Congratulations to you and your family on the completion of another successful school year! As we know, summer is a time for experimentation. In addition to telling your child about the dangers drugs and alcohol have on their developing brains and your expectations of them, please discuss Teen 911 Immunity. Anthony Portantino passed this law enabling young people to call paramedics for help without punishment even if they, too, have been partying. This law came out of the death of a South Pasadena teen whose friends were too afraid to get help. It doesn’t condone illegal behavior; instead, it promotes saving kids lives.

For the first time, and in a bipartisan vote of 219 to 189, the House of Representatives approved Dana Rohrabacher’s (R- Huntington Beach) amendment prohibiting federal interference in state laws that “authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana.” Next, the Senate will decide whether or not the Justice Department, which includes the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), can spend taxpayers’ money on dispensary raids or other attempts to stop medical use of marijuana in the 22 states that allow it. The House also approved amendments prohibiting the DEA from interfering with state hemp production laws and hemp research programs.

A recent study compared heroin users from the 1960s and today found today’s users are older, white suburbanites. Three-quarters of today’s users came to heroin after prescription Opioid use (like OxyContin); conversely 80% of users 50 years ago never used pills. Read more about it on our website.

Don’t forget, you’re invited to tomorrow’s Strategic Partners meeting, 8 a.m. – 10 a.m. at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, Council Rooms A & C.

Finally, we are about to put together programs for the school year. If you are interested in getting involved in CV Alliance, please send me an email and I’ll add you to our invitation lists. You are our boots on the ground; you know what kids are doing, what parents need, and how the community as a whole can work together. Thank you for your support – especially to those of you who returned envelopes!

Suzy Jacobs, Executive Director,
CV Alliance

3131 Foothill Blvd. Suite D

La Crescenta, CA 91214

(818) 646-7867  http://cv-alliance.org/

  Suzy JACOBS