COALITION NEWS

The American Lung Association (ALA) released their 20th annual "State of Tobacco Control" report that evaluates states and the federal government on tobacco control laws and policies necessary to save lives. This year's report shows significant progress in reducing tobacco use over the past 20 years. However, a new generation of tobacco products, especially e-cigarettes and flavored tobacco products, threatens that progress.

Use of illicitly manufactured fentanyl has had an outsized impact on overdose deaths in Washington State, according to a new report from ADAI/UW Psychiatry research scientists Caleb Banta-Green and Jason Williams.

Fentanyl use and overdose deaths appear to mostly affect these populations:

• young adults inexperienced with opioid use
• young adults with rapid onset opioid use disorder (addiction)
• older adults with ongoing opioid use disorder

Among people under 30, fentanyl-involved deaths started climbing statewide in 2016. By 2019, it had surpassed other opioid categories of deaths among that age group, at the rate of 4 per 100,000. By 2020, fentanyl-involved deaths had doubled to 8 per 100,000 among people under 30.

“The data are stunning,” Banta-Green said. “Historically, deaths involving heroin and prescription opiates were big deals, but the fentanyl trends are even worse. What is profoundly different is the years of life lost among people who overdose at age 20 or 25, in contrast with people who are 45 or 50.”

The report ends with suggestions and helpful resources for ways to address the urgent consequences of fentanyl use, especially among youth and younger adults:

• Learn from youth in their own words about their use of fentanyl and the services they use to reduce harms. These videos from our recent Transforming Our Communities event are a good place to start.
• Reduce harms and overdoses – harm reduction programs offer a wide array of education, supplies, onsite healthcare and/or referral and linkage to services. Learn how to recognize an overdose and use naloxone to reverse it. Find out more at StopOverdose.org.
• Help individuals access treatment for opioid use disorder – there are very effective treatments that can help people manage OUD and gain more control of their lives. Find out more at LearnAboutTreatment.org and Understanding and Supporting Adolescents with an Opioid Use Disorder (pdf) from ADAI.

(NBC News) The negative effects of marijuana use continue even after the user is no longer “high,” according to new research. Problems with memory and focus, as well as slower brain processing can last for weeks. The study, "Evidence on the acute and residual neurocognitive effects of cannabis use in adolescents and adults: a systematic meta-review of meta-analyses", was conducted by researchers from the University of Montreal. They based their findings on an analysis from past research about marijuana and young people.

Article by Kelley Groen-Sieckmann

Just as many things in life require careful thought and preparation there are many situations we encounter in life that require us to be cautious and take precautions. Likewise, if we anticipate a problem and take action, we can often prevent difficult situations from occurring or at least minimize their negative effects. There is a great expression and timeless phrase coined in the late 1700’s by Founding Father Benjamin Franklin that best describes this proactive behavior, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Meaning, it’s much easier to prevent a problem from happening than to repair the damage after it happens.

Safe medication storage benefits everyone’s health and well-being and is the single most effective deterrent to accidental poisonings, overdose, and misuse that can lead to prescription drug addiction.

There’s a common misperception that prescription drugs are safer or less harmful than other kinds of drugs₁. Not only are prescription drugs the fastest growing drug problem in the U.S. after alcohol and marijuana, every year over 60k children under the age of six are seen in emergency rooms for medicine ingestion₂. Furthermore, due to prescription drug misuse there’s a 78 billion dollar burden placed on the United States each year in the form of increased healthcare costs, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement₃. The effects of prescription drug misuse and economic burden impacts all of us and should be a call for communities to seek out preventative methods that reduce access and potential risks for misusing prescription drugs.

What if there is an easy way to reduce access and prevent potential risks for medicine poisonings, overdose, and prescription drug misuse in your community?

To prevent prescription drug misuse and establish safe medication storage as a social norm in Southwest Washington, the Prevent Coalition, in collaboration with partnering youth substance use prevention coalition and housing industry stakeholders created a behavior change campaign called Locks Save Lives Home. In order to move Locks Save Lives Home from a local campaign to a social norm, it will require a culture change and changing the way people think about medication storage. We can create this change by increasing awareness about the opioid epidemic and the increased risks for accidental poisonings, overdose, and misuse when medication isn’t stored in a secure location. We can establish safe medication storage as a social norm by making it easy and a standard for families.

In effort to establish safe medication storage as a social norm and a standard for families, Kelley Groen-Sieckmann, Community Prevention Project Specialist with Educational Services District 112 and the Prevent Coalition, was invited by the Clark County Rental Association (CCRA) to be a special guest speaker at their January monthly membership meeting. Kelley shared the needs and benefits of safe medication storage as well as proposed a solution with a call to action to CCRA association members; invest in saving lives by purchasing and installing a locking cabinet or lockbox in each of their rental properties, as well as support and encourage safe medication storage as a healthy behavior and normal part of life. Whether you manage residential properties, sell or build homes, or want to protect your loved ones, a small investment in a lock can make a huge impact in the lives of many and may save the life of someone you love.

In February, Coalition for Preventing Abuse in Klickitat County (C-PAKC) in partnership with Klickitat Valley Health and in collaboration with Prevent Coalition are hosting a Locks Save Lives Home virtual invent and will feature Kelley Groen-Sieckmann as a special guest speaker. This will be a one-hour event providing education, resources and material to share with local contractors, property managers, and realty agents as well as open discussion on the merits of this program being utilized in Klickitat County. By promoting easy and safe medication storage in the homes and making it a standard for families, they will be saving lives.

Are you interested in hosting a Locks Save Lives Home presentation, event or have questions about becoming a partner? Contact Kelley Groen-Sieckmann at kelley.groen@esd112.org or 360-952-3461.

Sources:

₁ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

₂ Safe Kids Worldwide

₃ US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health

We are seeking partnerships with property managers, landlords, home builders, and realtors wanting to invest in saving lives by making safe medication storage easy and standard for families. If you are interested in becoming a Locks Save Lives Home partner, go to LocksSaveLives.org, click on “Become a Partner” button, and complete the online partner proclamation. All new partners will receive a call or email from Kelley Groen-Sieckmann to congratulate you on becoming a partner, answer your questions, verify your info for adding you to the partnership webpage, and provide you with a campaign materials starter kit. *Starter kits available while supplies last within Clark, Skamania, and Klickitat counties

1. Don’t share prescription medicines. Taking or sharing medicine not prescribed for you is illegal, and can cause harm or even death.
2. Explore Washington State Health Care Authority’s statewide campaign Starts with One, designed to inform and educate young adults, their parents, and older adults about dangers of prescription drug misuse, overdose prevention, and importance of safe storage, use, and disposal.
3. Dispose of your unused medications by mail or at a take back location in your community. You can find a nearby drop box site anywhere in Washington State or order free medicine mail-back envelopes at Med-Project.org. *Medicine should never be thrown in the trash, flushed, or poured down the drain as these substances can end up in the environment and our waterways.

Clark - Year-Round Med Disposal Sites

Skamania – Year-Round Med Disposal Sites

Klickitat – Year-Round Med Disposal Sites

CATCH My Breath is a peer-reviewed, evidence-based youth vaping prevention program developed by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health. It has reached over 1 million youth since inception! The program provides up-to-date information to teachers, parents, and health professionals to equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to make informed decisions about the use of e-cigarettes, including JUUL devices. CATCH My Breath utilizes a peer-led teaching approach and meets National and State Health Education Standards.

The program is advertised as free to U.S. schools. Materials can be accessed after completing a registration and brief survey. Visit the CATCH My Breath website for more information.

The Drug Enforcement Administration announced the release of the updated edition of Growing Up Drug Free: A Parent’s Guide to Substance Use Prevention, a publication jointly produced by DEA and the U.S. Department of Education. The guide includes:

• An overview of substance use among children, youth, and young adults
• Descriptions of some substances young people may use
• A look at risk factors and protective factors that help offset those risks
• Suggestions for how to talk to young people about alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs

English versions of the document and Spanish version of the document are available.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) wrote this fact sheet specifically for preteens and teens. It compares the myths with the facts about alcohol use among youth and the effects of alcohol use. This fact sheet can help parents and prevention professionals start conversations about underage drinking and alcohol misuse.

You can find this fact sheet and more about underage drinking on SAMHSA's publications and digital products webpage.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has created a helpful guide and pocket guide to help professionals quickly identify youth at risk for alcohol-related problems. If you manage the health and well-being of 9- to 18-year-olds, this Guide is for you. NIAAA developed the guide in collaboration with a team of underage drinking researchers and clinical specialists and practicing health care professionals.

Why use this tool?

• It can detect risk early: In contrast to other screens that focus on established alcohol problems, this early detection tool aims to help you prevent alcohol-related problems in your patients before they start or address them at an early stage.
• It’s empirically based: The screening questions and risk scale, developed through primary survey research, are powerful predictors of current and future negative consequences of alcohol use.
• It’s fast and versatile: The screen consists of just two questions, which can be incorporated easily into patient interviews or pre-visit screening tools across the care spectrum, from annual exams to urgent care.
• It’s the first tool to include friends’ drinking: The “friends” question will help you identify patients at earlier stages of alcohol involvement and target advice to include the important risk of friends’ drinking.

Click here to access this guide!

NIAAA has many downloadable resources available free of charge, and many can be sent to addresses in the United States, APO addresses, and U.S. territories upon request.

Click here for NIAAA Publications webpage

Many NIAAA publications are available as Spanish-language versions on their Spanish Publications webpage (https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publicaciones-en-espanol).

Haga clic aquí para la publicación en español

The 2022 legislative session continues until March 10, 2022. We encourage you to establish a connection with your elected officials, and share your voice for matters important to you.

Status and Information about Prevention Related Legislation:

Marijuana

• Allowing marijuana agriculture

• Concerning arrest protections for the medical use of cannabis
• Replacing the term "marijuana" with the term "cannabis" throughout the Revised Code of Washington
• Providing a tax exemption for medical marijuana patients
• Establishing a Washington state cannabis commission

Alcohol

• Concerning the creation of a limited spirits retail license
• Concerning taxation of low-proof beverages

Tobacco

• Concerning methods to prevent nicotine addiction
• Enforcement reform - possession of vapor products, tobacco, and tobacco products by minors
• Vapor product tax reform
• Vapor product flavors ban

Prevention System

• Providing behavioral health system responses to individuals with substance use disorder

Tools & Guides:

• Accessing the Legislature Remotely
• How to Testify or Submit Comment Remotely
• How to Locate & Contact Your Legislators
• Navigating the Legislative Website
• Session Flow
• Reading a Bill
• Crafting a Message

Watch Live Coverage - TVW (https://tvw.org)

See unedited coverage of committee hearings, testimony, floor debate, press conferences, and much more. Search the archive for recorded events or tune in live!

Bill Information (https://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/)

Search by bill number, or list bills by many other methods from links. The bottom of each bill page has links to TVW video of hearings and floor action. See the Bill Report for a useful high-level summary of the bill policy, background, and hearing testimony.

Current Laws (RCWs) and Rules (WACs) (https://leg.wa.gov/LawsAndAgencyRules/Pages/default.aspx)

Find RCWs or WAC by number or by title.

Budget Information on LEAP budget website (http://leap.leg.wa.gov/index.html)

Provides detail on budget proposals and links to Citizen’s Guides to WA State budgets.

Legislative Information Center (https://leg.wa.gov/lic/Pages/default.aspx)

Useful resource on the legislative website. Click on the Classes & Tutorials link to find great handouts and videos and live class info.

Committee Information (https://leg.wa.gov/legislature/Pages/CommitteeListing.aspx)

Sign Up for Email Updates on Committee Hearing Schedules (https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/WALEG/subscriber/new)

Testifying in Committee or Submitting Comments (https://leg.wa.gov/legislature/Pages/Testify.aspx)

The Vancouver Housing Authority in Vancouver, WA, is seeking a Community Prevention Project Coordinator to work with West Van for Youth Coalition. The mission of the Coalition is to build the community in order to promote healthy choices and reduce youth substance use so young people can grow into resilient and healthy adults. More information about West Van for Youth Coalition can be found at www.westvanforyouth.org.

You can learn more about this opportunity on the ATHENA Forum.

The annual Washington Poison Center Poster Contest is now open! Any Washington student, kindergarten through 6th grade, may submit their art on the theme “Mr. Yuk Helps Everyone!” This year’s winner will receive a Kindle, a classroom party, and a visit with their local state representative.

The last day for a student to submit their entry is Friday, February 11, 2022.

Visit the Washington Poison Center website for more information and submission instructions.

Your efforts to empower teens and young adults to make informed decisions about drugs and alcohol and to support their mental health are more important than ever. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) invites you to join in during National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week® (NDAFW), March 21–27, 2022. NDAFW is a week-long national health observance highlighting the science-based facts about drugs, alcohol, and addiction. Learn how to register your event, and how to get free materials for teens including the National Drug & Alcohol IQ Challenge quiz.

Learn more about this event on the NIDA website.

• Conference: Through a series of polls, members voted to host the conference in Moses Lake, WA sometime in October 2022. Stay tuned for one final poll to decide which week in October we prefer. Christopher is working with various venues to see what is available in October.
• Policy: Thank you for attending the Policy Roundtable and for your feedback on the event. Look for an email coming soon detailing all the policies shared at this meeting. Thank you additionally for those who used the letter template to do legislator education on behalf of the network.
• Toolkit: The February meeting is dedicated to the You Can campaign. We're holding a listening session to find ways this campaign can include more rural voices.
• Toolkit: We’re additionally hosting a Toolkit Workgroup meeting early February (see events section) to do additional work around the You Can campaign. We’ll have a collaborative brainstorm on content creation, social media themes, and more.
• Training: In February we're hosting a data training in advance of the Healthy Youth Survey data release (expected in March or April based on previous years pattern). See the events section below.
• Recruitment: We expect to host a New Member Orientation in the first quarter of the year. Continue using the recruitment kit in the Rural Toolkit.
• Photo Toolkit: Published! You may still submit more photos.
• Story Toolkit: Published! You may still submit more stories.

For a full grant progress timeline visit www.preventcoalition.org/rural/our-work/.

2022 Washington State Legislative Session

Happening Now! Continues until March 10, 2022

Regular session for the Washington State Legislature.

Prevent Coalition Office Hours

Tuesday, February 8

2:30-3:30 p.m.

Online conference call.

For SW Washington Coalition Coordinators to receive Technical Assistance.

Locks Save Lives Home Stakeholder Committee Meeting

Wednesday, February 16

10:00 -11:30 a.m.

Online conference call.

For stakeholders of the campaign and opioid prevention partners.

Healthy Youth Survey Data Training

Thursday February 24

1:00-2:00 p.m.

Online conference call.

Open to Rural Network statewide and SW Washington Regional members.

Register: https://www.pdenroller.org/esd112/catalog/139738

Click for full calendar of coalition and community events.

Rural Toolkit Workgroup Meeting

Tuesday, February 8

1:00-2:00 p.m.

Online conference call.

A planning and brainstorm session for Rural Toolkit Workgroup members.

Rural Network Meeting: "You Can" Listening Session

Tuesday, February 22

2:00-3:30 p.m.

Online conference call.

For rural volunteers, representatives & leaders across Washington.

Rural Office Hours

Wednesday, March 2

1:00-2:00 p.m.

Online conference call.

For members to receive Technical Assistance and consultation.

Click for full calendar of coalition and community events.

Relevant events not sponsored by Prevent Coalition:

Virtual Legislative Education Day - February 8

Learn about legislative process and educate lawmakers about the importance of public health.

Registration website.

Cannabis Pharmacology for Substance Misuse Prevention Practitioners

(Self-paced course)

NEW 3-part (4.5 hour) cannabis pharmacology series from the Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) Cannabis Prevention Working Group. Review updated, science-based information on cannabis to better-equip prevention professionals & coalitions to serve their communities.

Registration and training via the HealtheKnowledge.org website.

Pharmacology for Prevention Professionals

(Self-paced course)

Explore the basics of how substances impact major brain regions and the acute and chronic symptoms associated with different substances. Certificates of 1.5 hours for each of the following four courses: Basics of Pharmacology and Alcohol, Basics of Pharmacology and Opioids, Basics of Pharmacology and Psychostimulants (Cocaine & Methamphetamine), and Basics of Pharmacology and Cannabis.

Learn more and enroll via the HealtheKnowledge.org website.

Cultural Competency Training - February 23

Youth and Family Link is partnering with Washington Dept. of Health to provide a training for all key influencers, teachers, staff and partners who are interested. Registration not required - click the flyer image for meeting information. All individuals interested in expanding their cultural competency education are welcome.

Prevent appreciates your volunteerism and enthusiasm as the New Year begins. Thank you for being a reader and supporter of this important work.

Supported by the fiscal agent ESD 112, Prevent is a community coalition formed in 2003 to increase collaboration, awareness, and reduce youth substance use in Southwest Washington. Prevent also implements initiatives for rural communities across Washington state. As a community mobilizer, the coalition creates a culture promoting healthy choices; advocates for policies and regulations that protect, empowers and nurtures youth; and facilitates positive opportunities for youth to be involved and thrive.

Email: preventcoalition@esd112.org
Website: www.PreventCoalition.org
Location: 2500 NE 65th Ave., Vancouver, WA, USA
Phone: 360-952-3457
Facebook: Facebook.com/PreventCoalition
Twitter: @supportyouthnow