Marijuana Making Comeback in Appalachia

While it had been on the decline in recent years, marijuana confiscation is on the rise in Appalachia, the Associated Press reports.

West Virginia is the fifth-largest producer of marijuana in the country, behind California, Washington, Kentucky and Tennessee. The amount of marijuana plants taken by police in Appalachia fell from 1.2 million in 2003 to 700,000 in 2007. But in 2008 it was back up to 1 million.

Why? The economy.

"The economy or lack of economy has always driven the marijuana trade," said one federal official. "It is still the cash cow as far as illicit drugs. It offers the greatest return on investment.

And it's not only Appalachia. The New England state of Maine, not known for its marijuana production, this week seized what the Bangor Daily News called the largest "pot plantation" ever seen in the Pine Tree State.

The plantation has an estimated $10 million or more value -- with $2,000 per plant as a guide -- and was found by Maine law enforcement thanks to a tip on its Web site and an aerial search.

Life-Threatening Risk Posed by Cocaine Laced with Veterinary Anti-Parasite Drug

SAMHSA is alerting medical professionals, substance abuse treatment centers, and other public health authorities about the risk that substantial levels of cocaine may be adulterated with levamisole-a veterinary anti-parasitic drug.

There have been approximately 20 confirmed or probable cases of agranulocytosis (a serious, sometimes fatal blood disorder), including two deaths, associated with cocaine adulterated with levamisole. The number of reported cases is expected to increase as information about cocaine adulterated with levamisole is disseminated.

Eat Dinner with Your Kids on Sept. 28

Want to know a good way to reduce your kids' chances of using drugs? Eat dinner with them frequently.

Family Day, a Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children, is Monday, Sept. 28. It's a nationwide movement sponsored by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, and encourages parents to keep engaged with their children -- and substance free -- by having frequent dinners where the whole family eats with each other.

Here's what the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition and the Marshall County Family Resource Network have to say about the subject.

But don't take our word for it. It's truly a national campaign.

The Los Angeles Times says that teenagers who have frequent family dinners are much less likely to drink and use drugs.

Or, as the East Bay Times of Rhode Island points out: "With the 9-to-5, single-income household a thing of the past for many households, families are rushing around more than ever and scheduling a plethora of after-school programs for their kids. The family dinner hour -- the time of day when you share details about school or the office, air grievances or just shoot the breeze -- has been relegated to the back burner."

FDA Bans Flavored Cigarettes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has banned cigarettes with flavors of fruit, candy or clove. The ban, authorized by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, is part of a national effort by the FDA to reduce smoking in America. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in America.

The FDA's ban on candy and fruit-flavored cigarettes, effective today, highlights the importance of reducing the number of children who start to smoke, and who become addicted to dangerous tobacco products. The FDA is also examining options for regulating both menthol cigarettes and flavored tobacco products other than cigarettes.

"Almost 90 percent of adult smokers start smoking as teenagers. These flavored cigarettes are a gateway for many children and young adults to become regular smokers," said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. "The FDA will utilize regulatory authority to reduce the burden of illness and death caused by tobacco products to enhance our Nation's public health."
Flavors make cigarettes and other tobacco products more appealing to youth. Studies have shown that 17 year old smokers are three times as likely to use flavored cigarettes as smokers over the age of 25

Smoking Lowers U.S. Life Expectancy, Study Says

The effects of smoking on the nation's health is much more wide-ranging than just the number of people who die from it every year.

In a study comparing life expectancy worldwide, the U.S. tends to rank in the lower part of the list among the developed countries. While that's sometimes believed to be due to the U.S. healthcare system, a University of Pennsylvania demographer said that's not true. He told The New York Times that it's mostly because of the high rates of heart disease and cancer, both diseases you get from smoking.

The researchers said "that if deaths due to smoking were excluded, the United States would rise to the top half of the longevity rankings for developed countries," The Times said.

Nitro Fired Up Over Smoking Ban

Nitro, W.V., might leave Kanawha County's health department over a smoking ban.

At issue is whether the Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming Center should be exempt from the anti-smoking regulation, which was enacted by the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department. Nitro says yes; the health department, not so much.

Nitro's plan would switch the entire county from a split between Kanawha and Putnam, which is the case now, to placing the city completely into the Putnam County health department.

We Need Your Help: Please Fill Out Survey

The Marshall County Family Resource Network and the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition are joining others in the community for a pilot project on problems related to underage drinking.

The West Virginia Center for Civic Life has selected Marshall County for the monthslong project, which addresses the prevention of underage drinking. In the first step of the project, community organizations will ask members of the community for their input on the issue. We would like to hear from you. Questions include whether you are concerned about underage drinking in Marshall County, what can be done to prevent underage drinking, and what could be done to help those who have developed habits of underage drinking. You will be helping to guide the course of the project.

A survey is available online at http://tinyurl.com/mkpeeg. You can also email frnpr@comcast.net for a link to the survey.

In the coming months, we’ll be holding a number of community forums about underage drinking. For more information, please see marshallcountyfrn.com or email frnpr@comcast.net.

State To Receive Nearly $1 Million for Prevention

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is giving nearly $1 million to prevention efforts in West Virginia.

The State Journal in Charleston said $951,000 is going to local agencies, thanks to the efforts to Sen. Robert Byrd, D-WV. It's supposed to be in West Virginia by the end of the month.

Drug Abuse Declines Nationwide

Here's some good news in the war on addiction: Both illicit and prescription drug abuse dropped nationwide in 2008.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported there was "significant declines" in the abuse of prescription drugs, methamphetamine and cocaine, among other drugs. The report was released late last week by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

SAMHSA said:

-- Methamphetamine abuse among people 12 and over fell from 529,000 in 2007 to 314,000 in 2008.

-- Prescription drug abuse dropped from 3.3 percent to 2.9 percent in 2008.

-- Cocaine use fell to 0.7 percent from 1 percent in 2006.

Alcohol use by college students -- a demographic that is a target for binge drinking -- fell again in 2008 for the third year in a row. Just over 16 percent of college students ages 18-22 reported heavy alcohol use, down from the high of 19.5 percent in 2005.

The use of marijuana among the nation's youth, however, has held steady. About 6.7 percent of youth ages 12-17 said they used marijuana within the past month.

Your Help Needed for Pilot Project

How much of a problem is underage drinking in Marshall County? Please fill out a brief survey, available here, and send to frnpr@comcast.net or Marshall County FRN, 324 7th St., Moundsville, WV 26041. Your responses will be used to help guide a pilot project between the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition and the West Virginia Center for Civic Life.

Interview Guide

Underage Drinking in Marshall County

I am part of a team of local citizens working to gather information from Marshall County residents about problems related to underage drinking. We want to capture the public’s concerns about this issue, and we would like to include your views. Community forums on this issue will be held throughout Marshall County later in the fall. We hope you will attend. (Please use space below and the reverse side to record responses.)

1. Are you concerned about underage drinking in Marshall County? If so, what concerns you most? What do you think concerns others in your community?

2. What are the main challenges we face in dealing with this problem?

3. What could be done to prevent underage drinking? Who should be involved?

4. What could be done to help those who have developed habits of underage drinking?

Who could do it?

5. What aspect of this issue does the public most need to come together to talk about?

6. What other thoughts about underage drinking would you like to offer?

Community forums on this issue will be held in several locations in the coming months. Please provide a way to contact you if you would like to be notified about the upcoming forums.

Name Email or other preferred contact information

Please circle all of the responses that apply:

Female Male

African-American Hispanic-American Asian-American European-American (White) Other

Under 18 18-29 30-49 50-64 65 and over

Occupation ___________________Town/Community________________________Zip code________

Listen to "The Science of Substance Abuse"

A radio program aired Wednesday on KPBS, a public radio station in San Diego, features three experts talking about addiction and how using nicotine, alcohol and marijuana affect moods, mental abilities and overall health.

The episode of "These Days" is called "The Science of Substance Abuse," and can be streamed or downloaded.

Prevention Program Shows Promise

A University of Washington study finds that a prevention program shows notable success in reducing the rate of alcohol and smokeless tobacco use among teen-agers.

The Community Youth Development Study is tracking 4,400 students in small- to medium-size towns from Maine to Washington over a five-year period. It found that binge drinking rates were 37% lower among the students who were enrolled in the Communities That Care prevention program.

For more information on Communities That Care, please see here.

Big Tobacco Fighting Marketing Restrictions

The tobacco industry is chafing against restrictions on marketing to young people.

As The New York Times notes, a new law said the industry can't use color in a magazine that has readership under 18, including People, Sports Illustrated and ESPN. The industry is upset about that, along with stricter controls over the language that is used to warn of the health risks of smoking.

"On public health grounds, the tobacco industry does not deserve much latitude to promote its deadly products with colorful images, as opposed to black and white text," the Times wrote Monday. "In a 2006 opinion based on company documents, Federal District Judge Gladys Kessler found that tobacco companies had marketed to young people 'while consistently, publicly, and falsely, denying they do so.' Now, the courts must decide how much this rogue industry may be restrained. The health of millions of impressionable young people rides on the outcome."

Drug-Free Work Week Set Oct. 19-25

The U.S. Department of Labor encouraged public and private community organizations to participate in the 4th annual Drug-Free Work Week, which will occur Oct. 19-25. This public awareness campaign, held each October, emphasizes the importance of drug-free workplace programs to help prevent workplace alcohol and drug use, and encourage workers with alcohol and drug problems to seek help.

This year's campaign will have a special focus on the benefits drug-free workplace programs bring to America's families and communities. In cities and towns across the nation, community-based and neighborhood organizations will be organizing a variety of grassroots activities to spread the campaign's core message that "Working Drug Free Works" to workers, working parents and youth.

New National Ads Target Meth Use

The federal Office of National Drug Control Policy is launching a multistate campaign to battle methamphetamine in the 16 states that have the highest rates of addiction and use, the Associated Press reports.

The multimedia campaign includes TV, radio, billboards, gas pumps, the Web and newspapers. The states are Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Wyoming, Arizona and New Mexico. The radio and Web ads will be national.

The AP said the ads focus on prevention and send a message that meth addiction can be overcome; the target audience is adults 18-34.