Executive Director, Coalition Rx

"Like other states with large rural populations, Nebraska has a drinking problem.

The percentage of adults in the state who report binge drinking — that’s four drinks for a woman and five for a man — has been consistently higher than the country at large.

While the Cornhusker State’s numbers are down 2% from 2011, the CDC has reported a bounce from the decade low of 20.4% in 2015.

Health experts, law enforcement and education officials in Nebraska say that’s cause for concern.

Excessive drinking comes with a host of short-term problems, including a penchant for violence and poor decision-making.

“Driving under the influence, domestic assaults, assaults in general — we respond to more of those type of calls because of a direct correlation between alcohol use and changes in demeanor and poorer choices,” said Platte County Sheriff Ed Wemhoff.

Other long-term health problems associated with excessive drinking include hypertension, heart and liver disease, various cancers and addiction.

Before the coronavirus pandemic took hold, the number of people seeking treatment for alcohol addiction at The Bridge Behavioral Health had been increasing greatly, according to Tammy Stevenson, executive director of the Lincoln treatment center.

In 2019, the number of patients seeking a bed increased 150% over the previous year, which she attributed to law enforcement encouraging people to get help.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with 20,000 undergrads, has taken steps to curb drinking among students. UNL has noted some progress over the last few years.

Connie Boehm, UNL’s director of student resilience, said binge drinking rates at the state’s flagship university are slightly below the national average.

Still, 35% of those who reported drinking in the two weeks before the survey was conducted in 2019 were classified as “high-risk drinkers.”

Social pressures, socioeconomic factors and cultural norms also have contributed to excessive alcohol use in more rural parts of the state like Columbus, a town of 23,000.

Across Nebraska, health officials emphasize building and maintaining a support system and resources for those who need it. Many of the programs are taxpayer-funded."

"Although legalization activists and many marijuana users believe smoking pot has no negative effects, scientific research indicates that marijuana use can cause many different health problems.

Marijuana is one of the most commonly used drugs in the United States.

When smoked, it begins to affect users almost immediately and can last for 1–3 hours. When it is eaten in food, such as baked in brownies and cookies, the effects take longer to begin, but usually last longer.

Short-Term Effects of Marijuana

The short-term effects of marijuana include:

Sometimes marijuana use can also produce anxiety, fear, distrust, or panic.

The active ingredient in marijuana, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, acts on cannabinoid receptors on nerve cells and influences the activity of those cells. Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors, but other areas of the brain have few or none at all.

Many cannabinoid receptors are found in the parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement.

When high doses of marijuana are used, users can experience the following psychotic symptoms.

Within a few minutes after smoking marijuana, the heart begins beating more rapidly and the blood pressure can rise.

According to a review published in 2017, marijuana users' risk for a heart attack increases after smoking marijuana, compared to their general risk of a heart attack when not smoking."

For more information on methamphetamines. Click here.

For more information on opioid abuse. Click here.

For more information on vaping & smoking. Click here.

This month we're focusing on what we do as an organization.

For more information on Coalition Rx as an organization. Click here.

We have two programs that we offer within the community!

"Too Good is a comprehensive family of evidence-based substance use and violence prevention interventions designed to mitigate the risk factors linked to problem behaviors and build protection within the child to resist problem behaviors.

Too Good develops a framework of social and emotional skills through the development of goal-setting, decision-making, emotion management, and effective communication skills in addition to peer-pressure refusal, pro-social bonding, and conflict resolution skills."

For more information. Click Here.

"The Wellness Initiative for Senior Education (WISE) program is a wellness and prevention program for older adults, designed to help them celebrate healthy aging, make healthy lifestyle choices and avoid substance abuse. It provides valuable educational services to older adults on topics including nutrition and exercise, medication use, stress management, depression and substance abuse."

For more information. Click here.

We would like to congratulate Coalition Rx board member Deputy Chief Kanger on being inducted into the National Society of Saint Florian and Saint Michael through the First Responders Foundation!

We would also like to congratulate Coalition Rx board member Chief Deputy Wayne Hudson with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. He was Promoted from Captain to Chief Deputy!

Our next community meeting is coming up! Please RSVP!

One of our partners the UNO Collegiate Recovery Community are hosting an ally training event on January 26th!

We're also working on Zoom lessons if parents, teachers or students are interested in joining please email coalitionrx@gmail.com and we will get some class times set up!