVS announced that Narcan is available over-the-counter in New Jersey and 12 other states, including Pennsylvania.
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The End of National Recovery Month and the Beginning of National Substance Abuse Prevention Month
Today is the last day of September and the end of National Recovery Month. The awareness generated by this month’s efforts usher us into October and National Substance Abuse Prevention Month. PDFNJ is providing a number of free services this month to make access to this important information even easier than before. The 15-Minute Child Break, a free one hour multi-media presentation is available for parents and caregivers in your community. Another resource from PDFNJ is the 5th Grade Parent Alert, sponsored by the Horizon Foundation of New Jersey.
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Tomorrow is National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day in New Jersey
Tomorrow, Saturday, September 26, 2015, is the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day in New Jersey. This initiative is supported by DEA-NJ, PDFNJ’s partner in many Rx Abuse prevention programs. National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is helping our law enforcement provide safe, legal and easily accessible disposal to residents across the state. Tomorrow, from 10 am to 2 pm, dispose of the excess medicine in your home at a local participating Rx Disposal collection site.
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Lt. Governor Guadagno, Religious Leaders Gather To Address NJ’s Opiate Abuse Epidemic
On the heels today’s Do No Harm Symposium for the faith-based community at Bethel Church in Morristown, the problem of opiate abuse and the community’s role in opiate abuse prevention and recovery is on my mind. Kim Guadagno, the Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey, attended today’s event and clarified the role of the community – we need everyone’s help to save our teenagers from dying due to substance abuse.
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Religious Leaders to Unite for Morristown Faith-Based Do No Harm Symposium
Stemming the tide of the opiate abuse epidemic cannot be done without all members of the community. The National Prevention Strategy calls on community, nonprofit, and faith-based organizations to support the implementation and enforcement of alcohol and drug control policies. Next week, on September 16th, PDFNJ and the DEA-NJ are hosting a symposium to empower the faith based leaders in our state with information and education on preventing opiate abuse.
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Poll: Support for Marijuana Legalization in Colorado Falling
The conversation about marijuana is not one that is going away. An important factor in that dialogue is the effect marijuana is having on residents in states, such as Colorado, that have legalized its use. Below is a link to information on the findings of a SAM study that found support falling for marijuana where it is legal – an important component to the discussion.
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Mandating Prescription Drug Monitoring (NJPMP) in New Jersey
Recently, Governor Chris Christie signed legislation on July 20, 2015 that expands the New Jersey Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Affairs Prescription Monitoring Program (NJPMP), an online database that tracks the prescription sale of drugs classified as controlled dangerous substances (CDS).Once this mandate is effective in NJ, the expected results should help curb the epidemic of opiate abuse as demonstrated by the researchers at Johns Hopkins (with funding by the Public Health Law Research program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation).