Beer Tax Falls Short

After a public hearing on Monday, the Health and Human Resources Committee met yesterday to discuss the possibility of raising the tax on beer in WV. The increase revenue from the tax was to go toward funding substance abuse programs across the state. The committee ultimately decided that it would pass a different bill which would allow these programs to be funded by a state Medicaid reserve fund and other sources chosen by the legislature rather than from a tax on beer. Currently, the Medicaid reserve contains almost $350 million.

Possible Tax Increase on Cigarettes

A bill has recently been introduced in the WV House of Delegates that could raise taxes on cigarettes, beer, and smokeless tobacco. If passed, House Bill 2681 would eliminate the consumer sales and service tax on food and shift the nearly 70 million dollars generated from the food tax to the luxury products previously mentioned. Under this proposal, the tax on nonintoxicating beer would go up from $5.50 per barrel to $6.35, the cigarette tax would rise from $0.55 to $1.35 per pack, and smokeless tobacco would go from seven percent to fourteen percent.

A separate bill that would increase the beer tax has been circulating throughout the House. A public hearing will be held this evening to further discuss the beer tax amendment.

WV Beer Tax Public Hearing Scheduled

The beer tax has been a topic of much debate this past month in WV. Governor Joe Manchin has said he is willing to sign a bill if lawmakers can get one passed. A bill that was introduced earlier this week was discussed yesterday in the Health and Human Resources Committee. It proposes that the beer tax rise from $5.50 per barrel to $19.25. The money from this hike will go toward substance abuse prevention funding for the state. It is estimated that nearly 20 million dollars will go toward the program. A public hearing will be held on Monday. If you have any questions about the tax, or if you would like to show your support for it, contact your local house or senate finance committee representative. Click here to review the Substance Abuse Prevention Act. And for more information on existing substance abuse bills visit the WV Legislature website.

Beer Tax Increase May Become Reality

The drumbeat is getting louder in Charleston for raising the beer tax to fund substance abuse programs.

WSAZ-TV reported Tuesday that the proposal -- which is in two bills before the Legislature -- is receiving bipartisan support. One bill would increase the tax on beer by 1 cent a can/bottle; another would raise it by 4 cents can/bottle.

"I think there are a lot of members [in the House] and in the Senate that understand alcohol and drug abuse effects everyone," Delegate Nancy Guthrie, D-Kanawha, told WSAZ. "Friends, neighbors, loved ones. If we don't have the money to help those folks, then it becomes a criminal problem in many cases."

Outreach Training Planned March 11-12

Second Chance Outreach Community Trainings will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. March 11-12 at the Valley Healthcare Center, 301 Scott Ave., Morgantown.

The Second Chance Outreach Program is a self-help, peer-to-peer recovery effort based on personal innate mental health, and understanding The Three Principles (as defined by Sydney Banks) of how individuals function psychologically. Preliminary results from Florida show it is a promising approach for adults in recovery. This training can not only impact your work, and how you interact with clients, but can also help you avoid burnout and find personal peace of mind. For more about the Cypress Initiative, please see here.

The event is approved for up to 12 CEUs for Addiction/Prevention, Counseling, CHES, Nursing and Social Work.

The cost for the training is $35 and includes all training materials. Please register in advance by calling Brenda Richards at (304) 766-6301 ext. 33 or email richardsb@marshall.edu.

More Treatment Facilities Needed

The Boston Globe reports that illicit drug use among baby boomers is on the rise.

About 8% of Americans ages 50-59 have taken an illicit drug in the past year, most often marijuana but also including painkillers, sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medications. That's up 50% in the past eight years.

"We are projecting that by the year 2020, we will probably have enough people in the 50-to-59 age group needing treatment that we will probably need to double the number of treatment facilities," said Peter Delany, director of the Office of Applied Studies at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Capitol Hill Rally Planned Feb. 10

New York Times bestselling author and 20-year showbiz veteran Christopher Kennedy Lawford will play one of his most dynamic roles not as an actor, but as an advocate for drug abuse issues with more than 2,500 substance abuse prevention and treatment specialists from throughout the country Wednesday. Lawford’s remarks will take place during a Capitol Hill Rally, part of Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA)’s 20th Annual National Leadership Forum, being held Feb. 8-11, 2010. The rally will take place at Noon on Wednesday, Feb. 10 outside of the Capitol building.

The first-born child of President John F. Kennedy’s sister, Patricia, and famous Rat Pack actor, Peter Lawford, Christopher Kennedy Lawford spent his early teen years experimenting with drugs. Sober for more than 24 years, Lawford shared his inspirational personal story in his memoir Symptoms of Withdrawal: A Memoir of Snapshots and Redemption, which became a New York Times Bestseller. His next book, Moments of Clarity: Voices from the Front Lines of Addiction and Recovery, released last year, is a series of essays by public figures, athletes and entertainers who have struggled with drug and alcohol addiction.

“Mr. Lawford is proof that drug and alcohol addiction can affect even the most privileged of families. His story can teach us all, especially our lawmakers, that recovery is possible and of the importance of drug use prevention, treatment and recovery services,” said CADCA Chairman and CEO Gen. Arthur Dean.

During the rally, drug and underage drinking prevention advocates from around the country will stress the importance of substance abuse prevention and urge Congress to continue to fund the Drug Free Communities (DFC) Program at the highest level possible. The DFC program provides funding to more than 700 community coalitions located throughout the country and U.S. territories. DFC coalitions assess their local community’s substance abuse problem, use that data to develop comprehensive community-wide prevention strategies and track their progress over time.

Other participants of the rally include: Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR); Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), one of the nation’s leading champions for substance abuse prevention, treatment and recovery; Judy Cushing, President & CEO of Oregon Partnership; and Allana Chittick, with the Illinois-based Coalition Against Methamphetamine Abuse.

Capitol Hill Day kicks off at 9 a.m. with a Capitol Hill Plenary session, where participants will hear from several other key lawmakers and champions for the substance abuse field, including invited speaker Vice President Joseph Biden; Congresswomen Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA); Congressmen Danny K. Davis (D-IL) and Sander Levin (D-MI); and Sue Thau, CADCA’s Public Policy Consultant.

Following the Capitol Hill Rally, prevention activists will meet with members of their local congressional delegation to educate them about the effectiveness of substance abuse prevention. Finally, the day ends with a reception where CADCA will present awards to Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT).

SAMSHA Study Focuses on Uninsured

An estimated 3 million full-time workers without health insurance needed substance use treatment in the past year, according to a national survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Levels of need were particularly high among those ages 18-25 (24%) and men (19%).

The survey also revealed that among these uninsured workers in need of substance abuse treatment, only 13% received treatment in a special facility. More than 80 percent of uninsured full-time workers needing treatment in the past year did not perceive a need for treatment. The remaining 7% of workers in need of treatment did perceive the need for treatment but did not receive it.

"This tremendous unmet need for substance abuse treatment among this work force has a devastating public health and economic effect on our nation," SAMSHA administrator Pamela S. Hyde. "We cannot afford to ignore this problem -- substance use disorder treatment has proven to be a cost-effective investment for promoting safe and productive workplaces as well as renewed hope for those affected by this disease."

Story here.

Bi-Partisan Support For Beer-Tax Increase

Will a proposed beer-tax increase fund the state's substance abuse prevention and treatment?

That's the early word in Charleston, where there's bipartisan support for a 1 cent or 2 cent per bottle or can rise in the beer tax, according to The Charleston Gazette. A similar bill failed last year.

But sponsors, including Delegate Bill Hamilton, R-Upshur County, say that the additional $10 million raised would help fight the state's drug problem. Hamilton's 30-something-year-old son has faced substance abuse issues and said that it's too big a problem to not address.

"There's one thing about getting rid of a drug dealer," Hamilton told the Gazette. "When you get rid of one -- you take them off the corner of Buckhannon or Parkersburg or Huntington -- you've got another one. ... Let's take away their customers."

The Register-Herald of Beckley, WV, quoted Delegate Barbara Hatfield, D-Kanawha, as saying that she'd support the bill.

"We have children, we have teen-agers, ruining their lives by being on drugs," Hatfield said.

Students Asked To Submit Ideas

The Underage Drinking Prevention and Social Marketing Project is pleased to announce its PSA Challenge, a statewide peer-led public service announcement (PSA) video competition to help spread the word that "21 Means 21."

The PSA Challenge will identify and reward the state's best student-led PSA projects. West Virginia's middle school, high school, and college and university students are invited to enter the contest by submitting their PSAs to the West Virginia Prevention Resource Center by March 31, 2010. The best projects -- based on creativity, originality, message and overall presentation -- will be selected. The project is funded by the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws program. The program is administered in West Virginia by the Division of Criminal Justice Services.

In this program, teams of youth from around the state develop PSAs, which are then judged by a team of media and prevention professionals. After the winners are announced in April, selected teams (and adult sponsors) will come to Charleston to fine-tune their scripts and tour the radio and television production facilities. Then, the selected teams and adult sponsors will come back to Charleston for one day (all expenses paid) to film and record their PSAs. The PSAs will be distributed statewide.

Information about the Underage Drinking Prevention and Social Marketing Project is available online or by calling Stephanie Anthony at (304) 766-6301 ext. 25.

Substance Abuse Issues Top of Mind in West Virginia Legislature

A story aired today on West Virginia Public Broadcasting talks about the chances -- which aren't good -- that state taxes will be raised. One of the reasons why it might happen is to fund the state's initiatives on substance abuse.

Delegate Don Perdue, D-Wayne, said that the state's substance abuse issues will cost now or they will cost later.

"We know that there are at least 40,000 untreated addicts in the state of West Virginia," Perdue told West Virginia Public Broadcasting. "We also know that fully 20 percent of pregnant females in West Virginia have a substance abuse problem."

Parity Required for Substance Abuse Treatment

The federal government has ruled that insurers can't deny coverage to people who have substance abuse disorders.

Group health plans that offer mental health and substance abuse benefits must fund out-of-pocket costs, benefit limits and other practices the same as they would for other claims. The rules are spelled out in the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, according to HealthDayNews through Business Week.

"These practices must be based on the same level of scientific evidence used by the insurer for medical and surgical benefits," the U.S. Health and Human Services Department said in a news release. "For example, a plan may not apply separate deductibles for treatment related to mental health or substance abuse disorders and medical and surgical benefits -- they must be calculated as one limit."