In the news

State liquor laws in the news:

Gregoire "open" to the idea of privatized liquor sales (Seattle PI)

Liquor system needs reforming despite votes on initiatives (The Bellingham Herald)

Perhaps "no" really meant "no" on liquor sales (The News Tribune)

Monitoring the Future in the news:

Though I blogged about this before, here is a link to what appeared in the Seattle PI: Teen pot smoking at 30-year high. Someone who posted a comment after the PI article noted that nobody is talking about how youth alcohol and tobacco use rates have decreased. Considering I had blogged about accentuating the positive in communities right before I blogged about increasing rates of youth marijuana use, I took that comment to heart. Communities across the nation have focused quite a bit on preventing youth alcohol and tobacco use and these successes should be recognized and celebrated. Prevention does work!

National drug policy in the news:

Questions for the Drug Czar (The Nation) Here's an excerpt in which Gil Kerlikowke talks about prevention:

I do not underestimate people's frustrations or strong feelings about a lack of success in the war on drugs, whether in the US or worldwide. It's been going on forty-five years, yet people still know their child can get drugs in high school, that their neighborhood has drug dealing, or they have a friend or neighbor or co-worker impacted by drugs. Where we have so clearly failed is not helping people understand there are very cost-effective, basic ways of working through prevention, understanding treatment can be effective and it's half the cost of incarceration. We don't have to throw up our hands as a nation and say the war on drugs has failed and therefore we have to go for legalization. We should look at these other prevention and treatment issues.

Mental health in the news:

Serious mental health needs seen growing at colleges (New York Times) Alcohol and drug abuse are included in the mental health needs discussed in this article.

Federal support of prevention

Earlier this month, ONDCP Director Gil Kerlikowske addressed the International Association of Chiefs of Police. During his address, he emphasized the importance of comprehensive prevention programs. Among his remarks:

Our youth are the group most vulnerable, so our first order of business has to be doing whatever we can to prevent young people's initiation into drug use.

Our media campaign not only raises awareness of the drug problem, it helps reduce the demand for drugs. Research shows that teens exposed to the media campaign's messages, in addition to in-school prevention programs, are significantly less likely to smoke marijuana.

The importance of drug-prevention programs has long been recognized, and there is no shortage of prevention programs, on a small-scale.

A large body of research shows that if we could align and coordinate more of the individual, short-term prevention programs, we could create more powerful and effective "continuing prevention" systems . . . They should also bring to bear multiple sources of influence on adolescents, including parents, schools, police, faith communities, healthcare providers, peers, and other members of the community.

Uncoordinated prevention efforts are not the fault of those who provide prevention services . . . One of my priorities will be promoting blending funding streams among Federal agencies to encourage communities to prepare for and adopt comprehensive prevention programs . . .