So how does addiction affect us? The fact is that abuse and addiction to alcohol, nicotine, and illegal substances cost all of us upwards of half a trillion dollars a year. That happens when you take into account the combined medical, economic, criminal, and social impact addiction has. Each and every year, abuse of illicit drugs and alcohol contributes to the death of more than 100,000 Americans, while tobacco is linked to an estimated 440,000 deaths per year. Our children are starting to drink at an earlier age and lately, they are turning to prescription and over-the-counter medications to get high.Essentially, addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It is considered a brain disease because drugs change the brain - they change its structure and how it works. These brain changes can be long lasting, and can...

NCADD is launching a new effort called Acts of Prevention. Acts of Prevention is a unique and exciting program developed in response to the changing needs of our youth. It is based upon a collaborative relationship between the arts and prevention. are are energized to be able to offer programming to schools, communities and agencies that will be educational, fun and empowering for individuals of all ages.We want to know what you think of the idea of combining the arts with prevention. Let us know.By the way, if you are interested in or want more information on the Acts of Prevention programs you can contact us at 732-254-3344 or visit our website at www.ncadd-middlesex.org.

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} New Jersey is on the verge of being the next state to grant medical authority to its legislators by enacting legislation to allow our citizens to smoke pot and call it medicine. Besides the obvious contradiction that even the most addicted smoker knows that smoking is medically harmful, both the American Medical Association and Food and Drug Administration (among many others) deny that smoked marijuana is medicine. Its purity cannot be controlled, nor can its dosage be regulated. However, when pro- and anti-marijuana dogmas clash, an important fact is lost: natural marijuana is not a medicine in and of itself, nor is it an evil drug; it is...