Wood County Prevention Coalition
Uniting For A Drug-Free Community Since 2004
Time to double down on drug prevention
Tamie Sullivan10:30 a.m. EDT June 21, 2016
cincinnati.com
Hyde Park resident Tamie Sullivan was the first executive director of PreventionFirst and continues to serve on its advisory board. She is a member of the Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board.
PreventionFirst, formerly called Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati, is marking its 20th anniversary. It was formed 20 years ago by then-U.S. Rep. Rob Portman to promote substance abuse prevention as a healthy lifestyle choice across an entire lifespan.
The harsh reality is we need drug prevention now more than ever. The number of heroin and opiate (prescription painkiller) overdose deaths is staggering. There aren’t enough treatment beds; drug-related crime continues; and young people still think they’re invincible.
As far as drug prevention education is concerned, we have a tendency to take our eyes off the ball until the next drug crisis. Well, we’re living it now, and we need to realize there will always be the next drug, followed by the drug laced with the something that’s stronger and even more addictive. It’s time that we learn this lesson, re-energize and maintain focus on this important issue.
The heroin epidemic specifically, and drug use in general, is destroying lives and stressing health care and social service systems in every single one of our neighborhoods. While heroin use and addiction is wreaking havoc in all urban, suburban and rural communities, the inner city suffers from compounded problems brought about by drug dealing, gang-related violence and a sex-slave trade that is fueled by heroin-addicted victims.
Now a U.S. senator, Portman recently passed legislation, the Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act (CARA), nearly doubling funding for opioid abuse programs. The House and Senate are in the midst of negotiating a final version of the bill, and the result will be critical to reversing and eventually solving the escalating crisis of drug addiction in our communities via support for organizations such as PreventionFirst.
PreventionFirst's vision is that drug education prevention will consistently start at an early age.
Politicians shouldn't be the ones pushing medical marijuana: Michael Kirsch (Opinion)
By Guest Columnist/cleveland.com
(Dr. Michael Kirsch is a practicing gastroenterologist)
on June 19, 2016 at 8:58 AM
Medical marijuana is a smokin' hot issue in Ohio.
Last year voters rejected Issue 3, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have legalized marijuana, as the measure was perceived by voters to be a thinly veiled attempt to enrich a small group of investors, who were also bankrolling the ballot initiative.
As much as these investors tried to explain that this was not a marijuana monopoly, the voters relied on the duck method in rejecting their claim and the amendment. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.
Marijuana enthusiasts were targeting our state constitution again this year with another amendment attempt, but jettisoned the effort when our legislature passed House Bill 523, which will legalize medical marijuana use.
As a physician, with some training and experience in prescribing medicines to patients, these marijuana machinations are medical madness. Is this how we want to bring new medicines to market?
When most of us consider our beloved constitutional protections, we contemplate our guaranteed personal liberties, separation of governmental powers and the responsibilities and restrictions of our tripartite government. I think it is absurd that a specific medical treatment – or any medical treatment - should become a constitutional issue. Do we want to establish a constitutional right to a specific medicine?
Why stop at marijuana? Why not start circulating petitions for constitutional amendments for screening colonoscopies, mammographies and MRIs for back pain? Patients with chronic lumbar disc issues have rights, too. Under this scenario, when a patient decides to appeal a denial of care, this might mean an appeal before the Ohio Supreme Court, not just to an insurance company bureaucrat!
Vaping teens more apt to move on to regular cigarettes: U.S. study
REUTERS | BY ANDREW M. SEAMAN
Mon Jun 13, 2016 12:03am EDT
Older teens who try electronic cigarettes have six times the odds of trying regular cigarettes within two years than those who never puffed on the devices, a study published on Monday found.
"We're concerned that kids who experiment with e-cigarettes may be moving on to other types of tobacco products, like combustible cigarettes, which are arguably a lot more dangerous," said University of Southern California researcher Jessica Barrington-Trimis, lead author of the study published in the journal Pediatrics.
E-cigarettes are handheld electronic devices that vaporize a fluid typically including nicotine and a flavor component. Using them is called "vaping."
The researchers based their findings on surveys conducted by USC involving about 300 high school students in southern California. In 2014, about half of the students said they had at least tried an e-cigarette.
In a 2015 follow-up survey, about 40 percent of those who had tried an e-cigarette by the previous year had tried regular cigarettes. That compared to about 11 percent of those who said they had not tried an e-cigarette in the prior year's survey.
After adjusting the statistics for gender, ethnicity, grade and parental education, the researchers calculated that the teens who tried the e-cigarettes had six times the odds of taking up smoking than those who never tried them.
When the researchers looked at teens who said on the first survey that they had no intention to smoke, the risk of moving from e-cigarettes to regular cigarettes by the next year was 10 times greater than those who never vaped.
Barrington-Trimis said the high risk among teens committed to not smoking "suggests this is not just occurring among kids who intended to smoke anyway."
The survey participants were 11th and 12th grade students who all were least 18 years old by the second survey.
Opioid Forum Hosted by Bob Latta
Wood County Prevention Coalition Meeting
Friday, Sep 16, 2016, 08:30 AM
Wood County Educational Service Center 1867 N Research Drive, Bowling Green, OH, United States
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
About Us
Our Vision: Helping youth be drug-free, productive and responsible citizens.
Our Mission: We are a coalition of compassionate community members working together to coordinate high quality programs for the prevention of youth substance abuse in Wood County.
Email: mkarna@wcesc.org
Website: wcprevention.org
Location: 1867 Research Drive, Bowling Green, OH, United States
Phone: (419)-354-9010
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WCPCoalition
Twitter: @woodpccoalition