Elmo and his daddy Louie talk about parental addiction and getting the right help to feel better. When a parent struggles with addiction, the whole family struggles. It takes effort to start conversations and answer children’s questions. But caring adults can comfort and guide children through difficult moments.

Arrive Alive California Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives through innovative prevention and evidence-based education.

Stigmas create barriers for those seeking substance use treatment and exacerbate the conditions themselves. Substance use disorders are chronic medical conditions that are treatable, but they are often misunderstood, leading to discrimination and alienation. Treatment works, and recovery is possible.

Video 1: Learn about dopamine's role in their brains and how it influences their choices. It explains how engaging in enjoyable activities triggers the release of dopamine, creating a connection between their actions and the joy they feel. It emphasizes the connection between everyday enjoyable activities and the release of dopamine, highlighting the importance of understanding this process for making informed decisions.

Video 2: Dive into the risks of artificial highs and their impact on the brain's reward system. It explains how drugs create a shortcut to the brain's reward center, an artificial dopamine "superhighway," and can lead to addiction, ultimately causing a disconnect from healthier natural highs and long-lasting consequences.

Video 3: The video illustrates the significance of understanding brain development in young people. It encourages teens to make informed choices by understanding the long-term consequences of drugs and alcohol. Drugs rewire the brain's reward circuitry to replace natural joys with artificial highs. It can lead teens to give up their passions, disconnect from friends and interests, and lose their individuality.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The Sacramento County Health Center is a Federally Qualified Health Center that provides primary care and behavioral health services to low-income residents of Sacramento County.

People laugh when they hear, "This isn't your dad's weed," but the sentiment is true. The amount of THC in marijuana products is far more concentrated than marijuana 20 years ago.

Collaboration and coordination between agencies, departments, and disciplines is the key to building a safer Sacramento.

Melissa Lloyd, Deputy Director, Department of Child, Family and Adult Services in Sacramento County, reflects on what a safer Sacramento looks like to her.

"The protocol for our overall assessment with our investigations includes really bringing out both parent and child voice...We really want to get an understanding as we're working with kids and families about all people in the household and what their experience is."

“The things that work in our area – it’s education, advocating for policy, helping people understand how addiction is not a choice and how we need to help people not only with the addiction, not only stopping the drugs but how do you live without them?”

Working with the homeless population, helping to improve strategies around criminal justice, alternatives to incarceration, and protecting public safety while reducing recidivism – there are just some of the Sacramento County Drug & Alcohol Board's future initiatives.

Melinda Avey, Co-Chair of the Sacramento County Drug & Alcohol Board, has been working to create positive change in SAC County for over 20 years. “I think where we [the Drug & Advisory Board] have the most impact is policy.”

Melinda Avey has been on the Sacramento County Drug & Alcohol Advisory Board for 20 years.

"Together, we are able to accomplish so much more than we have ever been in the past."

Learn about River City Recovery Center, its services, and its wonderful partnership with Sacramento County.

The stigma around substance use and addiction is real, and we must work to end it.

Treatment and recovery counselor Neil Khushal discusses the types of services available at River City Recovery and what success looks like.

River City Recovery counselor, Neil Khushal, discusses who comes into treatment and when.

Dr. BJ Davis, Executive Director of Sacramento Recovery House, Inc., discusses the meaning of substance abuse as a function of behavior, and the role of treatment.

"We have to admit what's wrong with the system." Dr. BJ Davis, Executive Director of Sacramento Recovery House, Inc., discusses what it will take to change treatment systems to make them more equitable, efficient, and impactful.

Even though addiction is a brain disease that can be medically treated, people suffering this disorder are blamed for their problems.

Xylazine, known by street names like “tranq,” “tranq dope, and “zombie drug,” is a non-opioid veterinary tranquilizer, analgesic, and muscle relaxant that is not approved for human use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Mixing drugs, also known as polysubstance use, occurs when two or more drugs are taken together or within a short time period, intentionally or unintentionally. Even if someone has mixed drugs before, or mixes drugs often, the body can react differently every time.

This presentation is all about stigma and how we as individuals and a society communicate stigma, especially in the context of pregnancy, and how we can avoid communication of stigma in working with clients and patients.

The facts about marijuana. This short documentary was produced by Sacramento CCY.