The 2011 National Leadership Forum is the nation’s largest meeting for community prevention leaders, treatment professionals and researchers. This year’s conference theme is focused on the future of alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention, treatment and research. The Van Buren County SAFE Coalition will be sending two adult and two youth coalition members to the forum in Washington, DC in February. While there the Coalition representatives will:
• Gain new strategies and learn how to curb alcohol abuse, underage drinking, tobacco and marijuana use, and prescription and over-the-counter medicine abuse at the more than 100 workshops and plenary sessions available at the Forum.
• Meet CNN's Elizabeth Cohen after she moderates a Town Hall Meeting about the Future of Evidence-based Practices and Coalitions.
• Interact with officials representing at least 10 federal agencies.
• Hear from Vice President Joe Biden; who will speak when he accepts the CADCA’s Distinguished Service Award.
• Network with coalition directors, staff and members; nearly 300 youth; and state leaders from every U.S. state, 4 U.S. territories, and 2 foreign countries!
• Make the Coalitions voice heard in Congress during CADCA’s Capitol Hill Day Rally.
• Hear from Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin at the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention 7th Annual Community Prevention Day.
• Present a display of SAFE Coalition information for the CADCA Poster Session.
• RECEIVE THE GOT OUTCOMES COALITION OF THE YEAR AWARD!
For more information about the CADCA Forum and our award please check it out at http://www.cadca.org/events/forum21 or contact the Coalition by email at info@vbsafecoalition.com or by phone at 319-293-6412.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Resources for Parents
Are you a Van Buren County Parents who is in need of information on drug and alcohol abuse? The SAFE Coalition is here to help you! You can contact the SAFE office any time via phone 319-293-6412, email- info@vbsafecoalition.com or by visiting the coalition website at www.vbsafecoalition.com.
Currently the Coalition would like to tell you about a couple of online opportunities that are available for parents.
1. Live Facebook Discussion and Q&A
• Provided by: The Partnership at Drugfree.org
• Every third Friday of the month
• Join them in 2011 and they will help parents prevent, intervene in and find treatment for drug and alcohol use by their children.
• To find more news, tips and resources from The Partnership at Drugfree.org, visit their website: www.drugfree.org
• Check out their new Give and Get Involved section.
2. Other on line sites available to help parents include:
• http://www.theantidrug.com, http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/yourtime/,
• http://www.safeyouth.org/scripts/teens.asp ,
• http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/
• http://www.drugstory.org/ ,
• http://drugabuse.gov,
• http://www.youthinaction.org/index.cfm?cID=about&scID=projects,
• http://drugabuse.gov, http://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/stateprofiles/,
• http://www.talkingwithkids.org/
• http://iowamethwatch.com,
• http://marijuana-info.org
• http://smokefree.gov.
Parents, family, and friends of teens please make sure to check out these sites or contact the Coalition for more information on issues that teens are facing today!
Van Buren County SAFE Coalition: 319-293-6412, info@vbsafecoalition.com or check us out at www.vbsafecoalition.com.
Currently the Coalition would like to tell you about a couple of online opportunities that are available for parents.
1. Live Facebook Discussion and Q&A
• Provided by: The Partnership at Drugfree.org
• Every third Friday of the month
• Join them in 2011 and they will help parents prevent, intervene in and find treatment for drug and alcohol use by their children.
• To find more news, tips and resources from The Partnership at Drugfree.org, visit their website: www.drugfree.org
• Check out their new Give and Get Involved section.
2. Other on line sites available to help parents include:
• http://www.theantidrug.com, http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/yourtime/,
• http://www.safeyouth.org/scripts/teens.asp ,
• http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/
• http://www.drugstory.org/ ,
• http://drugabuse.gov,
• http://www.youthinaction.org/index.cfm?cID=about&scID=projects,
• http://drugabuse.gov, http://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/stateprofiles/,
• http://www.talkingwithkids.org/
• http://iowamethwatch.com,
• http://marijuana-info.org
• http://smokefree.gov.
Parents, family, and friends of teens please make sure to check out these sites or contact the Coalition for more information on issues that teens are facing today!
Van Buren County SAFE Coalition: 319-293-6412, info@vbsafecoalition.com or check us out at www.vbsafecoalition.com.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
"Meet the Parents Hour"
This Friday The Partnership at Drugfree.org will debut our "Meet the Parents Hour", a live Facebook discussion and Q & A, occurring every third Friday of the month. Our first event will be held on January 21, at 12 p.m. EST. The first hour will feature Karen Franklin and Lauren King, a mother and daughter team who wrote 'Addicted Like Me', a book that explores their candid struggles with addiction and gives readers insight into how addiction affects the entire family. Join us as they discuss their experiences and share advice on how to help break the cycle. Facebook fans can read a short description of Karen and Lauren's story and participate in a LIVE Q & A session with them and other community members on our Facebook wall.
Please join us in 2011 and together, we will help parents prevent, intervene in and find treatment for drug and alcohol use by their children.
To find more news, tips and resources from The Partnership at Drugfree.org, visit our website and take a look at our new Give and Get Involved section
Please join us in 2011 and together, we will help parents prevent, intervene in and find treatment for drug and alcohol use by their children.
To find more news, tips and resources from The Partnership at Drugfree.org, visit our website and take a look at our new Give and Get Involved section
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Youth Speak Out--Iowa AC4C goes to Iowa Capitol for Underage Drinking Prevention Day on the Hill
On Monday, January 24 the Alliance of Coalitions for Change (AC4C), a state-wide collaboration to effect positive change in substance abuse, will be meeting with the state legislators to discuss their concerns about underage drinking in Iowa.
The SAFE Coalition will be attending this event with select students in grades 7th through 12th from Van Buren County School District and Harmony School District.
The youth will be among several community coalitions, representing a mixture of Iowa’s rural and urban populations at this event.
Multiple prevention strategies are occurring throughout the state of Iowa, resulting in significant decreases in underage drinking. But major problems still remain: Iowa still ranks in the top 10 states for underage (age 12-20) binge drinking.
The 2008 Iowa Youth Survey showed 27% of 11th graders in the state of Iowa reporting binge drinking in the past 30 days. This is down from 32% in 2005. This remains more than one out of every four 11th graders in Iowa that report engaging in binge drinking in the past month.
Past 30 day use of alcohol and binge drinking numbers are decreasing for Iowa teens, but underage binge drinking is still very high compared to other states.
The AC4C press conference will be held in the West Hall of the 1st floor rotunda 12:30 to 1:00 pm. Media, legislators and the public are encouraged to attend.
For further information, please contact the SAFE Coalition at www.vbsafecoalition.com or 319-293-6412.
The SAFE Coalition will be attending this event with select students in grades 7th through 12th from Van Buren County School District and Harmony School District.
The youth will be among several community coalitions, representing a mixture of Iowa’s rural and urban populations at this event.
Multiple prevention strategies are occurring throughout the state of Iowa, resulting in significant decreases in underage drinking. But major problems still remain: Iowa still ranks in the top 10 states for underage (age 12-20) binge drinking.
The 2008 Iowa Youth Survey showed 27% of 11th graders in the state of Iowa reporting binge drinking in the past 30 days. This is down from 32% in 2005. This remains more than one out of every four 11th graders in Iowa that report engaging in binge drinking in the past month.
Past 30 day use of alcohol and binge drinking numbers are decreasing for Iowa teens, but underage binge drinking is still very high compared to other states.
The AC4C press conference will be held in the West Hall of the 1st floor rotunda 12:30 to 1:00 pm. Media, legislators and the public are encouraged to attend.
For further information, please contact the SAFE Coalition at www.vbsafecoalition.com or 319-293-6412.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
COALITION MEETING CANCELLED
Due to weather the SAFE Coalition meeting has been canceled today.
The next coalition meeting is:
February 15th
2:00pm
Roberts Memorial Center
The Social Host Committee meeting has also been canceled for today.
The next coalition meeting is:
February 15th
2:00pm
Roberts Memorial Center
The Social Host Committee meeting has also been canceled for today.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Is Marijuana the new “Drug of Choice”?
Daily use of marijuana has increased among eighth, tenth, and twelfth grade youth nationally, while alcohol use -- at its lowest level since the survey began -- and binge drinking have continued long-term declines, according to 2010 Monitoring the Future Survey (MTF) results. MTF, an annual survey funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), has measured self-reported drug use behavior and attitudes among high-school seniors since 1975 and among eighth and tenth graders since 1991.
Researchers, led by Lloyd Johnston at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, surveyed 46,482 eighth, tenth, and twelfth grade students in 396 public and independent schools across the country. Prevalence measures of marijuana use rose in all three grade levels (measures included daily, past 30 days, past year, and lifetime use). When researchers combined data for all three grades, the one-year increases in marijuana use in all prevalence measures were statistically significant.
"Though this upward shift is not yet very large, its duration and pervasiveness leave no doubt in our minds that it is real," said Johnston. "Perhaps the most troublesome part of it is that daily use of marijuana increased significantly in all three grades in 2010." From 2009 to 2010, daily marijuana-use rates increased from 1.0 to 1.2 percent for eighth graders, 2.8 to 3.3 percent for tenth graders, and from 5.2 to 6.1 percent for twelfth graders. That means that about one in every 16 high-school seniors who were surveyed self-reported daily use of marijuana. (Researchers defined daily use as using a drug 20 or more times in the last 30 days.)
"These high rates of marijuana use during the teen and pre-teen years, when the brain continues to develop, place our young people at particular risk," said Nora D. Volkow, M.D, director of NIDA. "Not only does marijuana affect learning, judgment, and motor skills, but research tells us that about 1 in 6 people who start using it as adolescents become addicted."
Locally in Van Buren County the rates of youth marijuana use are also on the rise. A 2009 interim Iowa Youth Survey revealed that the use of marijuana among 11th grade students is up 3% from the 2008 data provided by the state Iowa Youth Survey.
"The increases in youth drug use reflected in the Monitoring the Future Study are disappointing. And mixed messages about drug legalization, particularly marijuana legalization, may be to blame," said Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). "Such messages certainly don’t help parents who are trying to prevent young people from using drugs."
Meanwhile, alcohol use continued a long-term decline since 1980s. Alcohol use among all three grades decreased. In fact, the rate of alcohol use among twelfth graders is the lowest ever (since the study began in 1975), and the lowest among eighth and tenth graders since 1991 (when those grades were added). Binge drinking -- defined in the survey as five or more drinks in one sitting within the past two weeks -- among twelfth graders declined significantly from 25.2 percent in 2009 to 23.2 percent in 2010. Occasions of heavy drinking declined among eighth and tenth graders, too, but the decrease was not statistically significant.
Although past-30-days cigarette use among twelfth graders dropped below past-30-days marijuana use (19.2 percent and 21.4 percent, respectively), declines in overall cigarette use have stalled in all three grades.
Check out the resources below for drug-by-drug information -- including trends of teen prescription and over-the-counter drug use.
More information:
Data tables and figures from 2010 Monitoring the Future (Univ. of Michigan's Monitoring the Future website) (http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/data/10data.html)
National Institute on Drug Abuse's Monitoring the Future Survey (NIDA) (http://www.drugabuse.gov/DrugPages/MTF.html)
Researchers, led by Lloyd Johnston at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, surveyed 46,482 eighth, tenth, and twelfth grade students in 396 public and independent schools across the country. Prevalence measures of marijuana use rose in all three grade levels (measures included daily, past 30 days, past year, and lifetime use). When researchers combined data for all three grades, the one-year increases in marijuana use in all prevalence measures were statistically significant.
"Though this upward shift is not yet very large, its duration and pervasiveness leave no doubt in our minds that it is real," said Johnston. "Perhaps the most troublesome part of it is that daily use of marijuana increased significantly in all three grades in 2010." From 2009 to 2010, daily marijuana-use rates increased from 1.0 to 1.2 percent for eighth graders, 2.8 to 3.3 percent for tenth graders, and from 5.2 to 6.1 percent for twelfth graders. That means that about one in every 16 high-school seniors who were surveyed self-reported daily use of marijuana. (Researchers defined daily use as using a drug 20 or more times in the last 30 days.)
"These high rates of marijuana use during the teen and pre-teen years, when the brain continues to develop, place our young people at particular risk," said Nora D. Volkow, M.D, director of NIDA. "Not only does marijuana affect learning, judgment, and motor skills, but research tells us that about 1 in 6 people who start using it as adolescents become addicted."
Locally in Van Buren County the rates of youth marijuana use are also on the rise. A 2009 interim Iowa Youth Survey revealed that the use of marijuana among 11th grade students is up 3% from the 2008 data provided by the state Iowa Youth Survey.
"The increases in youth drug use reflected in the Monitoring the Future Study are disappointing. And mixed messages about drug legalization, particularly marijuana legalization, may be to blame," said Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). "Such messages certainly don’t help parents who are trying to prevent young people from using drugs."
Meanwhile, alcohol use continued a long-term decline since 1980s. Alcohol use among all three grades decreased. In fact, the rate of alcohol use among twelfth graders is the lowest ever (since the study began in 1975), and the lowest among eighth and tenth graders since 1991 (when those grades were added). Binge drinking -- defined in the survey as five or more drinks in one sitting within the past two weeks -- among twelfth graders declined significantly from 25.2 percent in 2009 to 23.2 percent in 2010. Occasions of heavy drinking declined among eighth and tenth graders, too, but the decrease was not statistically significant.
Although past-30-days cigarette use among twelfth graders dropped below past-30-days marijuana use (19.2 percent and 21.4 percent, respectively), declines in overall cigarette use have stalled in all three grades.
Check out the resources below for drug-by-drug information -- including trends of teen prescription and over-the-counter drug use.
More information:
Data tables and figures from 2010 Monitoring the Future (Univ. of Michigan's Monitoring the Future website) (http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/data/10data.html)
National Institute on Drug Abuse's Monitoring the Future Survey (NIDA) (http://www.drugabuse.gov/DrugPages/MTF.html)
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