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BY ANGELA BEREZNAK

Clark County Health Department

National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week (NDAFW) is a health observance week for teens that aims to SHATTER THE MYTHS about drug and alcohol use. This year, National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week will be March 22-28.

National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week connects students with scientists and other experts to discuss the myths about drugs and alcohol that teens get from the internet, social media, TV, movies, music or from friends. It was launched in 2010 by scientists at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to stimulate educational events in communities so teens can learn what science has taught us about drug use and addiction. The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism became a partner in 2016.

Every year, Drugs & Alcohol Chat Day provides students the opportunity to ask leading researchers questions about drug use, abuse, and addiction, as well as the associated health effects and risks.

This year’s Chat Day will be April 1. During that day, students can ask some of our nation’s experts about illicit drug use as well as abuse of prescription drugs, which is becoming a growing problem among our nation’s teens.

You can participate in NDAFW by planning an event. For more information on National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week and/or to learn more about planning an event, visit the website https://teens.drugabuse.gov/national-drug-alcohol-facts-week or email drugfacts@nida.nih.gov, or call 301-443-1124.

Clark County has numerous resources to support individuals in regards to substance misuse and mental health challenges. You can learn more about these resources and organizations by accessing the Mental Health and Substance Misuse Community Resource Guide; this guide can be found on the Clark County Health Department’s website: www.clarkhealthdept.org.

The resource guide was created through the Clark County Mental Health Task Force. The Task Force meets the third Monday of every month, 9:30 to 11 a.m. Everyone is welcome to attend the meetings. To join our Zoom meetings or get more information about the Mental Health Task Force, please contact me at 744-1488 or email angelar.bereznak@ky.gov.

Information for this article was obtained at:

https://teens.drugabuse.gov/national-drug-alcohol-facts-week