Ohio Governor Mike DeWine today encouraged the Ohio General Assembly to work quickly to regulate intoxicating hemp to prevent its sale to children. 

Rogue chemists are modifying hemp, which is a legal, non-intoxicating plant, to extract a compound (Delta 8 THC) that causes a high similar to marijuana. The intoxicating hemp is being marketed in stores across Ohio as candy, cereal, gummy candy, and other products that are attractive to children. Because intoxicating hemp products are not currently regulated, Ohio law does not prevent its sale to children.

"The current loophole that allows these dangerous products to be sold to children needs to be closed as soon as possible. Right now, Senator Steve Huffman is working on a bill to address this, and once it is introduced, I encourage members of the Ohio General Assembly to act quickly to pass it," said Governor DeWine. "These products are marketed to kids and are made to look like their favorite candy and treats. With no regulation and wide availability, it is all too easy for kids to get them."

According to data from the Ohio Poison Control Center, there have been at least 257 reports of Delta 8 poisoning in Ohio over the last three years. In 2023 alone, there were 102 reported poisonings, including 40 involving children under the age of six. Ninety percent of these children required emergency care or were hospitalized after ingesting the intoxicating hemp.

According to Dr. Gary Wenk, emeritus professor of behavioral neuroscience at The Ohio State University and The Ohio State University Medical Center, Delta 8 products can have significant impacts on young, developing brains. 

"Children have difficulty paying attention in class; they become emotionally unstable; they have difficulting learning things; they stop attending classes; they start acting out at home. The parents know something is wrong, but if (their child) is just eating 'cereal' in their bedroom, it's easy for them to hide," said Dr. Wenk. "That's why this is a crisis, it's because it is a perfectly legal compound that does a great deal of well-documented harm." 

By regulating intoxicating hemp, Delta 8 products would be sold with restrictions similar to Ohio's new recreational marijuana laws that require products to only be sold by licensed retailers to those 21 years old or older. Regulation would also prevent flashy advertising and packaging that attracts children. 

To demonstrate how easily youth can purchase intoxicating hemp, Ohio Department of Public Safety Director Andy Wilson asked two 15-year-old children to purchase Delta 8 gummy candy at a gas station in Clark County. 

"Their instructions were not to be tricky and not to try to act older than they were. There was no doubt in looking at them that they were clearly underage," said Director Wilson. "In under 10 minutes and within three miles of their high school, the kids walked into a BP gas station and purchased THC gummies with no questions asked."

Under current law, both the purchase and sale of the item were legal.

Until intoxicating hemp products are regulated, Governor DeWine encouraged retailers to remove these items from their shelves to prevent harm to children. 

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) today announced details of a new statewide effort to help prevent suicide deaths among Black youth and young adults. The Black Youth and Young Adults Suicide Prevention Initiative is an innovative approach that seeks to reduce suicide by increasing access to high-quality, culturally responsive prevention and early intervention services that work to reduce risk and strengthen protective factors.

As part of the initiative OhioMHAS has awarded $500,000 to the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation (OSPF) to build local and statewide capacity to strengthen and amplify multi-sector efforts to prevent suicide, reduce stigma, and address other issues to reduce the rates of suicide in Black youth and young adults. The project will primarily focus on serving at-risk youth between the ages of 10-24 who reside in Hamilton, Montgomery, Franklin, Lucas, Muskingum, Summit, and Cuyahoga counties. To help achieve its goals, OSPF will engage leaders from Black churches, other faith-based organizations, and community centers.

Other objectives include:

• Conducting a series of professional development and skill-building opportunities for community leaders to build culturally competent and trauma-informed suicide prevention expertise.
• Hosting the 2^nd Annual Suicide Prevention in the Black Community Conference.
• Promoting trainings on evidence-informed strategies such as The Living Works Faith program to aid community leaders in offering effective suicide prevention programs.
• Promoting the Be Present Ohio and Life Is Better With You Here awareness campaigns;
• Developing and distributing a resource toolkit to guide organizations in implementing Black youth and young adult suicide prevention strategies in alignment with the 2024-2026 Ohio Suicide Prevention Plan developed in partnership with Governor DeWine’s RecoveryOhio initiative.

Five additional organizations will be awarded $250,000 each to lead regional and locally focused suicide prevention efforts. Those organizations include Legacies Empowered, the Montgomery County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board,  NAMI Franklin County, Project Lift Services and the Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program of Lucas County.

Last week, Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) Director LeeAnne Cornyn made her first visit to Appalachian Behavioral Healthcare (ABH) in Athens. ABH Clinical Services Director Jennifer Schwirian (pictured above, left) showcased key areas, including the recreation area, art spaces, and comfort rooms. The visit culminated with meetings between central office leadership and regional representatives. This marks the beginning of a focused series of listening sessions dedicated to building connections and enhancing well-being in behavioral health settings.

Inset: Director Cornyn (center) and central office leadership (l-r) Chief Advisor John Annarino, Deputy Director of Hospital Services Merissa McKinstry, and Hospital Services Chief Robert Short talk with leadership at ABH.

Schools and students from across the country are invited to participate in a free Kickoff for Kindness event on Feb. 8, where NFL football players’ kindness stories, peer messages and more will be shared across a 40-minute video program. Schools are encouraged to register for the event at bekindland.com. The registration deadline is Feb. 1.

The feel-good presentation is loaded with compassion, empathy, and kindness and can be offered by teachers and administrators (via a download link) to students on a schedule that is most convenient and beneficial. The Values in Action Foundation, which is sponsoring the event, is hoping to have 100,000 students nationwide watch the program on the same day to build a collective consciousness around the common goal of treating one another with kindness, caring, and respect.

In addition to testimonials from NFL football players, the Kickoff for Kindness event will also feature student-created videos that convey the power of kindness and motivate others to be kind. Click HERE for instructions on how your school can submit a video.

Registration is now open for the Weitzman ECHO Peer Recovery Support, a continuing education program for rural Certified Peer Supporters in Ohio. Peer Recovery Supporters, Family Peer Supporters, and Youth Peer Supporters who work in rural areas of Ohio are welcome to join and register for this series.

Beginning Feb. 14, ECHO participants will meet the second and fourth Wednesday of each month from noon-1:00 p.m. for eight months. This free learning community features a diverse panel of experienced Peer Supporters, Peer Supporter facilitators, and medical and behavioral health providers. The program aims to provide guidance to address challenges that Peer Recovery Supporters in rural areas face in their workplace and working with peers.

Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Miami University Discovery Center, and collaborating project partners would like to highlight an opportunity to participate in a statewide evaluation of the PAX Good Behavior Game and PAX Tools, through a project funded by OhioMHAS and SAMHSA. Results of the evaluation will identify successes, gaps, needs, and funding mechanisms for PAX efforts. Recommendations will be generated to support PAX efforts in Ohio schools and communities.

There are two ways to participate in the evaluation:

Participate: Surveys, which only take 15 minutes to complete (click button below), and focus group opportunities are available for eligible professionals, including: Providers in PAX Partners roles, Providers in PAX Tools Community Educator roles, organizational/mental health board leaders who may or may not be involved in PAX efforts, and PAX Tools users.

Disseminate: Project partners would greatly appreciate assistance in getting the word out by sharing the survey link (https://tinyurl.com/68erfj89) with: PAX GBG-trained K-6 teachers, PAX GBG administrators, PAX Tools users, PAX Partners, Tools Community Educators, and other community organizational leaders.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the non-profit organization The Many Brains Project partnered with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) All of Us Research Program to adapt a series of new game-like tasks that are now part of the All of Us Research Program’s participant experience.

The quizzes, puzzles, and other engaging exercises measure aspects of behavior that can vary from person to person, like attention span, decision-making, and emotion recognition. Understanding how these behaviors change with mental health offers insights into how mental disorders affect the brain. It could also inform interventions or treatments so that they have the most benefit for patients.

Brightview will present She Recovers: Navigating Unique Challenges for Women in Addiction Treatment on Jan. 23 from noon-1:00 p.m. Join BrightView’s Mandy Seymour, Chief Nursing Officer, and Amy Aydelotte as they look at how everything from how women develop an SUD and the consequences they experience to their needs for treatment and ongoing recovery must be treated differently. For more information, please email info@brightviewhealth.com.

The National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH) is hosting a free, two-day Advancing the Science on Peer Support and Suicide Prevention workshop on Feb. 8 and Feb. 12. This free, virtual workshop will bring together experts in peer support suicide prevention to discuss relevant conceptual frameworks, recent advances in understanding what works and for whom, service settings, and service-user characteristics that inform intervention strategies across the crisis services continuum, digital and telehealth applications, considerations for youth, and equity considerations. The workshop will identify innovative advancements and areas that need additional research as the field moves forward.

The International Community Justice Association (ICJA) will host its 2024 Public Policy Forum on March 25-26 in Washington, D.C. Click the button below for more information and to register. Questions? Please email info+icjaonline.org@ccsend.com or call 614.252.8417.