Do sports protect teens from abusing painkillers or enable it?

Reported By: Alexandria Hein, FoxNews.com Health As communities nationwide battle a growing opioid and heroin use epidemic, researchers and public health officials are scrambling to identify how abuse may begin. One of those sources, research suggests, could be high school athletics. But studies conducted thus far have produced conflicting results regarding whether participation in sports encourage […]

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Anatomy Of Addiction: How Heroin And Opioids Hijack The Brain

By:  Jack Rodolico, NPR Health News   “I ended up sniffing a whole one, and I blacked out… it ruined me that time. But I loved it.” When Jack O’Connor was 19, he was so desperate to beat his addictions to alcohol and opioids that he took a really rash step. He joined the Marines. […]

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ACS Practices Mindfulness!

Written By: JoAnn Kukulus, MFTI   |  ACS’ Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program & Community Counseling Program Recently I had the opportunity to become trained and certified to implement a group and individual curriculum called “Mindfulness-Based Substance Abuse Treatment for Adolescents,” which the ACS programs are beginning to utilize.  This relatively new evidence-based curriculum, founded by Sam Himelstein […]

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Alternative Coping Strategies for Teens Turning to Drugs to Reduce Anxiety and Stress

Written By: Ann M. Stillingfleet, ACS Clinical Intern, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment and Community Counseling Programs Image: Torben Hansen, Marijuana Joint   We all too often hear teens tell us that anxiety and stress are their most persistent issues at home, in school, with peers and with their perception of themselves.  We also hear the […]

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Saving Jake: A Family Memoir of Opioid Addiction

* Author D’Anne Burwell will be a featured speaker at an ACS Educational Symposium March 5th, 2016 covering Substance Abuse Issues and Treatment.  D’Anne is a local Bay Area author, speaker and mentor; frequenting addiction recovery meetings and working tirelessly in the community to raise awareness about drug crises. Below is a review of her newly […]

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