Underage Drinking - It's Never Too Early to Start Talking

Many parents struggle to talk to their children about alcohol, drugs, and other dangerous substances. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offers great resources and advice for parents about starting important, meaningful conversations that will impact their children's futures. To watch a touching public service announcement that focuses on discussing underage drinking, click on the video to the left.

Problem Gambling Prevention and Intervention Training

An estimated 154,400 adults and 47,000-50,000 youth in Maryland have a gambling problem. The Howard County Health Department is offering free problem gambling prevention and intervention training on August 13th, 2014. Click here for more training details or click here to visit HC DrugFree's "Problem Gambling" page.

Pictured above: Carl Robertson from the Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling presented a Gambling Prevention and Intervention Training on July 22nd at the Howard County Health Department (HCHD). This training was coordinated by Mary Ann Warnke, Clinical Director at HCHD, and attended by HC DrugFree's Joan Webb Scornaienchi.

E-Cigarettes in the News

E-cigarette companies are targeting youth in advertisements aimed to sell harmful products. E-cigarettes contain damaging nicotine and can potentially act as a gateway to real cigarette smoking. NY Times discusses this problem. Click here to read more.

Here's Me Drug Free Photo Contest Continues

Now is the perfect time to submit your photos to HC DrugFree's Facebook contest. As of right now, 22 "Likes" will put you in first place. Click here to view the photos others have submitted so far. We want to see your drug free summer and give the person who posts the most "Liked" photo a $100 gift card!

Here are the top contenders: