Good work noted: Mental Wealth project at University of Sydney

 

Mother Teresa said that the US while the wealthiest nation on earth is also the most spiritually impoverished. The Beatles sang "Money can't buy you love."  Americans are very focused on money as the measure of success. The Stoics taught that the development of virtue is the proper measure of success.

Community programs mitigate opioid deaths significantly.

David Wazana has written a great article for the Rochester Beacon entitled, "Rochester joins effort to raise naloxone awareness." which was published on June 12, 2026. 

Rochester’s Neighborhood Ambassador Program, a city-funded, community-driven program, seeks to address the opioid epidemic by recruiting and training neighborhood ambassadors in opioid crisis interventions. NAP also distributes naloxone kits, which contain naloxone nasal sprays and strips to test for fentanyl and xylazine.

According to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control, 2025 saw an almost 14% decrease in overdose deaths; New York, along with Rhode Island, North Carolina, Alabama, and Vermont, saw the largest decline, with 25% fewer overdose deaths in 2025 than in 2024.

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In Monroe County, opioid-related overdose deaths dropped from 433 in 2023 to 216 in 2024, a decline of 50%, according to recent data from the county medical examiner. The decline mirrors a national trend, which researchers and advocates like Klee attribute to harm-reduction efforts and increased access to Nalaxone, as well as growing awareness of the dangers of opioid use.

In 2023, at the height of the nationwide opioid epidemic, opioid overdose deaths peaked at 79,000 before beginning a steep decline, which has continued since then.

I have known many people professionally and personally who have died from opioid overdoses. I also know of people who have been saved from dying by the quick administration of naloxone.

Deaths from naloxone overdoses are devastasting for families and communities. In attempting to counteract these loses it is important to know, support, and utilize harm reduction strategies. The data indicates that they work saving lives and improving the health of individuals, and the well being of families and communities.

As a side note, David Wazana's article is a great example of solution oriented journalism. Kudos to him for his good article and for the Rochester Beacon for publishing it.

Violent attack on CDC goes largely unnoticed

“It’s been a struggle to process what happened at the CDC just a few days ago. The facts are coming in: one officer died, 500 rounds fired, 200 bullets made contact with 6 CDC buildings, hundreds of staff sheltered in place for hours. The intention is undeniable: this was an attempted massacre.”

This was the opening of an August 13 Substack column and video discussing the deafening silence after the deadly attack last week on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, a joint effort by resident physician Kristein Panthagan, emergency physician Megan Ranny (also Dean of Yale School of Public Health) and epidemiologist Kateyn Jetelina of Your Local Epidemiologist.

“The state of the world feels unrecognizable,” they wrote. “We are living headline to headline, tragedy to tragedy…Our world is swallowed whole by the endless churn of violence and crisis we’ve come to accept as ordinary. We are drowning in the abnormal…”

In a LinkedIn post, Jeletina wrote: “As horrific as it was to have 500 bullets fired toward the CDC, what’s been equally painful is what followed (or rather, what didn’t). The silence. The indifference. It's been deafening. Especially after all that public health has given over the past six years.”

For more click here.

The CDC has done great work in making the public health of Americans better than it would otherwise be without their good work. However the attacks by MAGA, DOGE, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. have cultivated animosity, and vilification by the scientifically illiterate who resent limits being put on their life threatening behaviors.

Our society will enjoy a higher quality of life for all if we support our public health programs.

U.S. tops all first world countries in Covid deaths per million.

 Click on graph to enlarge.

What are the factors which contribute to the U.S. being the most deadly country from Covid-19 deaths in the world?

How is this outcome to be explained?

Cannibis use disorder lower in states with liberal policies on cannibis availability

Adolescents and young adults living in states with more liberal policies reported higher average rates of past-year cannabis use than those in states with more conservative policies, according to a new study conducted at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. However, the rates of cannabis use disorder -- abuse or dependence on the drug -- were significantly lower in states with more liberal policies compared to states with more conservative policies, for ages 12 to 17, and marginally lower for ages 26 and older. These results remained significant even when controlling for the presence of medical cannabis laws. This study is one of the first to assess the relationship between policy liberalism and health outcomes, and specifically cannabis use-related outcomes. The findings are published in the International Journal of Drug Policy.

For more click here.