U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Justice award almost $76 million to enhance adult and Juvenile Drug Treatment Courts

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) are awarding up to almost $76 million in Fiscal Year 2010 grants to enhance the court services, coordination, and substance abuse treatment capacity of adult and juvenile drug treatment courts. Drug treatment courts promote treatment approaches rather than traditional incarceration for people drawn into the criminal justice system because of substance abuse related problems.

There are more than 2,200 drug treatment court programs currently providing services to adults and juveniles across the nation. In judicially supervised settings, these specialized courts effectively integrate substance abuse treatment, mandatory drug testing, sanctions and incentives, and support services needed to recover and steer clear of further involvement with the juvenile and criminal justice system.

For more information on grants, please visit www.samhsa.gov/newsroom

Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act Approved

States and private entities can now create prescription drug take-back programs to help people safely dispose of old or unwanted medicine.

President Barack Obama signed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act on Tuesday, October 12th.

The new law clears the way for more programs to collect and dispose of prescription drugs. Previously, it was illegal to turn over controlled substances to anyone but law enforcement.

In the past, unused prescription medications have been thrown in the trash, where drug-seeking criminals might find them, or flushed down the toilet, which can pollute the water supply.

A recent nationwide take-back day, organized by the Drug Enforcement Administration, collected more than 121 tons of medicine.

Support The Sober Truth on Preventing (STOP) Underage Drinking Act Reauthorization

BACKGROUND

In 2006, an effort to combat underage drinking culminated with the passage of the Sober Truth on Preventing (STOP) Underage Drinking Act.

STOP ACT REAUTHORIZATION

Representatives Roybal-Allard (CA), DeLauro (CT), Wamp (TN) and Wolf (VA) have come together again to introduce H.R. 6241 to ensure that this landmark piece of legislation is formally reauthorized. The STOP Act reauthorization will build upon the success of the original Act by continuing all the authorities in the bill until FY 2015. It:

• Authorizes an additional $4 million, for a total of $9 million for the Community Based Coalition Enhancement grants to current and past Drug Free Community grantees;

• Doubles the original investment in a multi-media campaign to educate parents and communities about the dangers of underage drinking to $2 million;

• Calls for an Institute of Medicine report on the literature regarding the influence of drinking alcohol on the development of the adolescent brain;

• Establishes grants to train pediatric health care providers in how best to screen and treat children and teens who have had alcohol exposures; and

• Maintains funding for critical underage drinking research.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Fax your Representative as soon as possible and ask him/her to sign-on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 6241, the Sober Truth on Preventing (STOP) Underage Drinking Act Reauthorization. Community Anti-Drug Coalition's of America's (CADCA) fax system allows you to automatically fax a sample letter on this issue to your legislator from CADCA's website. To send a fax to your legislator, click here: http://capwiz.com/cadca/home/

Substance Abuse Costs WV's Welfare System More Than $95 Million

The financial impact of drug and alcohol abuse on West Virginia’s welfare sector is more than $95 million, according to the latest report from the WV Partnership to Promote Community Well-Being and the WV Prevention Resource Center (WVPRC). The welfare system includes programs providing income support and other social services to WV children and families.

Yetty Shobo, WVPRC Evaluation Specialist and author of the report, projects substance abuse could cost West Virginia’s welfare system more than $300 million by 2017 if current trends persist and intervention does not occur.

To view full report click here or go to www.prevnet.org.

Prescription Drug Roundup Nets 121 Tons

An article from the Associated Press:

"A Daylong, Nationwide effort to get people to turn in old or unwanted prescription drugs collected more than 121 tons of unused medicine.

With prescription drug abuse on the rise, the goal was to keep drugs from falling into the hands of abusers and criminals. The Drug Enforcement Administration organized the national prescription drug "Take-Back" day on September 25th. Officials offered people across the country a free, anonymous and legal way to get rid of potentially dangerous prescription drugs that have been cluttering medicine cabinets".

U.S. Drug Policy Director Commends Passage of the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010

Gil Kerlikowske, National Drug Control Director issued the following statement regarding the passage of the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010:

"Prescription drug abuse is America's fastest-growing drug problem, and one largely fed by an unlikely source -American's medicine cabinets. The passage of the Secure and Responsible Drug disposal Act of 2010 will save lives by providing patients with safe, environmentally sound ways to dispose of the unused or expired prescription drugs. I commend Congress on the enactment of this important measure - it represents a significant step forward to reduce drug use and its consequences in America."

For more information visit www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov.