Announcements
Watch this page for announcements from other Athena Forum users. Select Send me Announcements in the account settings menu to get notified when there are new postings to this page.
Urban Outfitters, a popular clothing and accessories retail store for teens and young adults, has released a new line of t-shirts that send a dangerous me...
read moreCenter for the Application of Prevention Technology Video Features, August 2012
In 2011, the State of Oklahoma passed Cody's Law, legislation that holds adults accountable for underage drinking that takes place on their property. Three new videos describe Oklahoma's process for passing and implementing this important legislation.
- ...
By Join Together Staff
High-potency marijuana, and the synthetic form of the drug, known as “K2” or “Spice,” can harm a developing embryo’s brain, a new study concludes. Many pregnant women are unaware of the risk, according to HealthDay.
The drugs can affect the brain as early as two weeks after conception, according to researchers at Texas A&M University. Marijuana is the most widely used illegal drug among pregnant women, they note...
By Join Together Staff
Prenatal alcohol exposure can affect a child’s growth up until age 9, a new study finds.
Researchers found significant prenatal alcohol exposure can affect a child’s weight, height and head circumference, which are indicators of brain growth. The findings suggest alcohol exposure in the womb could affect children’s mental development, the researchers note in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
...
By Join Together Staff
Nonsmokers who breathe in secondhand smoke outdoors have elevated levels of tobacco-related chemicals in their body, according to a new study. The researchers say their findings suggest this smoke exposure may increase risks of health effects associated with cancer-causing agents in tobacco.
The study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, included 28 college students who spent three evenings on patios outside a restaurant and bar where...
By Join Together Staff
A “wellness court” in Minnesota uses Native American ceremonies and other cultural activities to help people in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.
The court is a partnership between the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and two counties in northern Minnesota. The program targets people with chronic substance abuse problems, Minnesota Public Radio reports.
The wellness court is similar to drug courts. The voluntary program...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today released a progress report to the tobacco strategic action plan that highlights the accomplishments and strategies of the Obama administration to help tobacco users quit and prevent children from starting to use tobacco products.
“The tobacco strategic action plan has sparked an unprecedented set of tobacco control activities across HHS, and more broadly, across the federal government. Today, we are releasing a...
read moreViolations of alcohol industry advertising guidelines are more likely in ads that appear magazines with sizeable youth readership, according to a new study from the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, the study is the first to measure the relationship of problematic content to youth exposure, and the first to examine risky behaviors depicted in alcohol...
read moreThree new video clips feature ways that states are preparing local communities to select and implement environmental prevention strategies. Watch the videos below to see how!
• Preparing Coalitions to Use Environmental Prevention Strategies. Watch Kim Fornero, project director for Illinois' Partnership for Success grant, share lessons learned from preparing coalitions to implement environmental prevention strategies.
• Policy Development in Louisiana: Establishing...
read moreBy Join Together Staff
Medical marijuana may worsen driving skills, but typical sobriety tests do not detect the impairment, a small study suggests.
The study included 12 frequent marijuana users and 12 people who used marijuana three times a month at most. At three points, researchers gave participants a 20 milligram or 10 milligram pill of dronabinol, sold as Marinol (which contains THC, the active ingredient in marijuana), or a placebo pill that contained no drugs....
