Texas House unanimously gives initial approve to bill that would legalize fentanyl testing strips

Posted on April 25, 2025 by TCYSAPC

Amazon.com: Emnce Fentanyl Test Strips Home Drug Testing Kit - Accurate for Powder Substances, Liquids & Pills | Urine Test Kit for Synthetic Detection | for Forensic Use [5 Pack] : Health & HouseholdThe Texas House has given unanimous initial approval to a bill to legalize fentanyl testing strips. Currently, state law classifies the strips as drug paraphernalia.   On Tuesday, state lawmakers passed House Bill 1644 on second reading by a vote of 145 to 0. It would legalize testing strips for fentanyl

… Continue to full story .......
Posted in News | Leave a comment

The risks of teen drinking and the role of family medicine physicians with conversations about alcohol

Posted on April 25, 2025 by TCYSAPC

Teen drinking poses serious risks to adolescent health, affecting brain development and increasing addiction potential. There are effective strategies to address this issue.  Teen alcohol use is far more common, and far more consequential, than many family practitioners realize. According to recent surveys, nearly one in three high school

… Continue to full story .......
Posted in News | Leave a comment

Texas court blocks Austin law that decriminalized small amounts of marijuana

Posted on April 25, 2025 by TCYSAPC
… Continue to full story .......
Posted in News | Leave a comment

Bill allowing grocery stores, gas stations to sell ‘ready-to-drink’ cocktails advances out of TX Lege committee

Posted on April 24, 2025 by TCYSAPC

Pre-Mixed Cocktails for Summer - Spec's Wines, Spirits & Finer FoodsA bill in the Texas Senate to allow the sale of “ready-to-drink cocktails” (RTDs) at grocery and convenience stores passed a committee vote Wednesday. Those drinks would be limited to 17% alcohol by volume.  SB 2225 would allow stores that are licensed to sell beer and wine to apply for

… Continue to full story .......
Posted in News | Leave a comment

Drug deaths are going down in Travis County, but federal funding cuts could halt progress

Posted on April 23, 2025 by TCYSAPC
Narcan Nasal Spray in an emergency holder in a nurse clinic.

Drug deaths are going down in Travis County for the first time since 2019, according to the medical examiner’s report.   Total drug deaths decreased 22% from 2023 to 2024, and deaths involving fentanyl fell by 36%. The numbers were released Monday and are a stark difference from last year’s report,

… Continue to full story .......
Posted in News | Leave a comment

Trump team revokes $11 billion in funding for addiction, mental health care

Posted on April 14, 2025 by TCYSAPC

President Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have movedWhite House | History, Location, & Facts | Britannica to slash funding for addiction treatment programs and research, saying the money should instead be spent on efforts to “Make America Healthy Again.”  Local public health departments and nonprofit groups are reeling after announced abrupt cancellation and revocation of

… Continue to full story .......
Posted in News | Leave a comment

US Supreme Court upholds ban on some e-cigarette flavors

Posted on April 14, 2025 by TCYSAPC

The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously April 2, 2025 that health authorities acted properly when they blocked e-cigarette companies from marketing fruit- and dessert-flavored flavors. The court upheld the FDA’s argument that these products could be addictive for young people who like sweet flavors in vaping devices.  Electronic cigarettes are

… Continue to full story .......
Posted in News | Leave a comment

Proposed TX HB 28 still outlaws THC flower and edibles; adds 21+ age restrictions on buying; limits Mg of THC per serving

Posted on April 14, 2025 by TCYSAPC

Texas HB 28 proposes a major regulatory cleanup of the consumable hemp industry in Texas, calling for regulations that business and cannabis industry advocates have asked for: 21+ age restrictions on purchases, banning synthetic cannabinoids, more stringent testing of products, packaging that is child-resistant and responsibly marketed, and limits on

… Continue to full story .......
Posted in News | Leave a comment

Nonfatal fentanyl exposures increase nearly 1,200% among youth

Posted on March 31, 2025 by TCYSAPC

Nonfatal fentanyl exposures increased nearly 1,200% among children and adolescents from 2015 to 2023, according to findings published in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.  Researchers also reported that overdoses are becoming more severe, and intentional fentanyl use among children and teens is growing.

Youth overdose deaths have
… Continue to full story .......
Posted in News | Leave a comment

Williamson County man sentenced to 30 years in prison following conviction for fentanyl-related death

Posted on March 31, 2025 by TCYSAPC

A Williamson County man will spend the next 30 yearsFentanyl dealers arrested, charged | Williamson County Sun in prison after being convicted of selling the fentanyl that led to a man’s death. On March 3, Marek Dillard was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of Remington Allison, following his death due to a fentanyl

… Continue to full story .......
Posted in News | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

TX Lege concern of unregulated market in THC-based products needs to be reined in – Texas Senate Bill approves ban

Posted on March 31, 2025 by TCYSAPC

Never in a million years did Ann Gauger think she and her husband would start growing cannabis on their family farm in Lubbock.   After all, the couple grew up in the 1980s, during the era of “Just Say No” and a nationwide war on drugs. Now they operate the largest … Continue to full story .......

Posted in News | Leave a comment

Delaying youth consumption of alcohol is crucial to preventing future substance use disorder

Posted on March 19, 2025 by TCYSAPC

We Need to Change the Social Norms about Alcohol" - DianovaYouth who consume alcohol face unique dangers because of their undeveloped brains and the loosening of inhibitions that can lead to more dangerous experimentation with drugs.   Alcohol is the most used substance by adolescents. In a 2023 SAMSHA study, nearly 15 percent of teens ages 12 to 20 reported using

… Continue to full story .......
Posted in News | Leave a comment