Thursday, October 23, 2008

Communities with Drug Free Community Coalitions like Genesee County and Orleans County have lower incidence and prevalence of substance abuse problems

Join Together Online reported on September 25, 2008 that Substance abuse is lower in communities that have Drug Free Community coalitions.

A new report from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) says that alcohol, tobacco and other drug use rates were lower than national averages in cities and towns with coalitions funded by the Drug Free Communities (DFC) program.

Annual youth marijuana, alcohol and tobacco use in DFC communities was 9.9 percent, 23.3 percent, and 10 percent lower, respectively, than the national average for use of these substances. Trends in current use among DFC communities were compared with national data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System.

The report also found that youth drug use declined more rapidly in communities with DFC coalitions than the national average.


Tom Talbot, the Director of GCASA's Prevention Resource Center describes the work of the Center at the Orleans Against Substance Abuse quarterly meeting at Tillman's Inn in Childs, New York on October 8, 2008. He mentions the above referenced report from the ONDCP in his talk. Video lasts 3:45.

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