911 Good Samaritan Law: making a difference?

From UW's ADAI:

Drug users and bystanders who witness a drug overdose are often reluctant to call 911 out of fear that they might be arrested for drug possession. Initial results from an evaluation of Washington State's 911 Good Samaritan Law show that 88% of opiate users are now likely to call 911 to get emergency help for drug overdose victims, knowing that they are protected by the state’s Good Samaritan laws.

The study's early findings also indicated that 62% of police surveyed said the law would not change their behavior during a future overdose because they would not have made an arrest for possession anyway, 20% were unsure what they would do, and 14% said they would be less likely to make such an arrest.

Opiate use in Washington State

Washington State, like much of the United States, has seen a tremendous increase in the use and negative consequences of prescription-type opiates over the last 10-15 years, according to a Research Brief released this month by the University of Washington's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute.  The brief goes on to state: Prescription-type opiates appear to be a pathway to heroin for many users . . .

The maps below are from the brief and show the increases in the Washington State opiate problem between 2000-2009.  (Rx = prescription)

Science-based fact sheets about marijuana

The University of Washington's Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute (ADAI) recently launched a new website that "is intended to serve the Washington public by providing up-to-date science-based information about marijuana." 

Currently, the site contains multiple science-based fact sheets that will be updated and added to by UW scientists.  Among the fact sheets are:

• Adolescents & Marijuana
• What is Cannabis?
• Dependence on Marijuana
• Marijuana & Sports
• Alcohol & Marijuana

Chipping away at strong alcohol regulations that discourage underage drinking

Alcohol sure seems to be a hot topic in the Washington legislature.  In addition to SB 5917 that I blogged about yesterday that would allow for sales of hard alcohol in some urban grocery stores, lawmakers are considering/passing other legislation that chip away at alcohol regulations.

Legislature says: Drink up!  (Seattle PI): The state Senate on Tuesday passed House Bill 1465, which modifies liquor laws to, among other things, allow people to purchase “growlers” of beer from beer and wine specialty shops. “Growlers” are containers people bring into a business to be filled right from the tap. The Senate also passed House Bill 1172, which would allow some beer and wine tasting at farmer’s markets. And the chamber passed House Bill 1227 , which allows restaurants to waive “corkage” fees, which customers pay to drink wine they bring in themselves.

Meanwhile, a new budget plan released by the House includes a proposal to privatize the wholesale distribution of liquor in the state, while retaining control of retail sales through liquor stores. 

From an underage drinking prevention standpoint, this is not good news.  Check out the Resource Brief that the University of Washington's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute developed during last year's debate about privatizing alcohol sales.  Findings from multiple studies show that:

-- Perceived availability of alcohol increases the probability of underage purchases and consumption of alcohol.

-- College students who attend schools in states with four or more alcohol control laws are less likely to drink than students in states with fewer laws. 

-- The more stringent the alcohol laws, especially laws affecting availability and marketing, the less likely young people are to drink and the higher the age of first use. 

While none of the legislation would fully privatize or deregulate alcohol, they certainly chip away at laws that help keep alcohol out of the hands of minors.