March Did You Know Campaign: Drug & Alcohol Facts & Addiction
DID YOU KNOW that National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week (NDAFW) is March 17-23rd. NDAFW is an annual event focused on the science of drug use and addiction that educates and empowers youth to make informed decisions about substance use and their health. This March TASK is bringing the community together at our local schools to host interactive booths to give students the facts when it comes to drugs and alcohol and the science behind addiction. In addition to being at the Middle School on March 19th and the High School on March 21st during NDAFW, TASK will also be at the South Lake Tahoe Library on Thursday, March 20th with resources and harm reduction tools such as medicine lock bags and drug deactivation kits from 10-4:30.
DID YOU KNOW that Drug Overdoses caused roughly 107,000 deaths in the United States in 2023. Data collected from the centers for Diseases Control and Prevention.
DID YOU KNOW that many people don’t understand why or how other people become addicted to drugs. They may mistakenly think that those who use drugs lack moral principles or willpower and that they could stop their drug use simply by choosing to. In reality, drug addiction is a complex disease, and quitting usually takes more than good intentions or a strong will. Drugs change the brain in ways that make quitting hard, even for those who want to.
DO YOU KNOW what drug addiction is? Addiction is a chronic disease characterized by use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences. The initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, but repeated drug use can lead to brain changes that challenge an addicted person’s self-control and interfere with their ability to resist intense urges to take drugs. These brain changes can be persistent, which is why drug addiction is considered a “relapsing” disease—people in recovery from drug use disorders are at increased risk for returning to drug use even after years of not taking the drug.
DID YOU KNOW it’s common for a person to relapse, but relapse doesn’t mean that treatment doesn’t work. As with other chronic health conditions, treatment should be ongoing and should be adjusted based on how the patient responds and reviewed often to fit the patient’s changing needs.
DO YOU KNOW what happens to the brain when a person takes drugs? Most drugs affect the brain’s “reward circuit,” flooding it with the chemical messenger dopamine. A properly functioning reward system motivates a person to repeat behaviors needed to thrive, such as eating and spending time with loved ones. Surges of dopamine in the reward circuit cause the reinforcement of pleasurable but unhealthy behaviors like taking drugs, lead people to repeat the behavior again and again. As a person continues to use drugs, the brain adapts by reducing the ability of cells in the reward circuit to respond to it. This reduces the high that the person feels compared to the high they felt when first taking the drug- known as tolerance. These brain adaptations often lead to the person becoming less and less able to derive pleasure from other things they once enjoyed, like food or social activities. Despite being aware of these harmful outcomes, drug use continues, which is the nature of addiction.
Good news, drug use and addiction are preventable. Results from NIDA-funded research have shown that prevention programs involving families, schools, communities, and the media are effective for preventing or reducing drug use and addiction. Although personal events and cultural factors affect drug use trends, when young people view drug use as harmful, they tend to decrease their drug taking. Therefore, education and outreach are key in helping people understand the possible risks of drug use.
TASK- the Tahoe Alliance for Safe Kids, is a local non-profit that addresses topics each month through our Did You Know Campaign. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more tips and resources each month around the highlighted DYK Campaign or visit our website at www.tahoesafekids.org