EDITORIAL: Say no to drugs, but yes to screening

The Valparaiso Community Schools board is right to consider random drug testing for students who park at school or participate in extracurricular activities. Some other districts already have this plan in place.

Signs Your Teen is in Trouble and What to Do About It

Being a teenager is never easy, but for some kids, it is excruciating. For parents, being able to tell the difference between normal growing pains and real trouble is crucial.

Region lawmaker to shape state budget

INDIANAPOLIS | For the first time since 2007, a Northwest Indiana lawmaker will play a significant role in deciding how the state spends some $30 billion over the next two years.

Portage schools chief may recommend random drug testing policy

PORTAGE | Portage Township Schools Superintendent E. Ric Frataccia said he may recommend a policy requiring random drug testing of high school students in the next few months.

RICH JAMES: What welfare recipient can afford drug treatment?

Talk about a loaded question. State Rep. Hal Slager's question is this: Do you believe Indiana, like other states, should implement random drug testing as a requirement to receiving state-funded welfare benefits?

EDITORIAL: Drug testing for welfare doesn't add up

Testing welfare recipients for drug use is a popular cause, but the dollars and cents don't add up.

OFFBEAT: Christopher Kennedy Lawford speaking March 16 at VU dinner event

Christopher Kennedy Lawford, whose parents are the late Patricia Kennedy Lawford and her actor husband Peter Lawford, is coming to Valparaiso University in March to speak at a dinner event in the ballroom of the Harre Student Union.

Experts to address suicide and substance abuse topics

GARY | “Suicide and Substance Abuse” is the focus of this year’s Faces of Suicide conference from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Nov. 9, co-sponsored by the Northwest Indiana Suicide Prevention Council and the Wellness Team of Indiana University Northwest.

The Daily Fix

Offering perspective on today's issues

EDITORIAL: Transportation, health merit renewed focus

Transportation and health are two sectors that merit immediate attention in Northwest Indiana. Both saw the quality of life decline, as reported in the 2012 Quality of Life Indicators Report released Tuesday by One Region.

GUEST COMMENTARY: You can recover from mental illness, substance abuse

All around us in Northwest Indiana, people are in recovery from mental illness and substance abuse disorders. These individuals contribute to our businesses, connect with their families and give back to the community. But if we want more people to join them on the path to recovery, then we n…

Prescription drug abuse reaching 'epidemic' levels

PORTAGE | SWAT team members serving an arrest warrant for alleged drug dealing swarmed the home of a 56-year-old Portage man late last month. Inside that Central Avenue apartment, officers said they discovered a cache of drugs — not heroin or cocaine, but dozens of bottles of prescription pi…

EDITORIAL: Invest in treatment, not just incarceration

Porter County's investment in a halfway house already has more than paid for itself. It is a wise investment, not just because of the dollars, but because it is a lifesaver.

Re-connecting by listening

VALPARAISO | Connie Rizzo and Andrew Ostrega are among the success stories from a program at the Family and Youth Services Bureau of Porter County.

GUEST COMMENTARY: Substance abuse, mental disorders affect everyone

More than 50 years after the American Medical Association declared alcoholism to be a disease, the American Society of Addiction Medicine has followed suit. ASAM recently said officially that addiction is a chronic disease of the brain. Will the public embrace this, or will it continue to st…

Commission donates to drug prevention program

PORTAGE | The city's Redevelopment Commission on Wednesday approved giving $10,400 to Frontline Foundations of Chesterton to help fund a church-based drug prevention program.

Parents: Drug deaths 'devastated' families

HAMMOND | Twenty-seven years ago Friday, Don Scheidel brought home his newborn son, Derek, from the hospital.

Indiana's marijuana laws going to rehab?

If state lawmakers wind up legalizing marijuana as a result of recently introduced legislation, it is unlikely the move would result in more people using the illegal drug or becoming addicted, said Jake Messing, who has spent 30 years working in the field of substance abuse.

Side effects are bringing addicts to the doctor

When addicts seek treatment, they don't necessarily seek it for their addictions, according to doctors. It's often the side effects of the addiction, the physical results from being addicted—to nicotine, drugs, alcohol, whatever—that push an addict into a doctor's office. And sometimes, the …

Addictions that aren't talked about but are very real

When most people think of addictions, they automatically think alcohol and drugs—street drugs like cocaine and heroine, and/or prescription drugs like painkillers or amphetamines.