Utah's governor believes curbing substance abuse is one of the main cures for "what troubles our community."
And a committee charged with reducing substance abuse and related violence believes restricting tobacco sales, creating a prescription-use data base and licensing substance-abuse counselors will go a long way toward reaching that goal.The Utah Substance Abuse and Anti-Violence Coordinating Council on Monday presented its annual report to Gov. Mike Leavitt. The report contains three legislative proposals and eight budget recommendations.
In the war on drug use, "we continue to do better than most other states and most other major metropolitan areas comparable to Salt Lake," said David J. Jordan, council chairman. "We still have a significant problem and, I regret to say, we still have a growing problem."
Use of "gateway drugs" like tobacco and alcohol has increased among juveniles. In 1993, use of marijuana and tobacco by Utah juveniles 12 to 17 years surpassed the national average use rate and nearly equaled the national alcohol-abuse rate.
The "upside," according to Leavitt, is "we are mobilized as a community . . . and have a long-term strategy for dealing with this."
The problem, he said, is "still small enough to be able to do something about it."
The consensus report proposes legislation to eliminate all self-service sales of tobacco products to make it harder for minors to obtain them.
A centralized prescription-drug data base would identify patients who "shop" for doctors so they can get prescription drugs. The council believes the data base would also help identify doctors who over-prescribe substances.
The report asks for almost $9.8 million, including an increase for the Families and Agencies Coming Together for Children and Youth at Risk programs, gang prevention and intervention in schools, substance abuse and violence prevention resources in schools and a state crime lab system. It calls for more substance-abuse treatment for youths and families and for pregnant women and mothers.
Some of the money would be used to give rate increases to people who supply substance-abuse treatment and services. And it includes money for education programs and the gang suppression and community coordinator grant programs.
Finally, the council identified 13 "study items" that might be the basis of action later. Among those issues are juvenile court jurisdiction over parents of the youths who come through the court system, evaluation of prevention program effectiveness, asset forfeiture and inclusion of substance-abuse prevention and treatment services in the state's health-care reform plan.
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Council honors administrator, high schoolers
The Utah Substance Abuse and Anti-Violence Coordinating Council presented two awards Monday during a news conference to release its annual report.
Honorees were Col. Merrill R. Carter, administrator of the Utah National Guard Drug Demand Reduction Program, and the Pleasant Grove High School Esteem Team.
The team lobbied the Legislature last year in support of the Utah Clean Air Act, which restricts smoking in public places.