MAY NEWSLETTER

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SAPCA Members,  
  
Congrats to our Above the Influence Members who are graduating this year! Thank you for all that you have done to combat underage drinking and drug use among Alexandria teens.
  
(l-r) Fahria Hossain, Andrea Melara, Hadeel Elimam and Abby Hamilton (not pictured).
  
Sincerely,
  
Noraine

 

IN THIS ISSUE

* ATI Club Celebrates Past Year's Work
* ATI and KeepIt360 Clubs Host Another Successful Titan Takeover
*Prescription Drug Take Back (6/6)
* ACAP Leadership Council Elections Meeting (6/9)
* Marijuana Intoxication Blamed in More Deaths, Injuries
* Marijuana Edibles Being Transported Illegally Across State Lines
* Not Enough Evidence to Support Claims E-Cigarettes Help Smokers Quit, Experts Say
* Experts Suggest Strategies to keep Legalized Marijuana Out of Kids Hands

SAPCA'S EVENTS

ATI Club Celebrates Past Year's Work

 

 

 

SAPCA's ATI Club celebrated their past year's work in supporting their peers to avoid alcohol, marijuana and other drugs with a fun dinner at London Curry House in Cameron Station. The ATI members talked about how much fun they had over the year planning and implementing initiatives such as, Kick Butts Day, Sticker Shock, wreckED presentations and activities during Alcohol Awareness Month in April. Farewell to our senior members and good luck to our new leaders!

ATI and KeepIt360 Clubs Host Another Successful Titan Takeover

 

SAPCA's Above the Influence Club partnered with the Alexandria Campaign on Adolescent Pregnancy's Keepit360 Club to host Titan Takeover Teen Night at the Charles Houston Recreation Center on May 22.  Teen volunteers arrived early to set up for the night and welcomed their friends and peers to event. Over eighty teens enjoyed free food from Chipotle, a candy station, a photo booth, dancing, and lots of prizes and giveaways.  A huge thanks to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Activities, and the Black Firefighters Association for co-sponsoring this event!

 

The album will be posted on facebook.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Prescription Drug Take Back (6/6)

  

 

 
 

UPCOMING PARTNERS' EVENTS

ACAP Leadership Council Elections Meeting

 

Tuesday, June 9, 4 to 5:30 p.m. at T.C. Williams Rotunda, 3330 King St.

 

In addition to the elections, this meeting will be a 15 year anniversary celebration and feature a presentation on current teen pregnancy data.

 

NATIONAL NEWS

Marijuana Intoxication Blamed In More Deaths, Injuries (Denver CBS4)

 

Another death in Colorado has been listed as having "marijuana intoxication" as a factor, according to a CBS4 investigation, and several other families are now saying they believed the deaths of their loved ones can be traced to recreational marijuana use.

Daniel Juarez, an 18-year-old from Brighton, died Sept. 26, 2012 after stabbing himself 20 times. In an autopsy report that had never been made public before, but was obtained by CBS4, his THC level - the active ingredient in marijuana - was measured at 38.2 nanograms. In Colorado, anything over 5 nanograms is considered impaired for driving.

 

Click here for the full article.

 

 

Law enforcement officials are reporting an increase in marijuana-infused edible products being transported illegally across state lines for resale. Edibles resemble candy or home-baked products, and often have no smell that indicates they contain marijuana, The New York Times reports. Missouri troopers confiscated 400 pounds of commercially made marijuana chocolate in February. New Jersey state police seized 80 pounds of homemade marijuana sweets. Oklahoma officers seized about 40 pounds of commercial marijuana products, including taffy-like "Cheeba Chews" and bottles of marijuana-infused lemonade.

 

In Colorado, where recreational marijuana is legal for adults 21 and over, edible marijuana products have become a popular alternative to smoking marijuana. Adults 21 and over can legally purchase marijuana edibles at state-licensed stores. Marijuana is now available in products ranging from candy to soda and granola. The amount of marijuana in edible products varies widely. In some cases, products contain levels so high that people experience extreme paranoia and anxiety.

 

The high produced by edible products comes on more slowly than smoked marijuana. Inexperienced users may consume too much, causing severe impairment. Some experts are concerned that marijuana edibles smuggled into other states may appeal to teens.

Colorado health officials are trying to find a way to prevent people from overdosing on marijuana edibles. The products have been implicated in two suicides and one murder in the past 13 months.

 

Almost five million edibles were sold in Colorado stores last year.

Marijuana edibles are also legal in Washington state, and will soon be legal in Oregon and Alaska. Edible products are also available to medical marijuana users in at least six of the 23 states with medical marijuana programs, the article notes.

 

 

A group of experts convened by the U.S. government concludes there is not enough evidence to support using e-cigarettes to quit smoking. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says medicines, including nicotine replacement products, along with behavior modification programs, are more effective.

 

The task force conducted an in-depth review of studies of smoking cessation methods, Time reports. "There was not enough information to determine whether e-cigarettes are more helpful or harmful for smoking cessation," the experts wrote.

Both smoking cessation medications and nicotine replacement products are more effective than e-cigarettes in helping people quit, the report notes. Using medications and nicotine replacement products together are even more effective. Using behavioral modification programs, such as support groups and counseling sessions, can further improve the odds of quitting smoking, the experts said.

 

The task force found that not enough studies have been done on the effects of smoking cessation medication on developing fetuses, and recommended pregnant women rely on behavioral, non-drug strategies to help them quit.

 

 

Using lessons learned from alcohol and tobacco regulation can help keep legalized marijuana out of children's hands, according to experts at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.

 

Laws legalizing recreational marijuana have been passed in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C. While all of the current laws make marijuana use legal only for those over the age of 21, the researchers say the laws normalize marijuana use, and can put the drug more easily into the hands of young people. The experts note it is more difficult to regulate marijuana than alcohol or tobacco, because people can grow it at home.

 

Brendan Saloner, PhD and colleagues suggest four strategies to prevent marijuana use among minors. These include using tax policies to keep prices high, News-Medical.net reports. "Research has shown that young people are particularly price sensitive and tend to reduce cigarette use at higher rates than adults after price increases," commentary co-author Beth McGinty, PhD noted in a news release.

 

Retail availability of marijuana should be tightly regulated, the public health experts write in Pediatrics. States should more strongly enforce existing laws, including more compliance audits and tougher penalties. States should keep marijuana away from playgrounds and schools, and prohibit stores that sell other products from also selling marijuana, they advise.

 

To prevent the accidental ingestion of marijuana by children, states should regulate the appearance of foods containing the drug, and reduce the amount of THC, the main psychoactive ingredient, allowed in these foods. They also recommend childproof packaging and clear labeling for these products.

 

The article notes that Washington state enacted emergency rules banning images of cartoons, toys and other pictures that appeal to young children on foods containing marijuana. Colorado regulates child-safe packaging of marijuana products.

 

The experts also suggest restricting marketing of marijuana products.

 

CONTACT INFO

Noraine Buttar, MPH
421 King St
Alexandria, VA 22314
703.746.3670 (office)
703.887.8812 (mobile)
noraine.buttar@alexandriava.gov