SAN JUAN ISLAND PREVENTION COALITION TO TAKE PART IN NATIONAL SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION CONFERENCE IN ORLANDO, FL.

To Learn New Strategies to Prevent and Reduce Substance Abuse

Friday Harbor, WA – Health advocates from the San Juan Island Prevention Coalition will join more than 1,700 substance abuse prevention specialists from across the country at Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America’s (CADCA) 2014 Mid-Year Training Institute in Orlando, Fla. July 20-24. The week-long training will take place at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek Hotel.

CADCA’s Mid-Year Training Institute is a one-of-a-kind intensive training opportunity, offering more than 70 half-day and two-day courses geared towards helping participants find solutions to their community’s toughest substance abuse problems. Attendees participated in a variety of lecture and hands-on sessions to expand their knowledge in prevention science and improve their skills in implementing evidence-based strategies to reduce drug and alcohol use. This year’s Mid-Year will feature a number of renowned experts in the field of substance abuse prevention, such as Michael Botticelli, Acting Director of National Drug Control Policy, and Kana Enomoto, Deputy Principal Administrator for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

“We are fortunate to be able to spend a week with other similar organizations from across the country, learning and honing our skills so we can more effectively prevent drug and alcohol abuse,” says Cynthia Stark-Wickman, SJIPC, Executive Director. “We hope to return reenergized with new strategies under our belt to tackle drug use and its associated problems in our community.”

CADCA’s Mid-Year will cover a wide range of topics – everything from how to prevent prescription drug abuse and the abuse of synthetic drugs to how to create tobacco-free environments, reduce impaired driving and develop policies to reduce marijuana use and underage drinking.

The coalition is currently working on Distracted Driving Awareness Campaigns, Marijuana Education, especially as it pertains to the adolescent brain, in addition, Brad Fincher, Chairperson of the SJIPC and Sheriff Rob Nou will continue training in the Communities of Practice for Impaired Driving at this conference. As you may recall, our coalition was invited to participate in a nationwide effort to reduce impaired driving by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) and CADCA.

We are also sending a team of local teens and their youth advisor, so they can continue to build their leadership skills and bring back new strategies and a renewed commitment to helping create positive change for their community and schools. Look for more info from them, when they return!

The SJIPC mission is to reduce substance abuse among our youth and create a community culture that supports healthy choices by youth and adults. 

Zach Fincher and Rachel May hold the Proclamation from Bob Jarman, San Juan County Council declaring May 16th Distracted Driving Awareness Day for San Juan County. As you may know, they were part of a team of local teens working hard to create positive change on this growing problem, Distracted Driving. These teens will continue their leadership training at the CADCA Mid-Year training conference.

Debbi Fincher, Brad Fincher, Cynthia Stark-Wickman and Sheriff Rob Nou represent the San Juan Island Prevention Coalition at CADCA’s Mid Year Training Conference in 2013. Our team is looking forward to attending this year, too!

http://www.islandguardian.com/archives/00005404.html

07/14/2014: “Council Discussion On Large Greenhouses Continues Monday Morning”

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When the land use regulations were drafted the possibility of large commercial/industrial agricultural operations was looked at, and at that time only feed lots were identified as potential problems, and so they were outright banned.
Greenhouse operations were not as common in food production in the past as it has become, but with the legalization of permitted marijuana grow operations there are now plans to construct multiple large green houses in the county, and there is little, to no, requirements on size and negative impacts.

And it is not just the size and location not addressed in the current land use laws, it is also noise from fans and negative operation impacts; night illumination coming out of the green houses; disposal and use of concentrated fertilizers and additives, and increased traffic on non-public roads are but some of the issues that have neighbors, and the council, concerned.

And maybe not least, and not last: the loss of usable farm land to buildings that need not be on prime farm land.

Loss of farm land is a major concern to the San Juan County Ag groups, and a memo has been submitted to the Council for discussion (public input allowed) on Monday (access agenda HERE) that address some of those concerns.

The entire memo may be accessed by clicking HERE (pdf 459\k file)  reposted from Island Guardian www.islandguardian.com

Dear Members: On Sunday, July 6 The Nation printed an article entitled “The Real Reason Pot is Still Illegal” in which it brought into question CADCA (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America) and other national prevention and treatment groups for taking corporate donations and entering into partnerships with pharmaceutical companies.  The article was picked up by a few other news outlets and I wanted to make sure you heard directly from me about the facts. The author compares prescription drugs, particularly opioid pain medications, and marijuana, suggesting that pharmaceutical companies are supporting our work because the medicalization of pot represents a threat to their bottom line.  The author also suggests that CADCA is not doing enough to battle opioid abuse, because we receive some funding from pharmaceutical companies.  In fact, just the opposite is the case – our funding from the industry allows us to help offset the costs of our two major training events and to develop a number of products and initiatives designed to prevent and reduce medicine abuse.  In total, support from the over-the-counter and pharmaceutical medicine industries combined is less than 7 percent of CADCA’s revenue. CADCA believes that the industry has a responsibility to help address and mitigate the complex issues surrounding our nation’s tragic prescription drug abuse crisis. However, CADCA’s positions are not influenced by any outside organization.  CADCA takes its direction from our Board of Directors, our Coalition Advisory Committee, and our membership base.  Each group has asked CADCA to provide community leaders with tools to address both medicine abuse and marijuana. We believe prescription drug abuse is a major epidemic, a point for which we have been sounding the alarm since 2001. More than a decade ago, CADCA published its first prescription drug abuse prevention toolkit to help community leaders address this problem.  Every October, we ask our coalitions and partners to join us in a solutions-oriented national dialogue about OTC and Rx drug abuse through National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month. In the Nation article, the reporter makes a bizarre leap, attempting to connect resources received from pharmaceutical companies to our efforts to reduce youth marijuana use.  CADCA believes that the U.S. “experiment” with medical and retail marijuana is a grave concern, particularly in that these efforts will increase youth marijuana use, which is damaging to the adolescent brain.  The fact is CADCA receives no outside funding to do our marijuana-related policy work. The reporter conveniently failed to mention the extensive prescription drug abuse training CADCA provides or the significant policy work we do.  Omitted from the article is mention of the times CADCA has testified at Congressional hearings about ways to comprehensively prevent prescription drug diversion, abuse and addiction, as well as the various instances CADCA has supported legislation aimed at reducing medicine abuse. The title of this article alone tells you where the real agenda lies.  Sadly, we know many of you have faced the same kind of attacks at the local level.  We stand by our positions and our prevention work on both fronts. In this instance, we take this article as a badge of honor that what we are doing is right and is having an impact. Sincerely, Arthur T. Dean Major General, US Army Retired Chairman and CEO

We respect Major General Dean and the strong leadership he offers CADCA and it’s members, which our San Juan Island Prevention Coalition is a part of. We embark on training conferences and conventions annually, lead by CADCA and receive the utmost current science, research and tools to help us at a local level, to bring back to our communities to help reduce, if not completely stop, substance abuse, especially in our youth. Please join us in making this a top priority in our community. It Takes a Village… Thank you!

Worth sharing! Our SJIPC is also working on ways to help inform and educate our community on marijuana, as it becomes legal for recreational use for those 21 and over. Our concern, of course, is minors will have easier access and the perceived harm is down by it just becoming legal. What message are we sending our youth?

Jul 10, 2014

Too often the message people get about marijuana is that it’s a harmless drug that doesn’t impact public health. However, The Council on Alcohol and Drugs (The Council) hopes to change that through a new statewide initiative launched this year.

The Georgia Marijuana Abuse Prevention Initiative (GMAPI) is a multi-year, multi-faceted effort to prevent and reduce marijuana abuse in the state of Georgia by educating youth and families on the consequences related to marijuana use, and to work with businesses across the state to create safe, drug-free workplaces.  The Initiative includes training to key stakeholders, a media campaign, policy education and research. Although the Initiative’s state-wide Collaborative just began in March, it already has over 70 member agencies.

“The main impetus behind this initiative is to educate the public. We want to let the public, parents in particular, know that marijuana is not the soft drug that it’s played up to be by so many media and pro-marijuana supporters,” explained Dr. Gregg Raduka, Director of Prevention and Intervention at The Council.

The Council is working in collaboration with Dr. Sheryl Strasser and a research team from Georgia State University’s (GSU) School of Public Health. Other partners include Georgia’s Drug Free Communities coalitions such as CADCA member Genesis Prevention Coalition, prevention providers, government agencies, faith-based organizations, private businesses, the medical community, and law enforcement with the goal of creating a truly integrated statewide campaign to address these issues.
Dr. Raduka said the initiative will be based on elements of prevention science and research.

“We want to take a very scientific approach, and will be following the 5 steps of SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Framework: needs assessment, capacity building, strategic planning, implementation, and evaluation,” he said.

The Council’s university partner will be a vital part of this campaign.

“GSU’s School of Public Health will conduct, publish, and disseminate a statewide marijuana needs assessment and prevalence survey, and will include recommendations regarding preventing marijuana abuse in Georgia. The university will also perform the evaluation of this campaign,” Dr. Raduka noted.

What makes this initiative unique is that it also aims to reduce marijuana use among employees in Georgia by working with the business community.

Chuck Wade, Executive Director and CEO of the Council, has found employer drug education to be a vital tool to reach out and educate families.

“Certified drug free companies provide mandatory annual drug education to their employees. This is drug education delivered to a ‘captive audience’ that parents can take home and share with their children to help keep them drug and alcohol free. So we’ve been doing drug training in thousands of companies for thousands of employees. Parents rush up and have a number of questions about addiction, drug abuse, and their children,” Wade explained.

Drug-free workplaces not only serve to educate workers, but protect employers from the dangers of employees who use marijuana. Much like with alcohol, use of marijuana can have negative impacts on productivity and safety, with negative consequences for employers and other employees.

Georgia is one of 14 states that provide workers’ compensation insurance discounts to certified drug-free workplaces, currently a 7.5 percent discount. “But this pales compared to all the other benefits to being a drug-free workplace. It increases productivity, reduces medical costs, reduces turnover, increases morale, reduces theft in the workplace, reduces absenteeism and tardiness.” Wade noted.

This campaign is just beginning, and currently has funding secured for three years, but member coalitions are already excited about the chance to educate their communities about the impact of legalizing marijuana before legalization efforts take hold, and to reduce the negative impact of marijuana use across the State of Georgia.

For questions about the Initiative, contact Dr. Gregg Raduka at graduka@livedrugfree.org.

Thank you Heather Clark for sharing these facts on the benefits of getting girls in the game! When Girls Play Sports…They Win! Empower your Daughter…Get Her in the Game!

When Girls Play Sports

When Girls Play Sports…They Win!

• The more physically active girls are the greater their self-esteem and the more satisfied they are with their weight, regardless of how much they weigh {The Girl Scout Research Institute, The New Normal? What Girls Say About Healthy Living (2006)}

• Female High School Athletes are 92% less likely to get involved with drugs, 80% less likely to get pregnant, and 3 times more likely to graduate than non-athletes {Statistic Brain, Youth Sport Statistics (2013)}

• 80% of women identified as key leaders in Fortune 500 companies participated in sports during their childhood {Girls Health.gov, Playing Sports (2013)}

• Girls and Women who play sports have higher levels of confidence and self-esteem, lower levels of depression, more positive body image, and experience higher states of psychological well-being than girls and women who do not play sports {Women’s Sport Foundation, Benefits – Why Sports Participation for Girls and Women:  The Foundation Position (2011)}

• Girls who play sports are less likely to develop Osteoporosis, Cardio Vascular Diseases and Alzheimer’s later in life {Youthletic, 10 Life-Altering Good Reasons Girls Should Play Sports (2009)}

• Girls who play sports are less likely to smoke, drink excessively or do drugs than those who do not play sports {Advantagefo.com, Why Girls Should Play Sports (2014)}

• Girls Active in Sports during Adolescence and young adulthood are 20% less likely to get breast cancer later in life {Stavrowsky, E.J., Her Life Depends on It II:  Sport, Physical Activity, and the Health and Well-Being of American Girls and Women (2009)}

• Girls who participate in athletics report being more content with their lives than girls who do not {Sabo, D. & Velz, P., Go out and Play:  Youth Sports in America (2008)}

• Girls who play team sports are more likely to graduate from college, find a job, and be employed in male-dominated industries.  There is even a direct link between playing sports in high school and earning a bigger salary as an adult {Kathy Kay and Claire Shipman, The Confidence Gap (2014)}

Empower your Daughter…Get Her in the Game!

Summer is in full swing…get your Summer Calendar here for San Juan Island Youth Activities…Calendar 2014 FINAL-small <—-click on link.

Stay physically active! Enjoy sports & the great outdoors!

Advanced Pod Nod Program for the older kids, 8-12 years! Marine Learning Adventures

Need something to do? Open to 7pm Daily!

This activity is great to keep youth engaged and creative. All ages welcome…  Open now through December 30th. Interested? Stop by or contact them at claycafe@rockisland.com

I-Team: Pot oil explosions a growing problem