Motivational Interviewing and SBIRT Training Registration
November 2, 2011
Register now for this free Training Facilitated by UCLA’s Integrated Substance Abuse Treatment Programs.
Coalitions in Action: California Coalition Says Federal Action on Marijuana Can Help Reduce Youth Use
October 26, 2011
Oct 20, 2011
Coalition resources: Coalition Stories
Drug type: Marijuana
A recent federal crackdown by four United States attorneys on medical marijuana dispensaries offers some hope of relief in a California county. Conflicting or difficult to interpret state and federal laws and regulations have made it challenging for local-level advocates working to reduce youth substance use and abuse.
Nevada County, nestled in the pristine Sierra Nevada mountain range, is in the midst of the marijuana, harvest season, and children regularly come to school reeking of reefer. The Coalition for a Drug Free Nevada County, like many others in the state, has collaborated with their county on marijuana policies including instituting a ban on the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries within the county. However, as medical marijuana increased in public acceptance, perceptions about the drug’s harm have been reduced among young people in their community, say coalition members.
News of a federal crackdown could not have come at a better time, said CADCA member and program coordinator, Shelley Rogers. Rogers and her colleagues said an aerial view of the county exposes pot grows almost everywhere.
“In law enforcement, our resources are so low that we can’t even begin to address the full scope of the problem,” said coalition member Rex Marks, a Grass Valley Police Captain.
Captain Marks has received numerous complaints from residents about marijuana odor in their neighborhoods and his office fields calls from other law enforcement agencies outside the state weekly regarding people in possession of crops or proceeds.
“I think the federal crackdown is a huge step forward”, Marks said, “So many of these laws conflict, state and federal.”
Coalition member and County District Attorney Cliff Newell, agreed, “It (the recent federal action) helps with the perception that marijuana is dangerous to our community because what has been happening around here is an exploitation of the medical marijuana laws.”
The recently-released 2010 Monitoring the Future Survey revealed the perceived harm for smoking marijuana occasionally or regularly has been decreasing among students in the 8th grade since 2007.
The enforcement effort is aimed at curtailing the large, for-profit marijuana industry that has developed since the passage of California’s Proposition 215 in 1996.
Business owner and coalition member, Lindsay Marich, said marijuana has become more socially acceptable as their community has made it easier to grow, possess or consume.
“Use of marijuana is blatant, so normalized, even in the workplace,” she said.
The coalition receives calls regularly from business owners and homeowners expressing their concern and frustration. The Coalition for a Drug Free Nevada County works with local businesses to institute a Certified Drug Free Workplace campaign. Coalition members applaud the recent decisive actions by the federal government, saying that they lend legitimacy to local substance abuse prevention advocates.
Through continued community collaboration at both the local and state level and with the federal government enforcing laws, “we aim to increase the perception of the drug’s harm among youth, and reduce youth use,” said Ariel Lovett, Program Director.
Warren Daniels, CEO of Community Recovery Resources, a non-profit treatment provider, said there are more teens in treatment for marijuana use than ever before. “It’s cash crop in our community… From the treatment angle we see it from a multi-generational perspective, and we are working to reverse the effect on teens,” he said.
The coalition members feel that more research will also help them in their local effort to reduce marijuana use, citing a Columbia University study released this month that drivers who test positive for marijuana or report driving within three hours of marijuana use are more than twice as likely as other drivers to be involved in crashes. They will use sound research like this during an upcoming town hall meeting that will include a lawyer, insurance provider, law enforcement, and an “MD addictionologist” to talk with homeowners associations, parents, and business owners about local-level strategies.
While the coalition continues to “re-educate” their community about the dangers of marijuana at the local and state levels, they have been successful with getting prescription drugs out of the hands of youth through their model Safe Disposal program. The county currently has two permanent Safe Disposal Sites that have collected 45 pounds a week at a police station and 90 at a Kmart pharmacy. On National Take Back Day Oct. 29th, they will kick off the grand opening for two new sites, totaling four public disposal sites in Nevada County. Save Mart and Rite Aid Pharmacies join Kmart Pharmacy and Grass Valley Police Department as drop-off locations.
Rogers concludes, “We commend these businesses for being partners in the fight against the prescription drug abuse epidemic. As one of the only counties in the state to successfully establish permanent disposal sites, Nevada County’s Safe Disposal Program is a model for other counties.”
National Take Back Day October 29th, 2011
October 10, 2011
National Take Back_10_29_11_flyer
NEVADA COUNTY SHERIFF TAKING BACK UNWANTED PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
ON NATIONAL TAKE BACK DAY, OCTOBER 29, 2011.
Safely dispose of expired and unwanted prescription medications.
Protect the environment and protect our teens from an epidemic of prescription drug abuse.
Who: Nevada County Sheriff and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency
Where: Sheriff’s Annex, The Rood Building Government Center
950 Maidu, Nevada City
When: Saturday, October 29th from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Nevada City, CA – On October 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nevada County Sheriff’s Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your medications for disposal to Nevada County Sheriff’s Annex at 950 Maidu, Nevada City (The Rood Bldg. Government Center). The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
Last April, Americans turned in 376,593 pounds—188 tons—of prescription drugs at nearly 5,400 sites operated by the DEA and more than 3,000 state and local law enforcement partners.
This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.
Four days after the first Take-Back event in September 2010, Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them. DEA has begun drafting regulations to implement the Act, a process that can take as long as 24 months. Until new regulations are in place, local law enforcement agencies like [agency] and the DEA will continue to hold prescription drug take-back events every few months.
National Take Back Day October 29th
September 16, 2011
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NATIONAL TAKE BACK INITIATIVE
October 29, 2011
10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
DEA has scheduled another National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 29, 2011, from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. to provide a venue for persons who want to dispose of unwanted and unused prescription drugs. Please check back in mid-September to find convenient collection locations in your zip code area, county, city, or state.
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. More than seven million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs, according to the 2009 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Each day, approximately, 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time according to the Partnership for a Drug Free America. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including the home medicine cabinet.
DEA in conjunction with state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the United States conducted National Prescription Drug Take Back Days on Saturday, September 25, 2010 and April 25, 2011. Nearly, 4,000 state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the nation participated in these events, collecting more than 309 tons of pills.
Four days after last fall’s Take-Back Day, Congress passed legislation amending the Controlled Substances Act to allow the DEA to develop a process for people to safely dispose of their prescription drugs. DEA immediately began developing this process after President Obama signed the Safe and Secure Drug Disposal Act of 2010 on October 12. Until that process is complete, however, DEA will continue to hold Take Back Days every six months.
Congratulations Coalition for a Drug Free Nevada County!
September 2, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Ariel Lovett
DATE, August 31, 2011 530-320-9284
White House Drug Policy Director Awards $88.2 Million to Local
Communities to Prevent Youth Substance Use
(Washington, D.C.) – Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), today announced $12.3 million in new Drug Free Communities Support Program (DFC) grants to 87 communities and 20 new DFC Mentoring grants across the country. Coalition for a Drug Free Nevada County in Grass Valley, California, was one of the grant recipients, and will receive $625,000 over 5 years in DFC grant funds to involve and engage their local community to prevent and reduce substance use among youth.
“Efforts to keep our youth drug free are critical to healthy and safe communities here in Nevada County, said Ariel Lovett, Interim Director for the Coalition. “The Drug Free Communities program recognizes the great potential of Coalition for a Drug Free Nevada County to help save lives of youth. This new funding will allow Coalition for a Drug Free Nevada County to mobilize and organize our community to prevent and reduce youth substance use.”
ONDCP Director Gil Kerlikowske said, “Data show that community efforts to reduce youth substance use through the DFC program are effective. I commend coalitions like Coalition for a Drug Free Nevada County, who work tirelessly to prevent and reduce youth drug use across the Nation.”
“Action at the community level and kitchen tables drives rates of substance abuse down,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. “SAMHSA is pleased to join the Office of National Drug Control Policy in supporting coalitions like Coalition for Drug Free Nevada County that are bringing citizens together to create healthy and drug-free environments for children
The Drug Free Communities program is directed by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The DFC program provides grants of up to $625,000 over five years to community coalitions that facilitate citizen participation in local drug prevention efforts. Coalitions are comprised of community leaders, parents, youth, teachers, religious and fraternal organizations, health care and business professionals, law enforcement, the media, and others working together at the local level.
Coalition for a Drug Free Nevada County was one of 87 new grantees selected from 452 applicants through a competitive, peer-reviewed process. To qualify for matching grants, all awardees must have at least a six-month history of working together on substance abuse reduction initiatives, have representation from 12 specific sectors of the community, develop a long-term plan to reduce substance abuse, and participate in the national evaluation of the DFC program.
Coalition for a Drug Free Nevada County will specifically work to address reducing youth access and use of marijuana, prescription drugs, and alcohol.
The DFC program was created by the Drug Free Communities Act of 1997, and was reauthorized by Congress in 2001 and 2006. Since 1998, ONDCP has awarded nearly 2,000 Drug Free Communities grants to local communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
Play it Forward Youth Football Combine
July 25, 2011
Play-it-Forward_Youth_Combine_flyer 2011_7-16_revised
Saturday August 20th at Bear River Football Field.
Youth Football Combine With Jr. Bruins and NFL Alumni of the Northern California Chapter of Retired NFL Player Association. For more information or to find out how to sign up your young football enthusiast; call Shelley: (530)273-9541 ext. 220 or Email: shelley@drugfreenevadacounty.org
Top 5 Reasons to Come to the Quarterly Meeting – July 7th
June 21, 2011
Coalition Quarterly Meeting
July 7th at 3pm
at the Grass Valley Elks Lodge
5 Reasons to Attend the Quarterly Coalition Meeting
1.) Advocate -Learn about the brand new “Be Committed” campaign and find out how you can help!
2.) Be Educated - Find out where our county ranks in drug and alcohol use from our new Drug and Alcohol Indicators Report.
3.) Support - Show your support for keeping Nevada County’s youth drug free!
4.) Take action –Take action by signing the Committed Pledge and getting involved with volunteer opportunities.
5.) Prizes! -The first twenty people receive a gift and be entered in a raffle for Nevada County Fair entrance tickets!
Take the Pledge: Commit to not serve alcohol to youth!
April 27, 2011
Did you know that 96% of Nevada County youth think it is relatively easy to get alcohol?
It’s up to us to change that! Take the Pledge and commit to not serve alcohol to minors.
Just click the link, it will only take 30 seconds of your time, but it can make a world of difference in keeping our youth safe.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R9JSD96
For more information, tips and a guideline on how to talk to your kids about alcohol follow the link, COMMITTED Campaign Info
Read the 2010 AOD Report
April 25, 2011
The primary objective of this report is to provide an overall perspective of substance abuse in Nevada County for service providers, community stakeholders, and policymakers.
Download the 2010 AOD Report
April is Alcohol Awareness Month
April 14, 2011
Important links and more information and resources for parents and youth:
http://www.madd.org/underage-drinking/
http://www.stopalcoholabuse.gov/
http://www.abovetheinfluence.com/facts/drugs-alcohol.aspx
