Disclaimer: The Activator is designed to keep prevention professionals informed about emerging products, industry marketing, public messaging, research, and current events. Content is shared to promote awareness and informed discussion—not to endorse, recommend, or promote any product, opinion, organization, or viewpoint featured within the newsletter.

Five years. Thousands of people. Countless connections—and more gratitude than I can put into words. What started as M3 Consulting LLC in September 2021 has given me opportunities to present to thousands of people across the United States, learn alongside incredible professionals, visit communities I might never otherwise have experienced, and turn a whole lot of ideas into action. None of it happens alone. To everyone who has followed, subscribed, shared, referred, encouraged, hired, partnered, collaborated, contracted with me—or trusted me to work under your organization’s umbrella—thank you. Every opportunity, introduction, repeat invitation, kind word, and “I know someone you should talk to” has helped build M3 into what it is today. Y’all truly are the best. 💙 I’m incredibly grateful for the first five years—and even more excited to see where we go next! 🚀

And we're just getting started y'all! October will kick off the final quarter of 2026 with an Activator subscriber survey, service steals, training deals, some surprises, and so much more as I celebrate five years of M3 Consulting LLC. 🎁💻 Whether you’ve been here from the beginning or just joined the ride, stay tuned—this last quarter of the year is going to be a fun one! 💛 Much love, Melissa

⚠️Hazing or Hijinx? When We Look the Other Way🙈

“It’s tradition.” “Everyone goes through it.” “They were just having fun.” Hazing can be easy to normalize, minimize, laugh off, or dismiss as harmless hijinx—especially when it has been part of a team, organization, school, or group culture for years. But what may look like a prank or rite of passage to someone on the outside can have very different consequences for the person experiencing it. Humiliation, intimidation, isolation, coercion, physical injury, and emotional trauma don’t necessarily end when the initiation does; the impacts can follow someone for years—or even a lifetime. Prevention means being willing to recognize the difference between building belonging and demanding someone endure harm to earn it—and refusing to look the other way when “tradition” crosses that line.

'Visibly injured' students found covered with food, liquids in Madison hazing incident, police say WISN (WI)

12 years after Tucker Hipps' death, the push for stronger South Carolina hazing laws continue Fox Carolina

OU Fraternity violates code of conducts for hazing KFOR (OK)

Multiple hazing incidents reported at ECU WNCT9 (SC)

Felony charges filed against 4 Boyd High School football players over locker room hazing Fox4 (TX)

So how big of an issue is hazing? In a recent article by Inside Higher Ed, reported that More than 500 campus hazing incidents were confirmed last year. ...Nearly two years after the first ever federal antihazing legislation went into effect, a clearer picture of just how widespread hazing is on college campuses across the United States is beginning to emerge. Between July 2025 and August 2026, there were at least 556 hazing incidents across the 1,441 colleges and universities that have bachelor’s degree programs and on-campus housing, according to a recent analysis by HazingInfo. Two incidents resulted in death: Colin Martinez at Northern Arizona University and Savanna Jones at Wilberforce University in Ohio...

💊 Drugs Aren’t Always Bought With Cash💵

When we talk about drug transactions, it’s easy to picture money changing hands—but cash isn’t the only currency. Drugs may be exchanged for stolen property, electronics, favors, transportation, housing, or other goods and services. In some situations, people may also be exploited or pressured into exchanging sex or sexual acts for drugs.

That’s an important reminder for prevention and community scans: understanding the local drug environment means looking beyond price. What else has value in the transaction, who may be vulnerable to exploitation, and what other harms are connected to the exchange? 👀

Police raid drug dealer’s home and find rare Pokémon cards, then his phone reveals customers were using them to pay off debts Yahoo

Drugs, money and power. Court doc offers new details into Penn State cocaine ring Centre Daily Times

Brothers who own nearly 100 VIP Smoke Shops plead guilty to felony drug trafficking WLWT (OH)

👄 Nic Pouches Pack A Punch💥

US FDA expected to unveil steps to accelerate vape, nicotine pouch approvals Reuters

ZYN 3mg and 6mg Moving to 20 Pouches Nicokick

New York imposes 75% tax on tobacco-free nicotine products WMNYTV

...As of Sept. 1, New York state has imposed a 75% tax on what it calls alternative nicotine products.These include nicotine gum, lozenges, and nicotine pouches such as Zyn and Velo....

Nicotine pouches can be marketed as 'low risk.' Is that dangerous? NPR

How the pro-nicotine "wellness" movement rebranded an addictive drug The Conversation

This week, Bonnie Halpern-Felsher from Stanford University’s REACH Lab presented Nicotine Pouches on the Rise: What Parents Need to Know for Parents Against Vaping E-Cigarettes (PAVE). If you missed the presentation—or want to watch it again—the full recording is now available. The session explores the rapidly evolving nicotine pouch landscape and what parents, educators, and prevention professionals need to know. Watch the full presentation

Want to dig deeper? Stanford’s REACH Lab also offers a wealth of prevention and intervention resources you can use in your own work. Explore Stanford REACH Lab resources

Looking for even more resources? The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids has an excellent two-pager to support your efforts!📸ZYN

🍫 Look Twice: M&M’s—or THC?🌿

As I was eating my M&M’s treats, it was hard not to recognize the similarity when I came across POTPOTS. These THC-infused edibles are small, brightly colored, sugar-shelled chocolates that look strikingly familiar to an everyday candy. POTPOTS markets each piece as containing 1 mg of THC, with 100 pieces per package, and even describes them as “snackable” and “shareable.” For prevention, the comparison is hard to ignore: when a cannabis edible looks like a candy people have recognized since childhood, what does that mean for product recognition, safe storage, accidental ingestion, and perceptions of risk? Sometimes the difference between a treat and THC requires a much closer look. 👀🍬📸PotPots

UW–Madison is hiring a Substance Use Prevention Coordinator to work within the Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ Division of Care and Treatment Services. The position will help manage statewide substance use prevention services, including evidence-based prevention strategies, grantee monitoring, contracts, training and technical assistance, planning, evaluation, and strengthening Wisconsin’s prevention system. It’s a hybrid, 12-month appointment with the possibility of extension; starting salary is $70,000 and negotiable based on experience and qualifications. Applications close October 1, 2026 at 11 PM CT.

New to prevention—or ready for a refresher? The Great Lakes PTTC is offering a free Foundations in Substance Misuse Prevention webinar series from October 2026 through March 2027. Sessions cover the building blocks of effective prevention, including risk and protective factors, what doesn’t work, evidence-based strategies, logic models, and fidelity and adaptation—with free slides and handouts to support your learning. A great opportunity for newer preventionists and seasoned professionals looking to get back to the basics!

Explore the series and register - starts October 8th!

Wisconsin subscribers—here’s one for your radar!

The Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment at the Medical College of Wisconsin is accepting Letters of Intent for its 2027 Momentum Grants through October 26, 2026. Funding supports efforts addressing pressing Wisconsin health challenges through community health projects, health-focused research, and health workforce development. Have an idea that could improve health in your community? Now’s the time to take a closer look! View the RFA

ONDCP, HHS, and HUD have released the first-ever Treatment First Toolkit, designed to help state and local communities address the intersection of homelessness, substance use, treatment, and recovery. The resource emphasizes coordinated access to evidence-based treatment and recovery supports, along with strategies aimed at long-term stability and self-sufficiency. For coalitions and community partners, it’s another resource worth exploring as we consider how housing, behavioral health, recovery, and community systems work together.

Today’s cannabis marketplace looks very different than it did a generation ago. I recently joined the Avoiding the Addiction Affliction podcast to talk about higher-potency products, intoxicating hemp, changing perceptions, evolving marketing, and what it all means for prevention and our communities. Whether cannabis is part of your work—or you’re simply trying to keep up—give It’s Not Your Grandfather’s Weed Anymore a peek! 🎧👀

The Activator may land in your inbox once a week, but the ideas, trends, tools, and conversations keep going all week long! Follow M3 Consulting LLC on Facebook and LinkedIn for emerging trends, prevention resources, funding opportunities, leadership and sustainability strategies, practical tools—and a little fun along the way. From Trend Tuesday to Toolbox Thursday and Sustainable Leader Sunday, there’s something new every day to help you stay informed and keep moving ideas into action. And don’t just follow—like, comment, share, and join the conversation! 📲🚀