Red Ribbon Week: Say No To Drugs
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In celebration of Red Ribbon week, we encourage you to “SAY NO TO DRUGS”. We care about you as our community’s FUTURE LEADER. Here are some facts about how drugs affect your mind and body. Please think before you try harmful drugs and other substances.
Alcohol
| ALCOHOL (beer, wine, liquor) |
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| Physical Symptoms | Look For | Dangers |
| Intoxication, slurred speech, unsteady walk, relaxation, relaxed inhibitions, impaired coordination, slowed reflexes. | Smell of Alcohol, on clothes or breath, intoxicated behavior, hangover, glazed eyes. | Addiction, accidents as a result of impaired ability and judgement, overdose when mixed with other depressants, heart and liver damage. |
Cocaine
| COCAINE (coke, rock, crack, base) |
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| Physical Symptoms | Look For | Dangers |
| Brief intense euphoria, elevated blood pressure & heart rate, restlessness, excitement, feeling of well-being followed by depression. | Glass viles, glass pipe, white crystaline powder, razor blades, syringes, needle marks. | Addiction, heart attack, seizures, severe depression, paranoia, (see Stimulants). |
Marijuana
| MARIJUANA (pot, dope, grass, weed, herb, hash, joint) |
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| Physical Symptoms | Look For | Dangers |
| Altered perceptions, red eyes, dry mouth, reduced concentration and coordination, euphoria, laughing, hunger. | Rolling papers, pipes, dried plant material, odor of burnt hemp rope, roach clips. | Panic reaction, impaired short term memory, addiction. |
Hallucinogens
| HALLUCINOGENS (acid, LSD, PCP, MDMA, Ecstasy, psilocybin, mushrooms, peyote) |
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| Physical Symptoms | Look For | Dangers |
| Altered mood and perceptions, focus on detail, anxiety, panic, nauseam, synaesthesea (ex: smell colors, see sounds). | Capsules, tablets, "microdots", blotter squares. | Unpredictable behavior, emotional instability, violent behavior (with PCP). |
Inhalants
| INHALANTS (gas, aerosols, glue, nitrates, Rush, White out) |
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| Physical Symptoms | Look For | Dangers |
| Nausea, dizziness, headaches, lack of coordination and control. | Odor of substance on clothing and breath, intoxication, drowsiness, poor muscular control. | Unconsciousness, suffocation, nausea and vomiting, damage to brain and central nervous system, sudden death. |
Narcotics
| NARCOTICS (Heroin (junk, dope, Black tar, China white), Demerol, Dilaudid (D's), Morphine, Codeine) |
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| Physical Symptoms | Look For | Dangers |
| Euphoria, drowsiness, insensitivity to pain, nausea, vomiting, watery eyes, runny nose, (see Depressants). | Needle marks on arms, needles, syringes, spoons, pinpoint pupils, cold moist skin. | Addiction, lethargy, weight loss, contamination from unsterile needles (hepatitis, AIDS), accidental overdose. |
Stimulants
| STIMULANTS (Speed, uppers, crank, Bam, black beauties, crystal, dexies, caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines) |
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| Physical Symptoms | Look For | Dangers |
| Alertness, takativeness, wakefulness, increased blood pressure, loss of appetite, mood elevation. | Pills and capsules, loss of sleep and appetite, irritability or anxiety, weight loss, hyperactivity. | Fatigue leading to exhaustion, addiction, paranoia, depression, confusion, possibly halucinations. |
Depressants
| DEPRESSANTS (Barbiturates, Sedatives, Tranquilizers (downers, tranks, ludes, reds), Valium, yellow jackets, alcohol) |
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| Physical Symptoms | Look For | Dangers |
| Depressed breathing and heartbeat, intoxication, drowsiness, uncoordinated movements. | Capsules and pills, confused behavior, longer periods of sleep, slurred speech. | Possible overdose, especially in combination w/alcohol, muscle rigidity, addiction, withdrawal & overdose require medical treatment. |
Congratulations to our 2021 “You’re Not Alone” Student Ambassadors
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Congratulations to our “You’re Not Alone” (YNA) Student Ambassadors for completing their national certification as teen mental health advocates. They are now trained to recognize the needs of their peers and direct them to trusted and professional adults for support. Students from Eustis, Leesburg, Mount Dora, Tavares, Umatilla, and South Lake High Schools were inducted as YNA leaders this year and recognized for their commitment. They will now lead the way to developing mental health clubs on school campus, promoting campaigns to break stigma, and directing their peers to resources on campus. Special thanks to Lake County Schools for investing in our youth, Dr. Kristine Landry for her phenomenal guidance and leadership, all of our high school Principals, Mental Health Liaisons, and parents for their care and trust. More importantly, special thanks to LAKE MINNEOLA HIGH students and staff for being the TRAILBLAZERS in the district to spearhead the entire initiative! This is truly a huge success for all!
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2020-2021 You're Not Alone Program
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During the 2020 - 2021 school year, Be Free Lake, working under the direction of Lake County Schools, expanded the You're Not Alone program to include all Lake County high schools: Eustis, Mount Dora, Tavares, Umatilla, Leesburg, East Ridge, Lake Minneola, and South Lake. Well over 200 high school students have now completed this program and have become advocates for mental wellness at their schools. We are so proud of these students and the work they are doing to promote mental wellness in their schools!
The video below was created by Mental Health Liaison to Tavares High School, Mrs. Charisa Watson, and our Tavares High School Student Ambassadors:
COVID-19 Impact on the Overdose Epidemic
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NATIONAL UPDATES: THE CONSEQUENCES OF COVID-19 ON THE OVERDOSE EPIDEMIC: OVERDOSES ARE INCREASING!
2020 has been strongly impacted by the current COVID-19 pandemic which has affected our global, national, state, and local communities. We are currently seeing a rise in substance use and opioid deaths due to unforeseen isolation and social restrictions including those related to recovery, treatment, and support. The situation has been described as an "epidemic within an epidemic" or a “collision of crises”, as states begin to strategize on how they will combat the compounding COVID and Opioid Epidemic. The most recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released on August 14, 2020 indicated that "Younger adults, racial/ethnic minorities, essential workers, and unpaid adult caregivers reported having experienced disproportionately worse mental health outcomes, increased substance use, and elevated suicidal ideation".The CDC also released a report earlier this year indicating a 4.8% increase in drug overdose deaths in 2019, with a record 70,980 deaths. The current circumstances, especially unemployment due to mass layoffs, has drastically caused this number to rise as of Q2 2020. As of March 2020, in comparison to March 2019, there was a 18% increase, followed by a 29% increase in April and a 42% increase in May.
The State of Mental Health in America Report:
Read more here
A message from the FDA:“Even during this global pandemic, we have continued to prioritize addressing the opioid crisis,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D. “Today’s action can help further raise awareness about this potentially life-saving treatment for individuals that may be at greater risk of an overdose and those in the community most likely to observe an overdose. We will use all available tools to address this crisis, and we know efforts to increase access to naloxone have the potential to put an important medicine for combatting opioid overdose and death in the hands of those who need it most – those at increased risk of opioid overdose and their friends and family.”The FDA is now requiring that recommendations for prescribing naloxone with opioid prescriptions, as well as benzodiazepines, and medicine to treat OUD (i.e. buprenorphine, methadone, naltrexone), be added to the prescribing information on the label. The FDA is further working to increase availability of naloxone nationwide. STATE, REGIONAL & LOCAL UPDATES
The following figures were provided by Debra Babin, M.P.H., North Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) and highlight data in Florida related to suspected overdoses, fatal overdoses, and Narcan administrations. From January 1 – June 30, 2020 there were12,674 Suspected ODs, 771 Fatal ODs, and 6,895 Narcan Administrations reported.
