Friday, June 25, 2010

International Day Against Drug Abuse (June 26)

Today, as most of us know, marks the one-year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death. The "King of Pop" was well known around the world not only for his talents, but also for his infamous battles with with drug dependence and addiction. Incidentally, tomorrow (Saturday, June 26th) is the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. For many years, countries around the world have participated in the June 26 observance of the International Day Against Drug Use. Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1987, this day serves as a reminder of the goals agreed to by Member States of creating an international society free of drug abuse.

Whether or not you are a fan of Michael Jackson's music, no one can deny the tragedy of his singer's untimely death and the painful loss to Jackson's family, friends and fans. Unfortunately, the devastating consequences of substance abuse not only hit the celebrity world, but are becoming more of a reality for everyday folks in our communities. The difference is often that access to early intervention, treatment and recovery options for those facing drug dependence or addiction is often expensive and inaccessible for those most in need. Although drug abuse has taken a serious toll on communities around the world, there is hope in substance abuse prevention.

Community coalitions across the country are working to change local conditions which perpetuate alcohol abuse, marijuana use, prescription drug abuse and other concerns. By focusing on evidence-based prevention strategies, such as supporting underage drinking compliance checks, increasing access to treatment and recovery support through drug courts or raising awareness of the harm of sharing prescription drugs, coalitions CAN make a difference.

Preventing substance abuse before it begins is the best way to strengthen our communities and invest in our youth. Research has shown not only which prevention interventions work, but also that prevention is cost-effective. Now, communities and states are using data-driven decision-making as they decide which evidence-based programs, practices, and policies work best to keep their citizens healthy. Prevention begins at home- get involved with your local prevention coalition today!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Tobacco tax would bring in $117 million in new revenue, reduce youth smoking

CHARLESTON, W.Va., June 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new poll released today shows that 63 percent of West Virginia voters support raising the tobacco tax by $1 per pack to help address budget shortfalls and reduce youth smoking.

This support comes from a broad-based coalition of voters, including 61 percent of Republicans, 65 percent of Democrats, and 62 percent of Independents. In addition, voters from around the state and across every demographic group strongly support the tobacco tax increase.

"Now is the time for legislators to listen to the large majority of West Virginia voters who want to raise the tobacco tax instead of cutting critical programs. These results show that, regardless of party, voters across West Virginia understand raising the tobacco tax is a smart way to address budget shortfalls and debt while protecting our kids from tobacco," said Chuck Hamsher of the American Heart Association. "Raising the tobacco tax is a win, win for West Virginia."

The survey of 500 registered West Virginia voters was released by the Coalition for a Tobacco Free West Virginia, which includes the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

West Virginia voters also express a preference for candidates who support the tobacco tax. By a margin of 55 percent to 33 percent, voters opt for a candidate who supports the tax over one who opposes it. The preference for candidates who support the tobacco tax holds for Democrats, independents, and Republicans.

"Clearly, West Virginia voters view the tobacco tax as different than other taxes," commented Mark Mellman whose firm conducted the poll. "Far from punishing policy-makers who support the tobacco tax, they are more likely to reward them."

West Virginia voters strongly prefer the tobacco tax over other options for addressing the state's budget woes. When presented with a list of options for closing the budget gap 58% percent support increasing the tobacco tax for this purpose, while a majority opposed other options such as increasing state sales, income, or gasoline taxes, and reducing funding for health care, education, or nursing home care. Increasing the alcohol tax was the only other proposal to garner majority support.

A recent report by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and other public health organizations found that a $1 increase in West Virginia's tobacco tax would raise $117 million in new annual revenue for the state, despite the declines in smoking it would help bring about. The tax increase would also prevent 19,100 West Virginia kids from smoking, save 9,500 state residents from premature, smoking-caused deaths and save $458 million in tobacco-related health care costs (for more information, go to www.tobaccofreekids.org/winwinwin). These health benefits would be even greater if some portion of the tax is used to fund tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which are underfunded in West Virginia. Three-fourths of voters in the poll support funding prevention efforts at the level recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

West Virginia's current cigarette tax is 55 cents per pack, which ranks 44th in the nation and is well below the national average of $1.44 per pack.

The survey was conducted by the polling firm The Mellman Group. The statewide poll has a random sample of 500 registered West Virginia voters and was conducted May 8 to May 11, 2010. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percentage points.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Take Care WV Campaign (WTOV9 News Story)

Take Care WV Campaign Launched to Address RX Abuse in WV

Check out Friday's WTOV9 news story featuring Ohio County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition member Sgt. Don Miller and Community Educator Heather Markonich:
W.Va. Campaign Takes Aim At Prescription Drug Abuse Among Youth - News Story - WTOV Steubenville (Friday, June 4, 2010)

Everyone knows drugs are dangerous. But did you know that sharing prescription drugs can be just as dangerous and deadly too? Sharing prescription drugs is also illegal.

Data indicate social access (sharing) is a major contributor to the misuse of prescription drugs. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, most prescription drug abusers obtain their drugs from family and friends. In WV, 64% of nonmedical users of pain relievers reported getting the most recently used drug from a friend or relative for free, and another 7.6% reported buying them from a friend or relative.

How can YOU prevent RX abuse?
-Please don’t share prescription drugs. Only take RX medication as advised by your doctor.
-Learn more and view/listen to/download the PSAs by visiting www.takecarewv.org. Share links to the website via email and social networking sites.
-Participate in your county’s forum/discussions about RX abuse. County prevention contacts are available at www.PrevNET.org.
-Encourage your local media/businesses/schools/civic groups to run the PSAs as much as possible on their stations/websites, in their publications/newsletters, etc.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

June... So Soon? Coalition Updates!

Hopefully you are enjoying the warm summer weather as graduation parties, picnics and other outdoor celebrations abound. Now that school is almost over, our Community Educator's work implementing prevention education in the schools is at an end and she will start training to become more familiar with the staff roles for Drug Free Communities (DFC) Grant as the coalition’s Strategic Prevention Framework-State Incentive Grant (SPF-SIG) which currently funds prevention education will end this September. We have been working hard in the coalition office to take on some much-needed “housekeeping” as we organize over 3 years of files, order promotional items for outreach, and last but not least…. the truly exciting joys of grant reporting. We look forward to having a clean and organized office so that we can get out and focus on increasing our community collaboration to prevent & reduce substance abuse!

As always, we try to keep you in the loop with coalition activities throughout the month of June and the rest of the summer. Hopefully the warm weather will inspire us to get out and do some much needed assessment to inform our prevention efforts in Ohio County! We are very excited about organizing a Prescription (Rx) Drug Take-Back event with Wheeling Police Department- more details soon! We can plan out the logistics in UPS (Underage Prevention Subgroup) and the media advocacy in SMarT (Social Marketing Taskforce). In the meantime, mark your calendars with the following important coalition and community event dates:

UPCOMING EVENTS:

  • Saturday June 5: Wheeling Chili Cook-Off at Heritage Port in Wheeling (12pm-5pm)
  • Monday, June 7: Social Marketing Taskforce (SMarT) meets at YSS at 12:30pm to develop our coalition media plan, discuss Take Care WV media campaign
  • Wednesday, June 9: Leadership Team meets at YSS at 12:30pm to act as steering committee & strengthen shared coalition leadership efforts
  • Wednesday, June 16: Underage Prevention Subgroup (UPS) meets at YSS at 12:30pm to re-visit/update taskforce charter & plan for community assessment
  • Saturday, June 19: YSS Steak Fry (6pm-midnight)- come out & support this fundraiser (tickets are $20) for YSS’s annual Celebrate Youth 2010 festival
  • Friday, June 25: International Day Against Drug Abuse
  • June 25 – June 27: Ohio Valley Black Heritage Festival at Heritage Port in Wheeling
  • Wednesday, July 21: **OCSAPC Quarterly Meeting at YSS at 12:30pm** (lunch provided- please RSVP for food count!): Evaluation of our March 2010 Rx Drug Summit, Special Rx Take-Back presentation by the WV Rivers Coalition
  • July 23 – July 25: Italian Festival at Heritage Port in Wheeling
  • Aug. 1-Aug. 6: National Coalition Academy (Week 3) in Des Moines, Iowa (**Contact Julia to participate in this valuable training opportunity!**)
  • Tuesday, August 3: National Night Out Against Crime in Wheeling
  • Thursday, August 12: Celebrate Youth 2010 (YSS) at Wheeling Park (11am-5pm): FREE food, wristbands for the park & entertainment for youth & families!

For more updated event information, visit the City of Wheeling Events Calendar. Also see the latest edition of OV Parent Community Calendar for a list of fun things to do this summer. We hope that you can make time to get involved, or (if you are already an active coalition member) STAY involved with community-based prevention strategies. Your help is needed and does make a difference to youth and families in Ohio County. Thank you for all you do to focus on preventing substance abuse in our community.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Obama Drug Strategy Stresses Evidence-Based Prevention

Obama Drug Strategy Stresses Evidence-Based Prevention

The newly released national drug strategy focuses on keeping science-based prevention as a key component of the effort to address substance abuse in the United States. Our coalition (along with over 700 community anti-drug coalitions across the country) uses a nationally recognized "Strategic Prevention Framework" (SPF) to carry out our prevention activities in Ohio County. The main components of the SPF are:

  • Assessment: using local data to determine our community's assets and needs
  • Capacity Building: improving our coalition's ability to collaborate & carry out prevention efforts
  • Planning: selecting evidence-based strategies to match our assessed needs
  • Implementation: putting our strategies into action
  • Evaluation: documenting outcomes of our actions
  • Sustainability: ensuring that our work will continue, with our without grant funding!
  • Cultural Competence: incorporating appropriate ethnic/cultural considerations based on our community's demographics

Want to learn more about what's happening nationally? You can read the 2010 White House Drug Policy here: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/strategy/

Funding

The Ohio County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition (OCSAPC) is funded by a federal Drug Free Communities (DFC) Support Program Grant from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Youth Services System, Inc. (YSS) serves as the coalition's fiscal and administrative agent.

Search