Correction - Councilman Ball's Name Omitted in Photo Caption

March is HC DrugFree's

Youth Alcohol and Drug Abuse Awareness Month

in Howard County

HC DrugFree Receives Proclamation from Howard County

In honor of HC DrugFree's annual Youth Alcohol and Drug Abuse Awareness Month, HC DrugFree's Board Emeritus, Circuit Court Judge William V. Tucker and HC DrugFree's Executive Director, Joan Webb Scornaienchi were presented with a Proclamation signed by both the County Executive and County Council. Please click here to see the Joint Proclamation.

Pictured above: Council member Greg Fox, Judge William V. Tucker, Council president Mary Kay Sigaty, Council member Calvin Ball, Joan Webb Scornaienchi, Council member Jen Terrasa and Council member John Weinstein.

Pictured above: HC DrugFree Board Member Howard County Police Sgt. Tom Claxton, Board Emeritus Judge William V. Tucker and Executive Director Joan Webb Scornaienchi after receiving the County Proclamation.

Prescription Opioids and Heroin Opinion Survey

Are you a Maryland resident and at least 18 years old? If so, your community needs you! Please complete a 10-minute survey about prescription opioids and heroin in your community. Go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/mdopioidsurvey to take the survey and enter to win a $50.00 gift card.

Please complete this State survey to help us gather Howard County and Maryland data. Thank you for your participation and please share, post and encourage others to complete this. If anyone has questions, feel free to contact J oan Webb Scornaienchi, HC DrugFree's Executive Director at 443-325-0040 or [email protected] . The data will help HC DrugFree educate the Howard County community based on these findings of perceptions, attitudes and knowledge.

NIDA Drug Facts Chat Day Results
On January 30, more than 8,000 questions were submitted to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), 869 of which were from Howard County teens using HC DrugFree's access code. Howard County youth were given the opportunity to get their questions answered by top researchers, including Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the NIDA. To view a transcript of all questions and answers, go to http://teens.drugabuse.gov/national-drug-facts-week/chat-with-scientists/2015/transcript. To read Howard County questions and answers, enter HC DrugFree in the "search for your screen name" box.

Some questions from Howard County youth during this year's Chat Day and NIDA experts' answers...

Q: Is Mary Jane addictive?

A: Yep. About 1 in 6 teens who use Mary Jane will become addicted, and if they use it every day, a quarter to a half of them will be addicted.

Q: How can I avoid drugs?

A: Great question! Hang out with non-drug using friends and participate in activities offering natural reinforcers like playing music, watching a movie, hiking and sports. For me, a great way to spend time with friends is to go rock climbing. Reaching the top is a natural high that you won't forget! More information on drug use, including cool videos and games, is available at our teen site at http://teens.drugabuse.gov or follow NIDA's Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/NIDAnews .

Senior Week: Staying Safe in Ocean City

The program scheduled for Tuesday, March 3 at 7:00 PM at River Hill High School has been cancelled due to weather. We will attempt to reschedule based on speaker availability. There will be another program on Monday, April 27 at 7:00 PM at Mt. Hebron High School. We encourage all parents who are considering allowing their teens to go to Senior Week to attend this program with their teens.

HC DrugFree Teen Advisory Council Meeting

Monday, March 9 from 5:30 to 7:00 PM
The Barn in the Oakland Mills Village Center
5853 Robert Oliver Place
Columbia, MD