Washington, D.C. - According to a report released today, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy's (ONDCP) Drug-Free Communities (DFC) programs continue to yield consistently reduced youth substances use rates.
 
ONDCP released the 2018 Executive Summary and End-of-Year Report for its DFC grant recipients, which work at the local level to prevent youth substance use, including prescription drugs, marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol. Last year, the Trump Administration marked the 20th anniversary of the program by awarding the largest number of grants ever.
 
"Reversing the pattern of addiction in America starts with ensuring the next generation understands the dangers of substance use. The Trump Administration has made record investments in our Drug-Free Communities because they are proven, effective prevention programs that provide support at the local level. We will continue working with the hundreds of coalitions across the country dedicated to helping young Americans make the safe and healthy choice not to use drugs," ONDCP Director Jim Carroll said.
 
The past 30-day substance use rates among youth living in DFCs since its inception highlighted in the report, include:

• A 24 percent decline in prescription drug misuse among high school students.
• A 31 percent decline in tobacco use among high school students.
• A 27 percent decline in alcohol use among middle school students.
• A 17 percent decline in marijuana use among middle school students.

To view the 2018 Executive Summary, click HERE.
To view the 2018 National Evaluation End-of-Year Report, click HERE.
For a map of current DFCs across the country, click HERE.
 
 
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy works to build a stronger, healthier, drug-free society today and in the years to come by leading and coordinating the development, implementation, and assessment of United States drug policy. The Office also administers two grant programs: High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas and Drug-Free Communities.

"Monitoring the Future" (MTF) is a survey of drug use and attitudes among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in hundreds of schools across the country. The most striking result of this year's survey is a substantial increase in vaping. Overall, rates of vaping are second only to alcohol among substances surveyed, with 17.6 percent of 8th graders, 32.3 percent of 10th graders, and 37.3 percent of 12th graders reporting past-year vaping. 

In the survey, students were asked what substances they had consumed via vaping—nicotine, marijuana, or "just flavoring." "Just flavoring" usage was most commonly noted by 8th graders. Tenth graders reported identical rates of "just flavoring" and nicotine vaping (24.7 percent), and 12.4 percent reported vaping marijuana. A higher percentage of 12th graders reported vaping nicotine than flavoring alone, and 13.1 percent reported vaping marijuana. Students do not always know what is in the device they are using; labeling is inconsistent, and they often use devices bought by other people. The most popular vaping devices on the market do not offer options that are nicotine-free. 

While the use of traditional cigarettes remains at the lowest levels in the survey's history, the increase in vaping is concerning. The Surgeon General has this to say about youth and e-cigarettes: 
"Risks include nicotine addiction, mood disorders, and lowering of impulse control;
Nicotine can harm the parts of the brain that control attention and learning;
Nicotine can prime the adolescent brain for addiction to other drugs such as cocaine;
The aerosol can contain: ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs; flavorings linked to a serious lung disease; volatile organic compounds such as benzene (found in car exhaust); and heavy metals, such as nickel, tin, and lead. 

What are medicines? What are drugs? Why is it important to be safe with medication? 

Medicine, sometimes referred to as drugs, include: Prescriptions (prescribed by your doctor), over the counter pills, liquids, and creams (such as Tylenol for a headache or cough syrup for a cold), and vitamins. For the safety of you and your loved ones, it is important to practice medicine safety! 

This week, we made a few exciting announcements! For those of you who missed our press release, we wanted to share the news! 

Jay County Drug Prevention Coalition has been awarded with a grant from Accelerate Indiana Municipalities (Aim). This grant is focused on Drug and Opioid Abuse. The purpose of Aim is to foster, promote and advocate for the success of Hoosier Municipalities as laboratories of innovation, hubs of talent, and the engines driving our state's economy. The Aim grant program is a micro-grant program and prescription drug disposal program to assist Hoosier municipalities in executing strategies aimed at stemming addiction and abuse in their communities. 

Aim's funding comes from a $50,000 grant from Rx Abuse Leadership Initiative (RALI). RALI Indiana is an alliance of local, state and national organizations committed to finding solutions to end the opioid crisis in Indiana. JCDPC was awarded the max amount allocated of $5,000. This grant will be used to fund flyers, handouts, leave-behinds, etc., that provide available resources on addiction prevention, response and treatment. JCDPC was supported by Portland Mayor Randy Geesaman to receive this funding. 

JCDPC has also been awarded a grant from the Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Commission (TPC) of the Indiana State Department of Health. This two-year grant will bring $65,000 of funding over the 2 years to Jay County to focus on Indiana's statewide strategy of prevention of youth tobacco use, helping tobacco users quit, and increasing smoke free environments in Hoosier communities to create a healthier Indiana. This grant will require JCDPC to hire another individual to focus solely on the initiatives of TPC.

Further, JCDPC has been awarded a non-monetary resource. JCDPC will be given 2,000 Drug Deactivation Systems to disseminate into the community. These systems called DETERRA are safe, easy to use, and they are powered by Molecular Adsorption Technology (MAT12®). Each environmentally friendly system has been proven to neutralize up to 45 pills, 6oz. of liquids or 6 patches.