As we head into Memorial Day weekend 🇺🇸, may we take a moment to honor and remember the service members who gave their lives in service to our country. Wishing you a safe, meaningful, and restful holiday weekend filled with connection, reflection, and care for one another. Have a good one! Melissa ❤️🤍💙

As Mental Health Month comes to a close, it’s important to remember that mental health isn’t just a once-a-year conversation—it’s something that impacts individuals, families, workplaces, and communities 24/7/365.💞

Checking in, reaching out, reducing stigma, and supporting one another are everyday actions that matter far beyond the month of May.

To close things out, I wanted to share this powerful video from Dan + Shay, Say So 🎶a deeply personal song centered around mental health awareness, suicide prevention, and the importance of leaning on loved ones during dark times. View the Video 🎧

Prevention efforts need to cut across generations. In April, SAMHSA published Prevention Across the Lifespan: Spotlight on Older Adults.

This resource highlights the rising rates and unique risks of substance use among older adults, while exploring key risk and protective factors and opportunities for prevention—including screening, education, and medication management.



An important reminder that prevention isn’t just about youth—it’s truly lifelong. 🌱

Cocaine delivery service dismantled in luxury apartment building in the Bronx DEA.gov

📸DEA

Truck driver sentenced after nearly $10M in cocaine found hidden inside Kim Kardashian SKIMS shipment Fox News

Pentagon watchdog to evaluate US military's boat strikes in Latin America PBS

MGM-15 is a semi-synthetic opioid derived from 7-hydroxymitragynine (a natural compound found in the kratom plant). Synthesized in a lab, it binds aggressively to opioid receptors in the brain and is estimated to be approximately 15-fold more potent than morphine.

So how might these products appear on shelves or online marketplaces? 👀 In addition to brand names and botanical terminology, I’m seeing more labels using phrases like Mit Alkaloids, mood booster, energy shot, or dietary supplement—marketing approaches that can make products seem safer, more natural, or harder to identify at first glance. I've been able to find MGM-15 in tablets and powder forms online, including fruity flavors tabs.

📸PureLeafKratom.com, mgm15tablet.com

Read more about MGM-15 in last week's National Drug Early Warning System's Weekly Briefing, where they highlighted mitragynine derivatives and kratom byproducts, including the popular 7-OH. Check out data on EMS encounters, Reddit searches, and recent publications. You can also read more about this 'legal morphine' in this 2025 National Institute of Health Article.🌿

During a recent community scan in Keokuk, Iowa, I came across a few “new-to-me” prepackaged alcopops 👀🍹

As you can see below, many featured high alcohol content, oversized containers, fruity flavors, and familiar brands capitalizing on the growing popularity of “dirty” drink trends.

Another reminder of how quickly alcohol marketing continues to evolve—and how important it is to pay attention to what’s showing up on local store shelves.

What are you seeing in your communities? 🛒Send me photos!

CARA Application is Open!

The FY26 Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) grants are now open (due 6/8) to support current and former DFC coalitions working to prevent opioid, methamphetamine, and prescription drug misuse among youth ages 12–18.

Remember… strong applications are built through strategy, partnerships, and alignment. Start partner outreach early, collect meaningful local data, and make sure your narrative reflects the unique strengths and needs of your community—not just what AI thinks sounds good. Need help? Let’s connect🌟

Hot off the (virtual) press!

This week, the Wisconsin Safe and Healthy Schools Center released their 2026 A Guide for Schools to Address Substance Use Prevention and Intervention toolkit! Check it out for best practices, programs, and theory to support your school and community's unique needs!



It was an honor to be asked to contribute this fantastic comprehensive guide for educators and administrators looking to address this complex issue!

When was the last time you really looked around your local convenience store, at the gas station counter, on the shelves of the grocery or liquor store, or stopped by the local vape shop(s)? 👀

One of the unique services I offer is a comprehensive community scan focused on alcohol, tobacco, OTCs, cannabis products, and more being marketed and sold locally. I spend hours documenting storefronts, promotions, product placement, and emerging trends—then integrate those real-world findings directly into my trainings and presentations.

What sets my scans apart? Communities receive a customized summary plus access to hundreds of photos captured during the process 📸—helping spark meaningful conversations around prevention, policy, and awareness.