I will have been sober for exactly 32 years this week. It’s a joyful anniversary, one that I’m sharing only to inspire others who may need to quit drinking but don’t think they can. more

The chances that a young person will become addicted to alcohol or drugs are less than 1 percent –– if use of a substance begins after the frontal lobe of the brain is fully developed, which … more

Long Beach police broke up an underage drinking party on Harding Avenue last Saturday after an officer responded to a noise complaint. According to the Police Department, the officer observed … more

Starbucks’ application to obtain a license from the State Liquor Authority for the coffee chain’s 101 West Park Ave. location was countered with strong opposition, but the SLA’s full board … more

This Christmas, will a new Smith & Wesson be under your tree? more

The drug addicts’ brain scans that Dr. Stephen Dewey takes appear in psychedelic shades of red, yellow, green and blue, each indicating a level of brain activity — or inactivity. Red means excited. Blue is dormant. Dewey is the laboratory director for behavioral and molecular neuro-imaging at the North Shore-LIJ Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. In that capacity, he’s put hundreds of addicts’ brains to the test — the positron emission tomography test, that is — seeking to understand precisely what happens to the mind when a pot smoker lights up or a heroin junkie shoots up. And, he has found, it isn’t pretty. more

One of Long Island’s largest nonprofit substance-abuse treatment agencies received three grants this winter that officials said will help them teach young people about the dire consequences of … more

School-aged children can use someone to talk to. Someone they can share their thoughts, goals and fears with who genuinely cares and wants what’s best for them. more

The Long Beach Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking received a $27,500 grant to mentor the Rockville Centre Youth Council. The grant came from the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. more

“How many people here know someone who has died of a drug overdose?” More than half of the people in the Long Beach Middle School auditorium raised their hands, a chilling reminder of just how … more