BALTIMORE - The Maryland Stop Opioid Overdose Strategy, or Maryland S-O-S program, launches town hall meetings this week to address ways to combat the health crisis that has skyrocketed during the pandemic.

Starting in Allegheny County on Thursday, the meetings are a chance for Marylanders to talk about their struggles and hear methods for helping opioid users, according to Robin Rickard, director of Maryland's Opioid Operational Command Center.

She said officials were encouraged when the state's opioid deaths dropped in 2019 for the first time in years. But they're now taking a more aggressive approach.

"Right when the numbers started going down, COVID hit," said Rickard. "So last year, Maryland went up 18%, as a nation 30%. Maryland did do better than the national average - but again, we're not happy with that."

She said the town halls are a chance to hear about what works and what isn't working following the worst year on record for overdose deaths.

Thursday's meeting at Allegheny College in Cumberland starts at 5 o'clock. More information is online at 'BeforeItsTooLate.maryland.gov,' or on the Maryland S-O-S Facebook page.

Rickard said she thinks it's important to realize opioid abuse isn't just a rural problem in Maryland.

"Fentanyl is what the driving force is, and it's everywhere," said Rickard. "And at these Maryland town hall meetings, we will be educating the public and the community of what the statistics are in their jurisdiction, as compared to other jurisdictions."

She pointed out the S-O-S initiative also aims to educate people about the state's Opioid Restitution Fund. Created in 2019 by the General Assembly, it includes money from opioid manufacturers' lawsuit settlements for treatment and recovery services.

"We're not spending any of this money until we hear from all the Marylanders," said Rickard, "from treatment providers, from state and local partners, because we want to make the best decisions that we possibly can."

A record-breaking 2,500 Marylanders died of opioid overdoses in 2020.

The numbers continue to rise - from January to March of this year, 614 residents died of opioid abuse. That's almost a 6% increase from the same time last year.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Saturday is National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, when the Drug Enforcement Administration encourages everyone to clean out their old prescriptions.

Flushing prescription pills can poison the local water supply, so instead, people can drop their bottles off at 200 police stations and government offices across California.

Susanna Marshland, Northern California regional vice president for the Fred Finch Youth and Family Services Center in Oakland, warned that unused medications are a danger to children, especially teens.

"There was an increase in parents relapsing during COVID, and a simultaneous increase in isolation and loneliness for their children," she said. "Kids whose needs are not being met may themselves turn to use."

According to the California Overdose Surveillance Dashboard, more than 5,300 people died from opioid overdoses in the state last year, a 120% increase from 2018. In 2020, Californians filled more than 14 million prescriptions for opioids. Find the closest drug drop-off sites online, at TakeBackDay.DEA.gov.

Nationally, said state Attorney General Rob Bonta, drug overdoses killed more than 93,000 Americans in 2020, and two-thirds of them involved a prescription or an illicit opioid.

"These aren't just statistics. These aren't just numbers. These are real people and these are real lives," he said. "We're talking about 93,000 moms, dads, teens, loved ones - each with a story."

Bonta added that at the last Take-Back Day in April, authorities collected 48,000 pounds of unused medications in California and 800,000 pounds across the nation.

MANCHESTER, N.H. - September is National Recovery Month, and New Hampshire groups are working to raise awareness about the many paths to recovery from alcohol or substance-use disorders.

This Saturday in Manchester, a "Rally 4 Recovery" will feature speakers sharing their own personal stories, as well as booths representing treatment centers, health agencies and various recovery tools - from 12-Step programs to SMART Recovery, Recovery Dharma and more.

"The rally really is a chance for people in recovery to demonstrate that no matter how low we may have fallen in our lives, we do recover, we do get better," said Keith Howard executive director of the group Hope for New Hampshire Recovery, which is leading the event.

Howard said there will be more than 40 booths, as well as juggling instructors, visual art and live musicians, all of whom are in recovery themselves. He said these stories are powerful for helping people who may be struggling with addiction as well as their friends, families and neighbors.

During this awareness month, advocates are working to reduce the stigma around addiction and mental illness; they say it often can prevent people from seeking the help they need. Howard said it's important to "show up, show pride and show the world we get better." He said his own story is an example of what hope - and help - can do.

"I was living on the streets - homeless, toothless and pretty much hopeless," he said, "and thanks to work that I did as directed by folks in recovery, today I'm able to be executive director of a large Recovery Center."

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has free, confidential and anonymous resources for people dealing with addiction - themselves, friends or family. The SAMHSA hotline can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP, and its Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator can be found at findtreatment.samhsa.gov.

DAYTON, Ohio -- An Ohio county is taking a trauma-informed approach to its work on preventing marijuana use in teens.

As marijuana policy changes were enacted in Ohio over the last few years, families in Montgomery County grew concerned about the impact it would have on teenagers' perceived risk of substance use.

In response, the county's Alcohol Drug Addiction Mental Health Services (ADAMHS), provides prevention programming in all of its 16 public-school districts, as well as parochial and charter schools.

Tristyn Ball, director of prevention and early intervention services for Montgomery County ADAMHS, said it is important to get at the root cause of drug use.

"What we've shifted to is an approach that, rather than using punitive measures, really moving towards, if a young person is using, really identifying why are they using marijuana?" Ball explained. "And what can we do to give them the skills that they need to perhaps make healthier decisions?"

ADAMHS has partnered with Dayton Children's Hospital and its student resiliency coordinators, who work directly with young people who have endured trauma.

Local county data show that around 15% of young people have tried marijuana, which has decreased over the last few years. Many that do use are starting as young as 13 years old, which can have an impact on brain development.

Medical marijuana was legalized in Ohio in 2016. Many studies show that medicinal cannabis can be helpful for adults in treating chronic pain, as well as effects from certain diseases. Ball pointed out their prevention work is not about stigmatizing medical marijuana use, but about understanding the impact substances can have on teenagers.

"Medicine is medicine, you know, it's prescribed by a doctor," Ball emphasized. "When we look at opioids, or really any kind of controlled substance, we trust medical professionals to prescribe that. It's just about making sure that overall our goal is just the health and wellness of a young person."

Over the past year, Ball noted ADAMHS has screened more than 1,000 students in the county for behavioral-health indicators, including depression, anxiety and substance use.