Dangerous New Drug Made from OTC Ingredients

We sounded the warning over a year ago that abuse of prescription painkillers would lead to an uptick in heroin addiction and unhappily, our predictions are coming through. Opiate addicts are turning to cheap Mexican heroin when they can no longer afford the prescription drugs. Seasoned drug enforcement officers predict that prices will slowly climb for the heroin. What will users do then?

The DEA is concerned that we might see the trend that has been horrifying Russians, just as they thought they had stemmed the tide of heroin from Kazakhstan and Afghanistan. Deprived of their drug of choice, heroin addicts are turning to a vile, but inexpensive, recipe of over-the-counter drugs and household chemicals called Krokodil. The street name for this morphine-analog comes from the common side effect of scaly green skin as the user's body rots from the inside out. Click below to see a disturbing video about how Krokodil has been destroying lives in Siberia. Let's not let it happen in Indian Country!

Take Action to Help Native Women

October is the month to take action to support justice for Native women throughout the United States. You can sign a petition encouraging Congress to take immediate action to pass the reauthorization of VAWA, the Violence Against Women Act.

Watch and Share Our New PSA

Our extraordinarily talented associates at Red Ant Films helped us make this powerful video for one of our online training courses. The reaction we have gotten is so powerful, we're releasing it as a public service announcement. We understand that alcohol is a contributor to untold criminal activity, violence and preventable accidents in Indian County and we pray for the end of this destruction.

Read more about our thoughts behind making this PSA at Indian Country Today Media Network.

Assemble a Kit, Make a Plan, Stay Informed

The new series of PSAs from Ready.gov remind us that it doesn't take much to prepare for an emergency, so when disaster strikes, you can just react to keep yourself and your family safe rather than having to think about how to respond.

Ending Bullying in Our Schools

The White House has endorsed the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA) and the Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA) as an important step to prevent bullying in schools. The Student Non-Discrimination Act would prohibit discrimination in public schools against any student on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.  And the Safe Schools Improvement Act would require school districts to adopt codes of conduct specifically prohibiting bullying and harassment, including on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and religion. The President, Vice President, Cabinet Secretaries and White House staff have also recorded videos on bullying prevention for the It Gets Better project.

Standing up Against Bullying in Indian Country

These young women say it well: Native pride means to honor and respect one another. Bullying does not honor our people, our traditions or our culture.

Strength Based Tribal Collaboration for Drug Endangered Children

In case you didn't catch the webinar, you can still watch the recorded session. Steve and Nadja did a great job as always, looking at how Native people can build on their strengths to protect children and how service providers can improve the cultural appropriateness  of their assessments.