MIAMI, Fla. – The pandemic has put a spotlight on the mental health crisis in the United States.
Escalating rates of suicide in 2020 made it the second leading cause of death for teens and young adults.
Susan Racher is president of the Miami-Dade chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Health or NAMI.
The organization provides crucial resources for those in need of mental health support, as well as their families.
”Mental health condition affects the whole family and in order to help our loved ones heal the family needs to understand what’s happening, what tools they need and how they can cope,” Racher said.
The Miami-Dade chapter of NAMI will be holding its first “Walk For Mental Health” on Saturday, May 21, 2022 at Maurice Ferré Park in downtown Miami.
For details on how to participate, go to: www.namiwalks.org/miami.
May is designated Mental Health month. Florida governor Ron DeSantis recently signed a bill to improve access to mental health services for children and families in the state.
Teens and cannabis
According to a recent survey, cannabis use with vaping devices is increasing among teenagers while non-vaped cannabis is decreasing.
The findings, published in “Addiction,” revealed that overall any level of cannabis use among the age group is increasing, but vaping is particularly alluring because it’s harder to detect and easier to hide.
Studies have shown that adolescents who use cannabis in vaping devices are ten times as likely to binge drink than those who don’t use cannabis at all.