In December 2011, the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s Monitoring the Future survey posted some fantastic news: Underage drinking by 8th, 10th, and 12th graders has reached historical lows. Among 12th graders, for example, past-month alcohol use dropped to 63.5 percent in 2010, down from a high of 74.8 percent in 1997. While this decrease is heartening, it also signals a need to step up our prevention game on college campuses. Underage college students drink often and excessively. How can we help maintain our progress in reducing underage drinking as today’s high school students enter college? How can we help current college students who drink make healthier choices?

Information for Potential Applicants

The Office of National Drug Control Policy, in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is pleased to announce the release of the FY2012 Drug Free Communities Request for Applications (RFA). The DFC RFA provides the guidelines for meeting statutory eligibility requirements, completing the application, the questions that must be answered and guidelines for assembling the budget. Applicants must follow the FY2012 DFC RFA explicitly and be deemed statutorily eligible before moving onto the peer review process for scoring. The following timeline will be adhered to for the FY2012 DFC funding cycle:

DFC RFA Released:  Tuesday, January 17, 2012
DFC RFA Due Date:  March 22, 2012
Peer Review:  End of May/Early June 2012
Announce New DFC Awards:  End of August 2012

To access the FY2012 DFC RFA, click here*.

The PACT360 website is being enhanced. One of the areas being added is a section called “Your Stories.” This section will include stories on how you and your organization are doing great work at the local level to reduce substance abuse.  This is your opportunity to “brag” about the great work you do every day in your very own state/city.

This new section is being designed to have site visitors publicly share their stories about local programs, events and substance abuse prevention efforts they may have attended or held themselves so that others can learn from their experiences.  Please send submissions  to rlinder@drugfreenc.org or your local CPR.

The North Carolina Coalition Initiative:

Building Capacity for Substance Free Communities

We are pleased to announce that funds will be made available

(up to $30,000 per site in the first year)

for up to eight (8) Partnerships, Alliances, Coalitions and Collaboratives (PACCs)
working to address substance abuse in North Carolina to strengthen their capacity to implement environmental strategies.

Currently, this grant program is approved for a two-year period.

 The Request for Application (RFA) can be accessed online at

www.nc-coalition.com

RFA submission deadline: April 13, 2012 by 5 p.m.

 A Letter of Intent (encouraged but not required) is due March 2, 2012

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) announced the results of the 2011 Monitoring the Future Survey. You will also be able to view on this site a two-page summary of some of the key findings. The Monitoring the Future Survey, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health, tracks illicit drug use and attitudes of 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students.  It is one of three major surveys through which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services monitors the nation’s substance abuse patterns. Information from these surveys helps the nation to identify potential drug problem areas and ensures that resources are targeted to areas of greatest need.  Read more at http://www.nida.nih.gov/drugpages/MTF.html.

SAMHSA News | January/February 2011, Volume 19, Number 1

Increasing Outreach, Feedback, and Virtual Communities

Facebook. YouTube. Twitter. Blogs. As a Nation, people of all ages use social media applications every day to update friends, family, and colleagues. We announce personal
milestones, share articles, tell stories, and post photos and events we hope will be of interest. In short, we’re engaged in an ongoing conversation, a virtual community.

Similarly, in response to President Obama’s request for Open Government, SAMHSA has developed a robust “digital engagement” program with established presences on four major social media channels—Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr. In addition, the SAMHSA blog serves as the hub for these behavioral-health-focused efforts.

Read the rest of the story here….

The Durham News | November 27, 2011 | thedurhamnews.com

BY WANDA BOONE

If you have teens, think back to when they were babies just starting to crawl. You created and monitored the environment to help ensure their safety, health and well being.

Teens are not small adults. Their internal organs are not fully formed. The frontal lobes of their brains are still developing. Many times we scratch our heads and think, “It seems like they would know better than to …” But they don’t know better. They are children. Teens need our guidance, example, and protection. We have to monitor the environment and help ensure their safety, health and wellbeing.

“Prescription drug abuse is a silent epidemic that is stealing thousands of lives and tearing apart communities and families across America,” Gil Kerlikowske, director of National Drug Control Policy, said in a CDC news release. “Parents and grandparents should properly dispose of any unneeded or expired medications from the home and to talk to their kids about the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs.”

Read the rest of the story here…

Red Ribbon Week is the nation’s oldest and largest drug prevention activity in the nation reaching millions of Americans during the last week of October every year. By wearing red ribbons and participating in community anti-drug events, young people pledge to live a drug-free life and pay tribute to DEA Special Agent Enriqué “Kiki” Camarena.

By:  Dylan Mulrooney-Jones

Alcopops are sweet, flavored spirituous drinks that are sold in convenience stores across North Carolina and consumed by youth each day. That a beverage that tastes like lemonade and contains more alcohol than a standard beer is dangerous is an understatement. The traditional “taste bud barrier” that once stood between young people and alcohol has been erased and has created a unique set of problems.