Do you know what Prevention Science is?

The partners of Freemind and ISSUP Brasil, Rodrigo Flaire – State Coordinator of Drug Policies of São Paulo – and Claudemir dos Santos – Technical Director of Prevention of COED-SP, in this video, explain and give examples of what is and how prevention science can be used to make decisions based on scientific evidence. Here's what they say:

Science is a branch of knowledge of empirical* nature, logical and systematic, in which it is possible to validate and demonstrate the data and results, with methodology.

In the science of prevention, despite a...

National and international drug prevention networks, community leaders and strong community coalitions are the key to changing public attitudes and reducing the availability of illicit drugs worldwide. Some effective tactics include promoting drug demand reduction principles and raising awareness of the social consequences of drug abuse and addiction. Below you will learn about many other strategies that have been implemented and have successfully reduced drug use from a global perspective to the site.

How can we prevent drug use around the world?

- We need to make people aware that drug...

According to a new study,unlicensed marijuana dispensaries in California are opening in black and Latino neighborhoods at a disproportionately high rate, following a similar pattern taken by alcohol and tobacco retailers.

Researchers say this trend could worsen existing health disparities for minority and poor communities because highly potent products sold in unlicensed dispensaries are less likely to be tested for safety, have no safe packaging for children, and are often cheaper than highly regulated products found in licensed dispensaries.

The study also found that California...

Dr. Zila M. Sanchez, Camila L. Oliveira, Dr. Ronaldo Laranjeira and Dr. Raul Caetano had a Letter to the Editor published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, where they talk about cases of poisoning and deaths from diethylene glycol present in Brazilian craft beers. Read the letter in full:

Dear editor:

Since December 30, 2019, Brazil has had several cases of intoxication due to beer intake (State Department of Health, 2020a), the alcoholic beverage most consumed by Brazilians (World Health Organization, 2018). An ongoing investigation, coordinated by the Center for Strategic...

The risks of marijuana use and emerging tobacco products during adolescence will be the subject of the next webinar of the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM). Next Friday, August 28, the eveof The National Day to Combat Smoking, the event will be held through the CFM YouTube channel, promoting an online debate. The meeting will target doctors and lawyers.

Organized by the Cfm's Lawful and Ilic drug control commission, the webinar will also discuss the challenges faced to control tobacco use and devices such as electronic cigarettes, hookah and heated tobacco, as well as the losses associated...

La légalisation et la commercialisation de la consommation de cannabis augmentent-elles l’incidence et la prévalence de la psychose ?

Il existe une tendance politique mondiale vers la libéralisation et la commercialisation du cannabis. L’Uruguay a légalisé le cannabis récréatif en 2013, tout comme le Canada en 2018, ainsi que 10 États américains. D’autres pays ont décriminalisé la drogue. Aux Pays-Bas, le cannabis peut être acheté dans des cafés désignés, et au Portugal, la police oriente ceux qui consomment régulièrement du cannabis vers des conseils. Les psychiatres ont joué un rôle de...

Father Haroldo Rahm lived and died at the age of 100 opening doors or building bridges to save lives. He was freemind's great inspiration and spiritual mentor. He left a legacy of living and written works that made him immortal. In his book "Every Day - 365 - Drugs - Prevention - Solutions" tells us about putting a touch of eternity in our life.

"There are moments, in the succession of hours and days, when life itself is made song... A silence. One word. A little gesture. A simple look or the timbre of the voice.

It's a letter or a phone call we got. The poetry of the rising sun or the...

Discussions on the decriminalization of drug possession for personal consumption are increasing, including an extraordinary appeal still pending judgment in the Supreme Court on this subject (RExt. 635.659).

However, it is frightening to see a member of the Public Prosecutor's Office openly defending in an article published on a legal website, not the release of the drug for his own use, with which, by the way, I do not agree, but that the trade or even the free delivery of drugs, between adult and capable parties, does not generate injury or concrete danger of injury to the protected legal...

In another video of the channel Prevent Always, Rodrigo Flaire and Claudemir dos Santos end the series that deals with life skills, talking about the importance of parents' participation for prevention in school,about how parents can prevent risky behaviors by simply participating more actively in the school life of their children.

But have you ever heard of Life Skills? Do you know how they can help us?

The term "Skills for Life" has its origin in the publication of the guidelines of the Mental Health Program of the World Health Organization (WHO). Defined as skills that facilitate adaptive...

Drink in moderation. A healthy, well-meaning and responsible advice, transmitted by the alcoholic beverage industry in all its advertisements, aimed at preventing the problems of excessive alcohol consumption. Right?

I'm not so sure.

The first time I stopped to reflect on this was in my master's research in which most 15-year-old students agreed with the statement "it's okay for someone my age to drink as long as they know when to stop".

I wondered where this idea came from, since everyone knows that the consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited for children under 18 years and that...

Students with disabilities, almost forgotten in times of pandemic, need to be included in order to guarantee their right to education.

The pandemic collapsed our routine daily life and opened up the inequality that exists in society, and, consequently, of the educational system. The inequality of access to information and technology, as well as that of opportunities were presented in the educational agenda.

All who have a connection with education were affected - teachers, students, principals, pedagogical coordinators, parents - and the intensity was not uniform, since some were more...

Marijuana is the most widely consumed illicit substance worldwide, with an estimated 192 million individuals reporting its use in the last 12 months in 2018, according to the 2020 World Drug Report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODCP).

An article by Dr. Sergio Nicastri, a psychiatrist in the clinical staff of the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein sought to summarize some relevant issues related to marijuana and its consumption.

Important points to highlight include the increase in THC levels over time in available marijuana preparations, as well as new forms of...

*By Claudemir dos Santos and Rodrigo Flaire

In another video of Prevent Always, Rodrigo Flaire – State Coordinator of Drug Policies of São Paulo – and Claudemir dos Santos – Technical Director of Prevention of COED-SP, talk about how to deal with our feelings and our emotions and how this is related to the theme of prevention of drug use.

Knowing how to deal with emotions

One of the main life skills, according to the World Health Organization ( WHO ) is knowing how to deal with emotions. And this has a very strong correlation with emotional intelligence.

Psychology studies the four...

Abuse of alcoholic beverages can weaken the immune system and leave the body more exposed to diseases.

Staying healthy and adopting habits that strengthen immunity are recommendations of health professionals since the beginning of the pandemic of the new coronavirus - being important measures for the body to be better prepared if it comes into contact with the virus. In this context, alcohol abuse becomes a relevant point of attention.

According to several studies, excessive alcohol consumption can weaken our immune system, making the body an easier target for diseases. This is because...

Le Conseil national des politiques en matière de drogues (CONAD) a tenu une réunion extraordinaire le lundi 6 juillet 2020, approuvant d’importants points de l’ordre du jour qui renforceront la politique des drogues au Brésil.

Dans l’un des points évalués, le CONAD a rejeté les six recommandations de l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS), faites à la Commission des stupéfiants des Nations Unies (ONU), pour l’assouplissement et la réduction du contrôle international sur le cannabis et les substances connexes. Face au danger évident qu’une éventuelle réduction du contrôle du cannabis et...

Since May 31, World No Tobacco Day, the São Paulo State Department of Health has reinforced, with the SUS, the virtual care campaign for those who want to quit smoking during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Online care has been active since April with the aim of reducing covid-19 transmission while caring for the smoking patient who wants to give up addiction.  All units linked to the program were instructed to make use of virtual technology.

In total, 6,910 smokers are being treated with online expert support from 1,467 units accredited by the State Tobacco Control Program.

Relying on messaging and...