The DEA recently issued a warning about xylazine, a veterinary drug. This "Dear Colleague" letter from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides a report on the risks of xylazine.

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According to the data, teens growing up in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties have easy access and opportunity to use drugs and alcohol. This is a reality. But as parents and caregivers, we can help them navigate through these tough decisions. Where can we start? Know the facts, communicate openly, and listen to our teens.

This brief provides a condensed version of the guide created with Youth Opioid Response California and California AfterSchool Network, to provide information on various strategies co-designed across sectors to support substance use prevention and creating hubs at schools and other community sites to promote whole child, whole family, and whole community health and wellbeing.

The Butte Glenn Opioid Safety Coalition created a pamphlet that highlights fentanyl awareness and resources.

The Butte Glenn Opioid Safety coalition created a pamphlet that highlights fentanyl awareness and resources.

This brief provides a condensed version of the guide created with Youth Opioid Response California and California AfterSchool Network, to provide information on various strategies co-designed across sectors to support substance use prevention and creating hubs at schools and other community sites to promote whole child, whole family, and whole community health and wellbeing.

The Public Safety-led Community-oriented Overdose Prevention Efforts (PS-COPE) Toolkit is a new approach to overdose prevention and response for Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities. It combines three proven models to enhance overdose prevention and response: trauma-informed care, recovery-oriented systems of care and procedural justice.

The racial equity impact assessment toolkit can be a vital tool for preventing institutional racism and for identifying new options to remedy long-standing inequities.

While many medical professionals promote an abstinence-based approach to discussing drug use, offering tools and education around safer drug use supports patient health if they continue to use drugs. Harm reduction is the moral foundation and root practice of offering these tools and services. View this guide from the CA ED Bridge Program on how to establish a harm reduction program in your hospital and easily access related resources.

Spoken words cannot be un-said, and they have the power to build up person, or to destroy a person. When we choose to be compassionate, we become a part of the solution, giving an opportunity for others to be successful. This guide offers insight into how we can change the way we talk about addiction to create positive change.

This page offers background information and tips for providers to keep in mind while using person-first language, as well as terms to avoid to reduce stigma and negative bias when discussing addiction. Although some language that may be considered stigmatizing is commonly used within social communities of people who struggle with substance use disorder (SUD), clinicians can show leadership in how language can destigmatize the disease of addiction.

Harm reduction is a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use. Harm Reduction is also a movement for social justice built on a belief in, and respect for, the rights of people who use drugs.

SAMHSA recognizes the need for governments, states, territories, tribes, crisis centers, and partners to speak with one voice to ensure there is a clear understanding about what 988 is and how it will work. These communication outreach materials allow your community coalitions to meet the needs of your specific audiences.

Let’s Talk began as a collaborative effort between Marin County Office of Education, Marin Health and Human Services and Marin Healthy Youth Partnerships, and has been adapted for the Tri-County Region by the Central Coast Tri-County Coalition. Let’s Talk is a parent toolkit for navigating teen substance use and this booklet has been adapted to include specific data and information for the Central Coast Tri-County Region.

The purpose of this document is to encourage careful and selective use of long-term opioid therapy in the context of managing chronic pain through an evidence-based prescribing guideline, quality improvement measures to advance the integration of the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain into clinical practice, and practice-level strategies to improve care coordination.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst provides a free guide on motivational interviewing principles. Understanding the principles of motivational interviewing can be helpful in framing proper communication strategies towards and with youth.

This pragmatic and straightforward guide can serve as a valuable tool for new and established programs alike, offering practice suggestions and guidance in several areas.

This brief provides strategies for managing pushback to medication assisted treatment (MAT).

This paper in CHCF's How to Pay for It series describes how MAT is reimbursed in these settings, addressing professional services, as well as hospital and pharmacy costs associated with the medication.