Through SAMHSA’s Bringing Recovery Supports to Scale Technical Assistance Center Strategy, the Center for Social Innovation has announced awards of $25,000 each to eight peer-run/recovery community organizations.  These eight organizations will work within their states to increase public awareness about behavioral health services available through the Affordable Care Act.
Each site has an opportunity to innovate as a means of connecting with different organizations in their state and the general public.  Aside from focusing on the behavioral health services that are available through the ACA, organizations are to take an in-depth …

By: Rashetta Fairnot, Public Health Advisor, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
We had the pleasure of hosting the latest Recovery Month Twitter chat on behalf of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) with co-hosts Linda Kaplan, M.A., Senior Public Health Advisor, Marsha Baker, LCSW, Public Health Advisor. It was facilitated through the @RecoveryMonth Twitter handle, using the hashtag #RecoveryChat, and embraced the theme:  “Recovery Support:  Prevention, Collaboration, and Recovery Management.”  The event focused on how society can proactively promote behavioral health, as …

With the recent reported celebrity chatter about the drug MDMA—commonly known as Ecstasy or “Molly”—in the news SAMHSA would like to join the discussion by providing some facts about the drug and its dangers.
Ecstasy is a synthetic, psychoactive drug that is chemically similar to the stimulant methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline. It produces feelings of increased energy, euphoria, emotional warmth, and distortions in time, perception, and tactile experiences.
While some consider this to be a party drug, it is illegal and carries potentially dangerous side effects. Ecstasy use can produce psychedelic and …