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SAPCA Members,
October is National Substance Abuse Prevention Month!
We will hold wreckED and Above the Influence workshops at TC Williams, celebrate Red Ribbon Week with alcohol quizzes for the youth and information for the teachers in the middle schools, launch Project Sticker Shock on October 19 and join forces with law enforcement on October 26 for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
I hope to see you at our quarterly meeting on Wednesday, October 16. Above the Influence Campaign members from TC Williams(formerly the SAPCA Club) will discuss the marijuana prevention plan they created. We need your input!
Noraine
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SAPCA Attends CADCA Drug-Free Awards Dinner (9/24)
Nearly 500 business, community and government leaders from across the country came out to support CADCA's evidence-based substance abuse prevention model at the 15th annual Drug Free Kids Campaign Awards Dinner on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. SAPCA Chair, Allen Lomax; SAPCA Vice-Chair, Shelly Morgan, SAPCA Board Member, Nancy Martinez, Noraine; Above the Influence (ATI) Campaign President, Emma West, ATI Members, Yahya Yaziji, Joann Michel, Jane Clinger and Peer Advisors, Chaniya Hughes and Rischae Glymph attended the event.
In addition to recognizing major leaders who support CADCA's mission, the event received some star power with special guest speaker, tennis legend, Andre Agassi. Agassi was there to help present the Humanitarian of the Year award to Stacie Mathewson, Founder and Executive Director of the Stacie Mathewson Foundation.
The audience also heard from two exceptional youth leaders, Carlos Martinez and Sheri Jones, who discussed how CADCA's National Youth Leadership Initiative (NYLI) impacted their lives.
The Drug-Free Kids Campaign recognizes leaders who support CADCA's effective substance abuse prevention model. Funds raised through the campaign help support CADCA's efforts to build and strengthen local community coalitions and CADCA's NYLI program, which transforms youth into civic leaders to reduce substance abuse around the country.
Read the article on CADCA's website.
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SAPCA and Community Partners Celebrate Recovery (9/25)
On September 25, community partners in Northern Virginia came
gathered together at the Lee Center in Alexandria, Virginia, to celebrate Recovery Month by local talents; reducing stigma, educating the public and listening to stories of triumph from people in recovery. SAPCA, Alexandria's Mental Health HOPE Campaign, Friends of the Alexandria Mental Health Center, the Alexandria Department of Community and Human Services and Virginia's Substance Abuse Addiction Recovery Alliance sponsored the celebration. Dr. Michael Gilmore, Director of the Department of Community and Human Services, welcomed attendees and kicked off the festivities. Senator George Barker, the keynote speaker, spoke about making health care accessible for Virginia families and the need to expand Medicaid.
The audience of over 150 youth and adults heard from speakers in recovery who described their battle with alcohol and drug addiction, and the many different ways they entered recovery. Those in recovery celebrated with family and friends as they enjoyed barbecue, festivities, and live music. Attendees also wrote their goals and dreams on paper leaves and hung them on a "Hope Tree" which helps motivate recovery.
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SAPCA Welcomes International Visitors (9/26)
Noraine met with representatives from Italy, Iraq and Russia to discuss promising practices for launching coalitions in other countries. The visit was arranged by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America and facilitated by Eric Siervo, Manager of International Programs.
The attendees, Alice Lomonaco, Irina Broughton and Sarkawt Shamsulddin were interested in learning about specific strategies to recruit youth and keep them engaged in strategic planning and implementation of coalition activities.
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SAPCA'S UPCOMING MEETINGS
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Quarterly Meeting (10/16)
Wednesday, October 16, 7:00-8:30 p.m., Minnie Howard Library, 3801 W. Braddock Road
We will discuss the substance abuse data from the 2013 Developmental Assets survey and our updated marijuana prevention plan.
Dinner will be provided. RSVP to Noraine at [email protected].
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Board and Strategic Planning Meeting (10/29)
Tuesday, October 29, 6:00-8:00 p.m., 421 King Street, Suite 400.
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Sticker Shock Kick-Off (10/19)
SAPCA's Sticker Shock campaign will kick-off with a press conference at 720 North Saint Asaph St., at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 19.
During the campaign, teams of youth and adults will visit stores in Alexandria to place "warning" stickers on multi-packs of beer, wine coolers and other alcoholic products, highlighting the penalties for furnishing alcohol to minors.
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Prescription Drug Take Back Day (10/26)
SAPCA is partnering with local law enforcement for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday October 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Drop off locations are the Alexandria Police Department, 3600 Wheeler Avenue; the Del Ray Pharmacy, 2204 Mount Vernon Ave and First Baptist Church, 2932 King St. Please plan to drop off your unused prescription drugs!
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UPCOMING PARTNERS' EVENTS
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Honoring our Volunteers - An Evening in the Heart of Alexandria is a tribute to all who give from their hearts to volunteer in our city. Event Chairs Frank Fannon and Cyndi Lake invite you to join Volunteer Alexandria on Friday, October 25, from 6-8:30 p.m., to honor people who have served the Alexandria community consistently over their lifetime or helped an organization to further its mission.
SAPCA Chair, Allen Lomax will receive the Marian Van Landingham Lifetime Achievement Service Award. Above the Influence Campaign President, Emma West will receive the Youth Volunteer Service Award. Visit Volunteer Alexandria's website to purchase tickets.
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A government anti-tobacco ad campaign featuring graphic images helped 100,000 people quit smoking, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced this week.
An estimated 1.6 million people tried to quit smoking after they saw the anti-smoking ad campaign, called "Tips," the CDC said. Almost 80 percent of American smokers saw the 2012 campaign, according to the report, published in the Lancet.
Before the campaign began, 31 percent of smokers said they had tried to quit for at least one day in the past three months. That rose to almost 35 percent after the campaign. Thirteen percent said they successfully quit.
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A new study finds a higher percentage of high school seniors say they have driven after using marijuana than after having five or more alcoholic drinks. The study found 12 percent of seniors said they drove after using marijuana in 2011, compared with 10 percent in 2008. Overall, 28 percent of high school seniors said they had ridden in a car in the previous two weeks with a driver who had used drugs or alcohol, or said they had driven after using drugs or alcohol themselves, NBC News reports.
The findings, published in the American Journal of Public Health, come from the Monitoring the Future project, which each year surveys approximately 17,000 high school seniors. The increase in marijuana use among teen drivers was seen throughout the country.
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The club drug "Molly" is often laced with other synthetic drugs such as bath salts, making it more dangerous, according to law enforcement officials. Molly, a club drug blamed for several recent deaths among young people attending music festivals, is sold as a pure form of Ecstasy, or MDMA. Drug dealers are now selling a variety of potentially more dangerous drugs under the name Molly, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Jeff Lapoint, an attending physician at Kaiser Permanente in San Diego, says while Molly generally leads to feelings of empathy, bath salts "are potent stimulants and tend to induce paranoia and hallucinations. It's like the worst combination: While they're agitated, now they're seeing things, too."
MDMA is difficult to manufacture, so some drug makers get bath salts ingredients and repackage them as Molly, explained James Hall, an epidemiologist at the Center for Applied Research on Substance Use and Health Disparities in Miami. Payne noted bath salts ingredients, such as methylone, are much less expensive than MDMA.
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College freshmen's drinking habits are often formed during the first six weeks of school, according to an expert from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
In the first six weeks, first-semester freshmen often start drinking or increase the amount they drink, says Aaron White, Program Director of NIAAA's College and Underage Drinking Prevention Research. They may drink because of student expectations and social pressures, he notes. In many cases, college freshmen are living away from their parents for the first time, and they often have easier access to alcohol, even though drinking is illegal for those under 21.
About four out of five college students drink alcohol, according to NIAAA. About half of college students who drink also consume alcohol through binge drinking. An estimated 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries.
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Noraine Buttar, MPH
720 North Saint Asaph Street Alexandria, VA 22314 703.746.3670 (office) 703.887.8812 (mobile) [email protected]
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