The freedom young people experience when they leave home for college provides opportunities and obstacles. Sandy Olson-Loy and Adrienne Conley discuss some of those obstacles and how the University of Minnesota Morris works to create a community that cares. Success often depends upon making good decisions and connecting with a caring community. Sandy Olson-Loy is…

How do those who take care of the rest of us take care of themselves? Chaplain Teresa Durbak Sipos discusses how, when surrounded by trauma, those caregivers can take care of their moral and spiritual selves. Teresa serves as a behavioral healthcare chaplain and has taught mental health and addictions nursing for many years at…

Is weed addictive? That’s the question Walter Hendrickson asked himself as he began a thirty-day journey to stop smoking marijuana after nine years of daily use. Walter is chronicling his journey daily on his TikTok account and discusses with us what he has learned so far. Six days of not using at the time of…

When everything you have done is associated with substance use, how do you have a good time when no longer using? That’s the question Alex Peacock and Nolan Wright asked and why they formed Recess Games USA. The goal, their mission, is “To pair those in the community with people in recovery who are seeking…

As more and more states legalize marijuana and others have a variety of cannabinoid products available, it seems sensible to ask what they are, what they aren’t, and how they might affect young people. Annie von Neupert is Project Coordinator for REACH. REACH, a federal Drug Free Communities coalition, focuses on reducing misuse of alcohol, nicotine,…

A returning panel of women, now entering their senior year in college, discuss navigating their journey through college while also navigating academics, a pandemic, excessive alcohol and other drug use, relationships, and mental health issues. Grace, Aiden, Jackie, and Austyn talk about discovering who they are and where they want to go, made more challenging…

We’ve all seen the slogans, signs, and bumper stickers. “One Day at a Time,” “K.I.S.S.,” “I’m a Friend of Bill W.,” and dozens more. What do they mean to folks in recovery? Kathy Reiley, a retired attorney and a person with an alcohol use disorder, talks about the meaning of the recovery slogans so frequently…

Providing world-class, empowering, and transformative interdisciplinary care to women and their children affected by substance use disorders is the mission of the Horizons Program at the University of North Carolina Medical School. Dr. Hendrée Jones, Dr. Elisabeth Johnson, and Chrissy Jones, an alumni of the UNC Horizons Program, discuss the importance of providing substance abuse…

Michael Rebellino is a civil engineer. And a writer. Michael’s stream of consciousness novel, Clean is the fictional story, inspired by true events, of Cameron, an independent, accomplished, and strong-willed young adult caught in the grips of alcoholism and drug addiction. Whoever you are and whatever you’re going through, you’re not alone. And there is…

This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. Or is it? Can drugs long labeled as problematic be used as therapeutic aids? Kevin Franciotti is a Denver-based writer and licensed addiction counselor trained in psychedelic-assisted therapy. He discusses an increasing amount of research indicating that some substances can be beneficial in the treatment…