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. | | |
What a week! As I sit down to write this week’s Activator, I’m feeling incredibly grateful—and maybe just a little tired! 😅
In four days, I had the opportunity to share emerging drug trends at the Minnesota Prevention Program Sharing Conference, spend four hours moving From Seats to Solutions with Iowa’s Prevention and Treatment Supervisors Association, Putting the Engage Back in Engagement during a Fall Professional Development training with preventionists from across the US, and today I'll wrap up the week with Wisconsin’s CESA 6 and Old Drugs, New Threats®: What Schools Need to Know talk.
Different audiences. Different topics. Different states.
But one common thread: people who care deeply about making their organizations and communities better.
After 25+ years in prevention and public health, I’m incredibly grateful that I get to put that experience to work in new ways every week. Thank you for your support, your partnerships, your referrals, and every opportunity you give me to learn alongside you, share what I know, and help move ideas into action. I truly couldn’t do this without all of you. 💛
| | 📍 Wherefore Art Thou, Delaware?🎭
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I am SO close to having The Activator reach subscribers in all 50 states—and now there’s only ONE left! 🎉🗺️
A huge shoutout to Courtney H. from South Dakota for making the connection that brought North Dakota into The Activator family! 🙌💜
I always say, “We don’t all know everyone we need to know, but we all know someone who knows someone we need to know.” And Courtney proved it!
So now…🎭📍 Wherefore Art Thou, Delaware? Who do YOU know?
If you have a friend, colleague, partner, preventionist—or that someone-who-knows-someone—in Delaware, send The Activator their way and help me officially reach ALL 50 STATES! 🎯
Plus, with your connection, I’ll send YOU a little gift as my thank-you! 🎁 They get weekly prevention trends, tools, resources, and ideas; you get a surprise; and I go 50 for 50. It’s a win-win-win! 💛
🎉Don't forget to CC me on your invitation🙌
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📣What Caught My Eye This Week📰
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💜What Teens Are Telling Us📊
Building Bridges: Teen Loneliness and Connection
Child Mind Institute
Teens show us the importance of connection and its association with mental health and well-being.
CDC Data Shows Encouraging Progress in Youth Health CDC Release
Key improvements from 2023 to 2025 include:
- Many of the mental health and suicide risk indicators improved, including persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, which improved from 40% to 33%; poor mental health, which improved from 29% to 23%; and seriously considering suicide, which improved from 20% to 14%
- Daily fruit consumption rose from 33% to 39%, daily vegetable consumption rose from 58% to 63%, and the share of students drinking plain water at least three times a day rose from 54% to 58%.
- Regarding improvements in youth physical activity, more students played on a sports team (52% to 58%).
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⚖️ Latest Kratom, 7-OH & Regulation️🌿
US DEA proposed strictest drug controls on kratom-linked products exceeding certain thresholds Reuters
...The DEA issued two notices of intent on Friday, based on recommendations from the US Department of Health and Human Services, to distinguish products containing trace amounts of the substances from intentionally enhanced or concentrated formulations...
- The action targets four substances linked to kratom, a plant from Southeast Asia known to produce opioid-like effects
- The DEA is targeting 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), found in trace amounts in kratom, and three related opioid substances derived or chemically modified from the plant: mitragynine pseudoindoxyl (MGPI), MGM-15, and MGM-16
- The DEA proposed that products in which 7-OH and MGPI exceed certain concentrations, or fall below a specified mitragynine-to-7-OH/MGPI ratio, be temporarily placed in Schedule I
- Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act is reserved for drugs with a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use in the United States
- The DEA in August cited an immediate threat to public safety to temporarily place MGPI, MGM-15 and MGM-16 under the strictest category of federal drug control
- For 7-OH, the DEA said it had not yet issued a temporary scheduling order and would release a revised notice reflecting HHS's updated recommendation
What's the latest on 7-OH and kratom availability and addiction care? University of Michigan - Michigan Medicine
Kratom products linked to 4 deaths in Utah as officials warn of potentially deadly mislabeled products New York Post
New Resource! Stanford's REACH Lab recently released The Kratom Conversation - a two-lesson curriculum on kratom and 7-OH.
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🍷 Alcohol & Breast Cancer: Know the Connection🎀
Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it’s a timely reminder that prevention conversations should include alcohol. Research has established alcohol as a risk factor for breast cancer, yet the connection isn’t always widely recognized. Awareness means knowing the risks—and alcohol belongs in the conversation.
Many states with higher burden of alcohol use disorder among women have fewer treatment facilities tailored to their needs Boston University School of Public Health
Alcohol can cause breast cancer, but very few patients get asked about their drinking WHO
Get to know...“Pinkwashing” can happen when companies use pink ribbons or breast cancer messaging to market products while their business practices—or even the products themselves—may conflict with cancer-prevention goals. The alcohol industry regularly pairs their brands with breast cancer awareness. For prevention professionals, it’s a reminder to look beyond the pink packaging and ask: Who benefits, what message is being sent, and does the promotion align with what we know about reducing cancer risk?
Want to learn more about this tactic? Check out this 2025 Movendi policy update, which is still relevant today.
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🔎What's New📦
'New' Trends, Products, & Resources
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🤦♀️Oh Look, Another Pouch(es)!👀
I’ve joked that pouches may be this generation’s cigarette butts in the parking lot—and here comes another one to watch. Euphoria Pouches are nicotine-, tobacco-, THC-, and alcohol-free pouches containing kava extract, L-theanine, and taurine, designed to be placed under the lip. But what really caught my prevention eye is the marketing: “Instant Buzz,” “Feels like 2 drinks,” “Drug-Test Safe,” “Euphoric Buzz,” and “No Morning-After.” The company even positions them as a non-alcohol alternative that delivers the social ease and buzz associated with drinking.
For prevention, it’s another reminder that pouch culture is getting much bigger than nicotine. We’re now seeing familiar little containers used to deliver nicotine, caffeine, kratom-related products, kava, and more. That raises questions about recognition, normalization, access, risk perception—and what we’re going to start finding tossed on the ground. So keep looking down during those community scans. The cigarette butt of this generation might just be a little white pouch.
📸Euphoria
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And in my best Billy Mays (late 'pitch guy') voiceover...but wait, there's more! Straight from my social feeds to your eyeballs...what are you seeing?
| | 😲Midway Through October Already?!😅 | | |
Somehow, we’re already halfway through October—which feels like a good reminder to check in with ourselves, too. Self-care doesn’t have to mean a spa day or an empty calendar. It can be taking a walk, protecting your lunch break, turning off notifications, listening to your favorite playlist, getting outside, saying no to one more thing, connecting with someone who fills your cup—or simply going to bed a little earlier. Small things count! So as we head into the second half of the month, what’s your go-to way to recharge, reset, or take care of YOU?
Need ideas? Here's some great ones from 📸Positively Present
| | 🔜Looking Ahead with $$ Opps🔮
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🎀Red Ribbon Week❤️
Red Ribbon Week is October 23–31, and this year’s theme is “Make A Difference. Be A Hero. Stay Drug Free.™” Created by middle school student Ava Tackett, the theme reminds us that young people can be leaders, role models, and positive influences for one another through the choices they make every day. Red Ribbon Campaign Red Ribbon Week is a great opportunity to go beyond simply wearing red—engage youth, strengthen protective factors, build connection, and give young people meaningful ways to lead prevention in their schools and communities.
📣Looking for a great resource to get the conversation started? Check out Wisconsin's Small Talks initiative!
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🎓 What Helps Gen Z Engage?💛
New research from the Walton Family Foundation and Gallup reinforces something prevention professionals know well: relationships, belonging, and meaningful opportunities matter. Students with strong engagement, support, and belonging were far more likely to feel prepared for their future (81% vs. 27%). Yet one in three students says they don’t feel like they belong at school, and three in 10 don’t have an adult who recognizes their talents and interests. Another reminder that connection isn’t just nice to have—it’s foundational.
Voices of Gen Z: What Helps Students Engage at School
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📅Drug Take Back Day💊
Mark your calendar for October 24—Drug Take Back Day! It’s the perfect opportunity to clean out medicine cabinets and safely dispose of unused, unwanted, or expired medications.
And remember, proper medication disposal does more than declutter your home—it helps protect the environment by keeping medications out of our water and landfills, increase public safety by reducing opportunities for diversion or accidental poisoning, and improve public health by helping prevent medication misuse and overdose. Three great reasons to clean it out, take it back, and dispose of it safely! Find location near you
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🌱 Seed Funding for Youth Prevention & Intervention💰
The Barrie Fund Community Action Grant is offering up to three grants of up to $5,000 each to support youth-led tobacco control projects or events through U.S.-based organizations. Projects should elevate youth voices, address tobacco or nicotine use, and build young people’s advocacy capacity—with activities completed by May 2027. Applications are due October 23, 2026, so this one has a quick turnaround! Learn More
The Safe States Alliance is offering up to three $20,000 seed grants for innovative, upstream approaches to injury and violence prevention focused on youth and young adults ages 0–24. They’re especially interested in projects that engage youth in solutions, address shared risk and protective factors, strengthen cross-sector partnerships, and tackle the underlying conditions that influence safety and well-being. A great fit for communities ready to move further upstream! Applications are due October 26, 2026, at 5:00 PM ET. Learn More
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has opened its FY 2026 Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Program funding opportunity. This competitive grant supports juvenile drug treatment courts working with youth and families impacted by substance use and the juvenile justice system. Don’t miss the two-step deadline: Grants.gov submissions are due October 29, with the full JustGrants application due November 5. Learn More
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📰 When One Newsletter Leads Down a Rabbit Hole🐇
Like many of you, I follow a whole lot of newsletters, alerts, and industry updates to help me keep up with emerging trends, trainings, resources, and toolkits. This week, a shout-out to The Tall Cop for putting Cat’s Claw on my radar—and, naturally, I quickly found myself down a rabbit hole of Reddit discussions, product websites, and alerts from across the country. 📸TCSS
While cat’s claw is the name of a botanical supplement, officials are warning about products sold under that label in vape shops and online that may contain synthetic or otherwise undisclosed psychoactive compounds instead. The trend also intersects with the rapidly changing kratom marketplace and potent derivatives such as 7-OH and MGM-15—another reminder that what the package says and what’s actually inside may be two very different things.
'Cat's Claw' products containing unlabeled kratom alkaloids Virginia Department of Health
Discussions and warnings posted on Reddit...
| | The Activator may hit your inbox on Fridays, but the conversation keeps going all week! Follow along on Facebook and LinkedIn for emerging trends, practical tools, funding opportunities, leadership, sustainability—and a little fun. Don’t just scroll by—like, comment, share, and add your voice to the conversation! 📲💬 | | | | |
