Bullying happens when someone hurts or scares another person on purpose and the person being bullied has a hard time defending himself or herself.  Usually, bullying happens over and over and can also happen online or electronically.  Check out these tips about bullying for kids and adults.   

Also, Rosalind Wiseman, author of the groundbreaking look at bullying Queen Bees and Wannabees, counsels school administrators nationwide on how to handle an age-old problem.  Here she offers four things you should know to help protect your child.

The documentary ‘Bully,’ premiering Friday, is generating a national conversation about bullying – a problem that transcends nearly every culture and community. “Nightly News” has compiled several online resources for kids, parents and educators seeking more information on how to stop – and prevent -- bullying.

The Bully Project, the film’s website, features a viewing guide with discussion topics for watching the film with kids. It also offers ways to connect with the anti-bullying movement.

StopBullying.gov, a website managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, offers advice on how to get help, and ways to prevent bullying.

The National Association of School Psychologists has posted resources for families and educators, including links to bullying research.

Education.com offers a bullying quiz, suggestions on how to eliminate bullying, and other resources.

Hotlines

The United Federation of Teachers has launched the BRAVE campaign – Building Respect, Acceptance and Voice through Education. They’ve established a hotline (212-709-3222, M-F 2:30-9:30 p.m.) for students who need a safe place they can call.

The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth. Their free and confidential 24/7 hotline, The Trevor Lifeline, is available at 866-488-7386. They also offer TrevorChat, a free, confidential, secure online messaging service that provides live help through their website -- it's available on Fridays between the hours of 4 p.m. ET and 10:00 p.m. ET.  

Additional resources ... 

Rosalind Wiseman, a parenting and bullying expert, has recently been working in conjunction with the Cartoon Network on the project Stop Bullying: Speak Up.

For strategies on how to prevent bullying in schools, visit the website Stop Bullying Now.

The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network’s 2012 National Day of Silence is approaching quickly. On April 20 students will take a vow of silence to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools.

Michelle Young, a 29-year old woman was found dead, beaten, in her home in a Raleigh, North Carolina suburb in 2006. Her husband Jason was 170 miles away on a business trip. And Michelle's friends and family insisted she had no enemies. So who killed her? It took more than five years before her killer was convicted.

Keith Morrison reports Silent Witness this Friday, March 30th, at 10pm/9c on Dateline NBC.

Do you have questions about health care insurance and how to look out for potential frauds as featured in The Hansen Files report from Sunday, March 25th, at 7pm/6c?

Join Chris Hansen and health care insurance experts on Monday, March 26th, at 12pm ET / 9am PT for a live video chat right here on datelinenbc.com

By Jessica Hopper, Dateline NBC

Eyewitnesses describe hearing what they thought was a young person in distress just before they heard the gunshot that killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

“It sounded young.  It didn’t sound like a grown man is my point.  It sounded to me like someone was in distress and it wasn’t like a crying, sobbing boo-hoo, it was a definite whine,” Mary Cutcher told Dateline NBC’s Lester Holt in an interview scheduled to air Sunday night.

Martin’s death has sparked a national debate about racial profiling and the treatment of young black males. He was shot dead on Feb. 26 by neighborhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, while clutching a bag of Skittles and iced tea. 

Zimmerman, 28, has not been arrested nor spoken publicly. An attorney representing Zimmerman, Craig Sonner, said the death of Trayvon Martin was a clear case of self-defense. The attorney told reporters that Zimmerman had suffered a broken nose and other injuries in an attack by Martin and maintained that his client was not a racist.

Cutcher and her roommate, Selma Lamilla, say they went outside when they heard the gunshot and saw Zimmerman standing over Martin.

“We both saw him straddling the body, basically, a foot on both sides of Trayvon’s body and his hands pressed on his back,” Cutcher said.

Cutcher says Zimmerman told her and her roommate to call the police.

“Zimmerman never turned him over or tried to help him or CPR or anything,” Cutcher said.

Lamilla said that after the shot was fired Zimmerman appeared to be pacing.

“He started walking back and forth like three times with his hand on the head and kind of, he was walking like kind of confused,” she said.

Lamilla said he was touching his head like “he was in shock.”

Police who responded to the scene noted that Zimmerman had injuries to his face and head.

When Lamilla was able to see who had been shot, she was stunned.

“And for me was a shock to see, ‘Oh my God, that it’s a kid. So skinny, no more than 20- years- old. So skinny, like baby faced,” Lamilla said.

Trayvon Martin’s Parents Fighting for Justice

For Trayvon’s parents, the anger that the man responsible for their son’s death has not been arrested or charged is palpable.

“George Zimmerman went home that night of the shooting, took a shower, relaxed his thoughts, slept in his bed.  My son was wheeled off to the medical examiner 40 miles…away in a body bag with a John Doe toe tag,” Trayvon’s father, Tracy Martin, told Dateline in his first in-depth interview.

Martin and Trayvon’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, say that they are fighting for “simple justice.”

“We hope for arrest. We want arrest. At least let him stand before his peers and be judged by a judge and jury,” said Fulton of Zimmerman.

Martin said the authorities told him his son’s death was the result of an “altercation” between Trayvon and Zimmerman.

“He got a bag of skittles, iced tea, his phone and $22 in his pocket.  What kind of harm would he do to a 28-year-old, 250 pound man with that [a gun] in his pocket,” Martin said.

For Martin’s mother, one of the 911 calls released by police resounds in her head. On the recording, a voice can be heard crying for help prior to the sound of a gunshot.

“There’s no question that was my baby’s voice.  He was saying, ‘Help, Help me,” Fulton said through tears. 

In their pursuit of justice, Trayvon’s parents have crisscrossed the country this week drawing attention to the way their son died, but in an interview with Dateline NBC, they remembered how their son lived.

“The life that he was living was, it was, he was headed on the right path,” Martin said.

Fulton, remembers when Trayvon’s voice seemingly deepened overnight and the summer when he was 15 and sprouted two strands of hair on his chin.

“He just wanted to, you know, mature and he wanted to be a man and he was almost there,” Fulton said.

Tray, as his parents called him, dreamed of going to college, loved to travel and was looking forward to prom this spring.  On the cusp of manhood, his father says he had had “deep conversations” with him about entering adulthood.

“I was letting him know that he was a representation of our family and how he should conduct himself as a Martin,” Trayvon’s father said.

Martin said “it’s bogus” to think that his son would have approached Zimmerman’s vehicle and provoked him.

“Knowing my son who I’ve raised, who we’ve raised for 16 plus years, he would no way, no way approach a vehicle that he didn’t know who was in that vehicle,” Martin said.

George Zimmerman “Sauntered” Neighborhood With Gun and Rottweiler

Zimmerman has not spoken publicly since the shooting, but his father defended him in a letter published in the Orlando Sentinel.

Robert Zimmerman wrote in the letter published Mar. 15 that his son, “George is a Spanish-speaking minority with many black friends and family members. He would be the last to discriminate for any reason whatsoever.”

Neighbors describe Zimmerman as a portly young man who walked casually through the neighborhood with his rottweiler and a gun.

“He had a rottweiler and he’d just saunter on through the neighborhood,” neighbor Frank Taaffe told Dateline.

Taaffe described Zimmerman as someone who was diligent and committed to his role patrolling the neighborhood.

“He liked being a watch captain.  If it lent itself to being a pseudo law enforcement officer, then so be it,” Taaffe said.

Taaffe said that Zimmerman moved to the neighborhood in 2009. Taaffe said that there had been an increase in burglaries in the neighborhood and that Zimmerman volunteered for the neighborhood watch job.

“George is a very amiable, congenial man,” Taaffe said.  “He didn’t show up to our HOA [Homeowners’ Association] meetings, you know, dressed out like Charles Bronson or Rambo and you know, he was a very down to earth guy.”

He described him as being more like Sheriff Andy Taylor of Mayberry than Rambo and said that portrayals of him as a “vigilante killer” are unfair.

“He was portly.  He wasn’t Rambo.  He wasn’t Bernhard Goetz trying to jump on a subway looking for trouble.  He was not looking for you, you know, African Americans with screwdrivers.  That wasn’t George,” Taaffe said.

Taaffe said that Zimmerman relished his role patrolling the neighborhood and thwarted a potential burglary at Taaffe’s home. Over the years, Zimmerman made more than 40 calls to police.

Neighbor Ibrahim Rashada said that he knew Zimmerman carried a gun.

“At that time, you know, I was, like, you know, it’s good that we do have a neighborhood watch.  I thought it was more of a team of guys, not just one person, but I thought that he was okay.  I didn’t think he was out to get no one,” Rashada said.

...

Editor’s note: Lester Holt reports from Sanford, Florida, tonight at 7pm/6c on Dateline NBC. For additional reporting on the Trayvon Martin case, visit our partners at The Grio (http://www.TheGrio.com)

Dateline NBC present a three-part features report on Sunday, March 25th, at 7pm/6c:

Lester Holt reports from Sanford, Florida with the latest on the story of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The unarmed high school student was shot to death in a gated community by a neighborhood watch member last month. Since then the incident has drawn widespread attention to Florida’s gun laws, raised questions of racial profiling, and prompted protests in Florida and across the internet.

Nearly ten years ago Tom Brokaw introduced us to a fresh-faced soldier preparing to fight the war in Iraq. Brokaw followed the progress of the soldier through his combat deployment and his return to the US; and chronicled the dramatic changes in the soldier’s life as he struggled to deal with reintegration with his family, PTSD and unemployment. Now, Brokaw presents another turn in the soldier’s life. As part of NBC News Hiring our Heroes initiative, this time it’s a story of hope.

If you can’t get major medical coverage there may be an answer. Some companies are pushing insurance they say is available to everyone (regardless of pre-existing conditions). The salesperson implies on the phone that the coverage is as good as major medical, but some people who got sick and ended up in the hospital, were left holding the bag when the bills came in. Chris Hansen will confront the people who sell insurance that may not be insurance at all.

By Justin Balding, NBC News Producer

Staff Sgt. Weaver

Charles Weaver has been on an extraordinary journey in the last ten years. And our NBC News team, led by Tom Brokaw, has witnessed much of this soldier’s odyssey firsthand.

In the Autumn of 2002, when the war drums were thumping with a growing sense of inevitable conflict with Iraq, Staff. Sgt Weaver’s 3rd Infantry Division at Ft. Stewart, GA was just about to receive the order to deploy to Kuwait as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

At the time, Weaver said: “I didn't join the military to sit at home, and I knew the possibility of going to war is an everyday event for me.”

Weaver, who had already served 14 years in the U.S. Army, had seen other big overseas deployments – to the Korean peninsula and Bosnia. But Operation Iraqi Freedom would be his first combat mission – and Weaver’s unit would be at what the U.S military commanders were calling “the tip of the spear.”

That Autumn, our team spent days with Weaver as he trained with his troops; followed him as he learned to combat chemical gas attacks; and went home with him, where we met his wife Dawn and the kids Christina and Chase. Tom Brokaw had the following unsettling exchange with Weaver and his wife Dawn.

Tom Brokaw:
Do you talk about the possibility of war?

Staff Sgt. Weaver:
We do. We make the plans, like we were just talking about how I've got to go update my will, stuff like that just in case.

Dawn Weaver:
You hope for the best, but you have to prepare for the worst. I think about him dying all the time. He just doesn't know it, and I just don't talk to him about it. This is the man I plan on spending the rest of my life with. What happens if I do lose him? What am I going to do? How am I going to mentally prepare myself? And how am I going to explain that to my kids?

Tom Brokaw:
Hard to talk about it even now, right?

Dawn Weaver:
Yeah.

There was a teary goodbye in Fort Stewart as Weaver set off to the Middle East. And that’s where we caught up with him next - in the deserts of northern Kuwait on the border with Iraq. In March 2003, the U.S. invasion of Iraq began and Weaver’s 4-64 Armor unit – a.k.a The Tuskers – was in the thick of it.

Weaver took a camera to war with him and shot spooky images of his convoy rolling though flat and barren desert lands. He captured images of destroyed Iraqi military hardware and of fleeing men who had in all likelihood deserted their army units and cast off their uniforms.

Tom Brokaw:
When it came to pull the trigger, no hesitation?

Staff Sgt. Weaver:
No hesitation.  Pulled the trigger. I mean, we were driving down the road and we had somebody coming at us in a blue van, wouldn't stop. We fired warning shots, everything, and they just kept coming at us. And finally my driver, he asked me, 'What do I'--he said, 'What do I do?' I said, 'Well, take him out.' I would rather take one of them out than to have one of my soldiers get hurt. And that was the big thing with me. You just have to make that on-the-spot call to do it.

Tom Brokaw:
Did you think at that point this may be it for you?

Staff Sgt. Weaver:
Yes, sir. Of course.

And after the battle for Baghdad had been won, we found him in Saddam’s grandest palace, in the heart of Baghdad, where he gave us our very own guided tour.

Before the war began, so many of the troops had been told that the road home went through Baghdad. For many it did, but the road turned into a long one; and for Weaver that meant another five months in the searing heat of central Iraq where he and his unit were needed to guard a strategic dam.

When Charles returned home that Fall, after nearly a year away from his family, he was promoted to Sgt First Class and we stayed in touch with him occasionally through the years. And then last year, we visited him at his new home in Sparta, Wisconsin.

Staff Sgt. Weaver

The change in him was striking. Sure, he was still the same great guy with a very strong family; but the strain of multiple battles was taking its toll. Charles was fighting a persistent back injury, thyroid cancer, and The Great Recession.

Tom Brokaw asked. “Do you think the country owes you something now?” Weaver replied, “The only thing I think that is owed to me is at least the opportunity to go to work for somebody and prove to them that somebody coming from the military has a lot to offer.”

At the time, Charles said his 21 years of service in the army didn’t seem to count much as he searched for work. Most of the jobs seemed to go to officers with college degrees. And, he said, he used to run into prejudice: potential employers were wary of hiring Iraq or Afghanistan vets, worried about how wound up they might be and how that might play out in the work place. For a man who had always worked, not having a job made him feel worthless at times.

Learn more about 'Hiring our Heroes' and sign up for upcoming job fairs

After Charles’s story aired on national television, there was another big page-turn in his life story because Mike and Susan Costigan from Crystal Lake, Illinois were watching.

Mike Costigan is a Morning Joe viewer. He took to heart a point Joe made on the show several times last year - that most Americans were unaffected by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. So when Tom Brokaw appeared on Morning Joe to discuss his Dateline NBC documentary called The Road Back, he and Susan made a point of watching the Dateline show -- rather than sports, as they normally would!

They were so touched by Charles's story and his raw emotion. They found it hard to believe that a man who had commanded an army platoon in such difficult circumstances was unemployed and struggling to get by.

As it happens, the Costigans are media entrepreneurs and own several internet companies, including Kelly Car Buyer. The self-described "green" company, operating in the Midwest and Pennsylvania, pays cash for used cars and sells them for scrap or spare parts, or else fixes them up for re-sale.

"Oh my god", thought Costigan, "this poor bastard can't get a job". As soon as the show finished Mike and Susan found Charles's contact details online. Mike called Charles the next day and the day after that the couple drove four hours from Crystal Lake, Illinois to Sparta, Wisconsin to offer Charles a job.

At first Charles was skeptical and asked, "How much is this going to cost me?"

Costigan replied, "You've already paid enough, son".

Charles took the job and now buys and sells used cars, making about $1,000 a week. More than that, he can work from home and family life has improved enormously.

Costigan thought it would take Charles three months to adjust to Kelly Car Buyer. Instead, he says, it took just three days for Charles to fit into the company. Costigan says Charles has impeccable manners and a great personality for dealing with people on the phone.

And since Charles worked out so well, when a former marine dressed in a suit showed up on a bicycle looking for a job, the Costigans hired him too. He is Mike Morales and he proved to be a whizz with social media, which is a huge bonus to a family with a series of web-based companies. He now manages Costigan's online social networking.

But the Costigans were not done yet. When they needed to hire a driver, and another veteran showed up, they hired him too. Jon Kendall served in the U.S. Navy as machinist. Now he tows used cars then fixes them up for re-sale.

As tough as the economy still is, these three veterans are getting by after a couple took a chance on them. But it’s not a one-way street. The Costigans believe men and women who have served in the military are adaptable, know how to work as a team and get the job done.

Now Charles Weaver is happy and his life journey continues at a more settled pace.

...

Watch Tom Brokaw’s full report on Charles Weaver and the Costigans as part of Dateline Sunday, March 25th, at 7pm/6c.

Learn more about 'Hiring our Heroes' and sign up for upcoming job fairs

A young man with a new love goes missing, and family members and detectives crack the case by connecting a series of seemingly random crimes. Dennis Murphy reports on the young man who was Taken on Friday, March 23rd, at 10pm/9c.

Do you have questions about drug policy enforcement in the United States, as featured in Dateline's The Hansen Files report from Friday, March 2nd? Join Chris Hansen and federal drug agents in a live Google+ Hangout to answer your questions beginning today, Monday, March 19th, at 12pm ET/9am PT. 

Submit your quesitons below!

For more information and tips on nutritional supplements, see 'The Hansen Files' Fact Finder below:

Read these statements made by the following supplment companies and organizations as featured in The Hansen Files investigative report from Sunday, March 18th, at 7pm/6c:

• Wright Enrichment, Inc. (http://www.thewrightgroup.net/) 
• GNC (http://www.gnc.com/home/index.jsp)
•  Council for Responsible Nutrition (http://www.crnusa.org/)
•  Natural Products Association (http://www.npainfo.org/)

Statement by Wright Enrichment, Inc. to Dateline NBC:

Wright Enrichment, Inc. (“Wright”) is a small family owned company which has provided for many years numerous health beneficial vitamin pre-mix blends to a variety of customers. In regard to the Total Body Formula matter, while a great majority of cases have settled, a number remain in litigation in the State of Georgia. As a result, we trust you understand that Wright Enrichment is not at liberty to fully address some of the issues raised as litigation is still pending, consequently, we hope that your report will not draw any adverse inferences therefrom as to Wright Enrichment.

For years preceding this litigation, Wright produced, without incident, the vitamin premix blend component of the Total Body Formula. In 2007, apparently for cost cutting reasons, Total Body Essential Nutrition, Inc. (“Total Body”) changed its product manufacturer to a company named Texamerican Food Blending, Inc. (“Texamerican”), without Wright’s knowledge.

Unbeknownst to Wright, Texamerican did not possess the product’s vitamin premix blend formula. Instead of securing the formula from the previous manufacturer and ask Wright to produce the vitamin premix blend it had previously produced for that manufacturer, Texamerican believed that one of its employees and/or a independent contractor could reverse engineer the blend.

Notwithstanding, Texamerican proceeded to order from Wright a vitamin premix blend unfortunately containing elevated selenium levels. Wright produced the Texamerican blend to Texamerican’s exact specifications. Unfortunately, Texamerican’s specification/formula was high in selenium. On at least seven occasions before and after production of the vitamin premix-blend, for dosage confirmation, Wright provided Texamerican documents accurately stating all ingredients and vitamins present in the blend, including its selenium content. In fact, independent laboratory testing has confirmed that Wright’s premix blend contained what Wright represented it contained in those certificates of analysis and documents.

Wright is a vitamin premix blend producer. Generally, when a customer places an order, Wright is not told how a given blend will be utilized. Wright does not generally know whether its blend will be co-blended with a competitor’s, or how it will be diluted. In this case, Wright was blindfolded to the fact that Texamerican had no qualification and/or competence to formulate vitamin premix blends. Wright was blindfolded to the fact it had already produced the vitamin premix blend Texamerican was trying to reverse engineer. Wright did not know whether its vitamin premix blend was going to be co-blended, and Texamerican did not inform Wright of the vitamin premix blend’s dilution rate.

When initial complaints were reported, Wright requested the final product label from Texamerican, but to no avail. Being unaware of the product’s identity, Wright could not initiate a recall. Moreover, because Wright is not the owner of the product, Wright had in fact no right at any time to initiate a recall.

It is compelling that had Wright Enrichment been told to produce the same blend it had produced in the past for Texamerican’s predecessor, the Total Body Formula would have been fit for human consumption.

Equally compelling, if not more so, is the fact that after it had produced the Total Body Formula, but before it was released in the stream of commerce, Texamerican had its own employees sample the Total Body Formula. Some Texamerican employees became almost instantly and violently ill. Witnessing the “effect” it had on co-workers, some Texamerican employees refused to sample the Total Body Formula. Stunningly, with the sampling outcome in hand, Texamerican proceeded to release the Total Body Formula in the stream of commerce as fit for human consumption. In sum, Texamerican failed in its attempt to reverse engineer the vitamin-premix blend it asked Wright to produce, then with knowledge the product it had manufactured made people ill, Texamerican released it to Total Body as fit for human consumption.

Texamerican and Total Body denied any liability in the Gurley trial! Wright admitted to being at fault in the Gurley trial because, in hindsight, Wright should have raised more questions about what was being ordered. The fact that the formula Texamerican provided to Wright appeared to be imperfect should have raised a red flag to Wright. Wright should have refused to produce the blend.

As a result, Wright has been and remains willing to fairly compensate consumers that have been injured by the Total Body Formula. Wright has also taken steps necessary to ensure a similar incident does not re-occur and protect consumers and itself from companies like Texamerican. However, Wright believes the Edward Gurley jury verdict was the result of a jury inflamed by improperly admitted evidence and arguments of counsel. Wright also believes that the jury verdict was a result of an apparent secret deal/settlement entered into days before the start of trial between Plaintiffs and Texamerica and Total Body. Wright was prevented from learning the exact nature of this secret deal and Wright was not allowed to disclose to the jury the fact a secret deal/settlement existed at the time of trial. Therefore, Wright Enrichment is now pursuing an appeal.

Sincerely,

WRIGHT ENRICHMENT, INC.

Statement by GNC to Dateline NBC:

First, you have told us that Dateline NBC intends to use as an on air source a consumer who purchased a selenium product called Total Body Formula at a GNC store in Lawrenceville, Georgia approximately four years ago. The following points are specific to that element of your story.

This product was not manufactured by GNC but instead is a third party product GNC retailed in its stores. It’s our understanding the product was sold at other retail outlets as well.

This product had very limited distribution in GNC stores. GNC has over 5,000 US GNC store locations and this product was sold in less than 50 GNC stores. 

It’s our understanding the problem with the product involved a manufacturing error by the manufacturer where excess selenium was inadvertently added to the product. This was not a contamination issue. This manufacturing error occurred prior to when the new Good Manufacturing Practices (“GMPs”) regulations came into effect for dietary supplement products.

As soon as GNC learned that there was a problem with the product, it alerted the stores to remove the product. The product has not been sold since its removal, which was nearly 4 years ago. 

Second, without specifics GNC cannot comment on any other dietary supplement products that purportedly failed testing or were contaminated. 

 However, it is important to remember that all manufacturers of dietary supplements are required to follow GMPs when manufacturing dietary supplements.

 These regulations were enacted by the FDA in 2007 and cover an expansive list of required manufacturing processes and procedures ranging from personnel, physical plant and grounds, equipment and utensils, production and process control, batch record production, laboratory operations, packaging and label operations, holding and distributing, and record keeping requirements. The aim of the regulations is to ensure dietary supplement quality throughout the manufacturing, packaging, labeling, storing and distribution of dietary supplements. 

The GMP regulations are relatively new and the FDA has been actively inspecting manufacturing facilities to ensure compliance. The GMP regulations were enacted in June 2007 and had a three-year phase-in period depending on the size of the company. Companies with more than 500 employees had until June 2008 to comply, companies with less than 500 employees had until June 2009 to comply and companies with fewer than 20 employees had until June 2010 to comply with the regulations.

We believe that, as the FDA continues with its GMP inspections, manufacturing issues with dietary supplements will be virtually eliminated.   

Statement by the Council for Responsible Nutrition to Dateline NBC: 

 By law, every single bottle of dietary supplments sold should contain what is on the label.  More than 150 million American take dietary supplments each year as part of their health regimens with little evidence of widespread adulteration or contamination of ingredients.  We take seriously the allegations of fraudulent laboratory practices raise by this report, and urge FDA to use its ample legal authority to take legal action against the companies involved.  Meanwhile, consumers should buy brands from companies they know and trust.

Steve Mister, President & CEO
Council for Responsible Nurtrition

Statement by the Natural Products Assocation to Dateline NBC:

The Natural Products Association is the leading representative of the dietary supplement industry with over 1,900 members, including suppliers and retailers of vitamins and other dietary supplements. NPA President Jeff Wright comments on the regulation and safety of dietary supplements:

 “Consumers can trust what they read on the labels of dietary supplements. We share the concern about the issue of ensuring that products contain what the label claims and are not contaminated. This issue is highlighted, from time to time, in most consumer products industries, including foods, drugs and toys.”

 “The Natural Products Association supports the goal of superior quality within our industry, other industries and the government. Fortunately, consumers are smart enough to understand that a few or occasional lapses in quality assurance should not translate into suspicion of an entire category of products, especially one with a strong history of safety. Otherwise, people may not eat eggs, spinach, tomatoes or pistachios today.”

 “NPA has long supported government and industry actions to both produce dietary supplements according to good manufacturing practices and eliminate drugs wrongly labeled as supplements. Products that contain undeclared drug ingredients are not dietary supplements. These products are illegal drugs, and they have no place in the legitimate marketplace.”

 “Selling products that contain illegal substances is a crime. Anyone who manufactures or sells these illegal products intentionally should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

 “NPA has been steadfast in its support for increased resources for the Food and Drug Administration. We also support government action against any laboratories that may use improper testing methods. We fully support strong rules to make sure that what’s on the label is what’s in the bottle. NPA has been a leader in industry efforts to attain this goal through our TruLabel and GMP certification programs.”

“It’s important to note that dietary supplements help millions of Americans address nutritional deficiencies and maintain and improve their health. NPA provides information about the regulation, safety and benefits of supplements online at NPAinfo.org/consumers."

For tips on supplements, view 'The Hansen Files' Fact Finder below:

Chris Hansen reports a three-part investigation on the state of various drugs and supplements in America:

• Marijuana makes billions for the violent Mexican drug cartels and tons of it is routinely smuggled into the United States. But now the Mexican cartels have found a way to minimize the risk of smuggling by actually growing huge marijuana crops right here in the United States. A lot of it is even being grown on Federal land. Chris Hansen goes along with the DEA on the hunt for huge marijuana crops and the cartel members who are actually farming the marijuana.
• Vitamins and supplements are becoming a way of life in the United States. People looking for more energy and better nutrition look to that list of ingredients on the back of the bottle to confirm what they’re taking is safe and effective, something that will give them the edge their looking for. But as Chris Hansen found out, some of those labels may not be worth the paper they’re printed on.
• An update to an undercover investigation, Chris Hansen went inside a so-called head shop in New York City to report on bath salts, one of the newest designer drugs. Its effects, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, are similar to those of cocaine and methamphetamines. Since “Dateline’s” report last spring, NY State has made them illegal and the DEA put bath salts on the controlled substances list.

On Monday, March 19th, at 12pm ET / 9am PT, Chris Hansen will host a Google+ Hangout on DatelineNBC.com with Federal Drug Enforcement agents and their efforts to track down illegal drugs.

Visit Dateline's Google+ page here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/111445100695266871091/up/start/

A husband and father is shot and killed in broad daylight after dropping his son off at a daycare in suburban Atlanta. The gunman is seen speeding away in a silver minivan. And when the police track down the driver, who he turns out to be - is as surprising as his reason for targeting the victim. Dennis Murphy reports on this week's verdict of the Dunwoody Daycare Murder.

The third in a series of investigations into how some lottery retailers actually end up with winning tickets bought by lotto players. Chris Hansen follows along with investigators as they try to turn in big winning tickets at lottery sales locations. But when some of those lottery clerks tell the undercover investigators those tickets aren’t winners at all, they have some explaining to do.

Josh Mankiewicz reports on a cold case involving a beautiful young nurse who was killed 26 years ago. Solved by a team of detectives, they discovered they had something in common with the prime suspect – she was one of their own.

Plus, Tamron Hall’s exclusive interview with Tiffanie Dixon, Whitney Houston’s image consultant and hairstylist. For the first time since Houston was pronounced dead, Dixon sits down with Hall to talk about the events leading up to that horrific night and what she found when she walked into the hotel room. Dixon, who was close to Houston, shares her story in an emotional and candid interview.

Do you have questions about day care centers for your child, as featured in Dateline's The Hansen Files report from Friday, March 2nd? Join Chris Hansen and other experts in a live Google+ Hangout to answer your questions beginning today, Monday, March 5th, at 12ET/9PT.

Some of the most revealing moments during The Hansen Files overseas report on drug trials is what happened in between interviews and planned shoots. When NBC cameraman David Lom was scouting the neighborhood  streets of Delhi one night, he took black and white images of the rustic pharmacies and traditional doctors that many Indians rely on to survive. In the slums of Ahmedabad, NBC Producer Tim Sandler captured the faces and everyday lives of destitute people living on the fringes of society.