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Health & Fitness

Marin County ranked #1 in health, but still faces health challenges

Earlier this week, for the fifth year in a row, Marin County has been ranked as the healthiest county in California by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. However, we also learned from the March 26th article from the Marin Independent Journal, that even the healthiest counties, still face health issues.

"Even Marin's most affluent communities, however, are not exempt from some of the toughest health challenges facing the county. Marin scored poorly in the rankings in both excessive alcohol consumption and death rates by drug overdose.

Twenty-two percent of Marin adults surveyed reported binge drinking in the last 30 days, one of the highest rates in the state. And 225 Marin residents, about 32 per year, died of drug overdoses from 1999 to 2010. Willis said the majority of those deaths involved prescription drugs.

Working with parents who have lost children to drug overdoses, county health officials have helped launch an initiative to address prescription drug abuse, which is a national epidemic."

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Do you agree? Is prescription drug abuse a problem in Marin?

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http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_25427690/marin-continues-healthiest-county-state-but-not-all

San Rafael Alcohol Compliance Team (ACT) is dedicated to help reduce youth access to alcohol and alcohol abuse among adults in Marin. SR ACT supports the Marin County Department of Health & Human Services in curbing the County's excessive alcohol & prescription drug abuse rates. 

If you would like more information on how you can help with alcohol and prescription drug abuse issues in Marin County, please contact Marin County Department of Health & Human Services, Resource Development Coordinator Kristen Law at klaw@marincounty.org.

The San Rafael Alcohol Compliance Team (ACT) has been created through a partnership with the San Rafael Police Department and the Marin County Department of Health & Human Services to reduce underage and excessive drinking in youth ages 12 – 25.

For more information please visit & LIKE San Rafael ACT today
https://www.facebook.com/SanRafaelACT

Stay tuned for more information on ACT and how you can get involved!

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