Teen Marijuana Use in Douglas County Exceeds State Rates

Substance abuse among youth is a growing concern in Douglas County. Read more about the issues we face, and the latest efforts to treat teens who have already started abusing drugs and alcohol:

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/jul/28/substance_abuse_growing_concern/

Free University!

The Doniphan County Interagency Coaltion is proud to announce its second annual Parents University. This free event open to parents, grandparents, and professionals will be held August 25th at Troy Elementary School from 6:00-8:30 p.m. Please join us for an evening devoted to learning more about kids and stress. Free child care and dinner will be provided, as well as door prizes including gas cards. For more details see the PU Flyer, link below:


http://www.dccca.org/documents/DoniphanCoParentsUniversity.PDF

Take Action Against Beer Ads in the NCAA

Taken from the Center for Science in the Public Interest's Take Action website:

Since 2005, 348 institutions of higher education — including Arizona State, Ohio State, Texas Tech, and the Universities of Florida, Minnesota, and Nebraska — and 16 athletic conferences have endorsed the Campaign for Alcohol-Free Sports TV’s “College Commitment” pledge to work toward eliminating beer advertising during televised college sports.

That pledge essentially asks that the NCAA live up to the intent of its own policies on advertising. The NCAA’s advertising and promotional standards on their face plainly “exclude those advertisements and advertisers...that do not appear to be in the best interests of higher education and student-athletes.” NCAA advertising rules specifically prohibit ads for cigarettes, other tobacco products, organizations promoting gambling, and alcoholic beverages, yet they permit ads for beverages with alcohol content of 6% or less (beer)!

Please take a moment to send a quick message to NCAA President Myles Brand urging the Association to take a leadership role to remove all alcohol advertising from televised NCAA sporting contests. This action would support college administrators’ efforts to help reduce alcohol-related problems, send a consistent message to college students and other young people about the impact of underage and excessive drinking on their health and well-being, and conform to general NCAA advertising policies.

http://takeaction.cspinet.org/campaign/attn_myles_brand

Make a Dinner Date with Your Daughter

A new study released by the University of Minnesota finds that middle-school girls who eat with their families at least five times a week are much less likely to use alcohol, tobacco or marijuana five years later. Even girls who reported they had a less-than-perfect relationship with their parents were half as likely to engage in substance abuse if they had a regular family meal.

For tips and tools on how to engage your kids around the table:

http://casafamilyday.org/familyday/
http://www.kansasfamily.com/GetInvolved-FamilyDay.cfm

For a full article summary please visit:

http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2008/family-meals-have-greater.html

Join Us at the Atchison County Fair!

July 22-25 the Atchison County Dream Team will be at the Atchison County Fair in Effingham, in the big blue building. Stop by our booth for great giveaways from the prevention center including hypercolor pencils and cups! Learn more about what the Dream Team is doing in Atchison and get to know some of our members.

For more information about the fair please visit:

http://www.atchisoncountyfair.com/

KU Strikes Down Beer & Bowling

Provost Richard Lariviere rejected a student proposal that would have allowed those 21-and-over to consume beer at Jaybowl in the Kansas Union. Several factors influenced this decision, including the small minority of Big 12 schools that serve beer in their unions, the many under-21 groups that hold events at Jaybowl, and the ultimate purpose of the university as an educational institution.

The Lawrence-Journal World tells the story of how the university banned union alcohol sales after the 1998 death of KU student Lisa Rosel:

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/jul/07/ku_rejects_proposal_beer_sales_union/

Raising Legal Drinking Age Decreases Teen Fatalities

The latest study releast from the Pacific Institue for Research and Evaluation determined that increasing the legal drinking age to 21 has resulted in an 11% decrease in the number of teens involved in alcohol related traffic fatalities over the last two decades. Find out more at:

http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2008/07/01/eline/links/20080701elin003.html

Help Break the Tradition

Wednesday, July 9th the first official meeting of Douglas County's Break the Tradition Coalition will be held at DCCCA. Bring a brown bag lunch at 11:30 and enjoy Heidi Garcia's presentation of the latest ATOD (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug) data from the University of Kansas.

WHO Wants Clean Air?

New findings from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that clean indoor air ordinances lead to significant reductions in hospital admissions for heart disease, effectively encourage smokers to quit, and protect non-smokers and children from second-hand smoke. The WHO challenges more countries to adopt smoking bans in workplaces, bars, and restaurants:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080630/hl_nm/smoking_bans_dc_1

The Secret High in Your House

Do your kids go to pharming parties? Text their friends about sharing pilz or trail mix?

If this sounds like a foreign language, it's time to uncover the secret source of a popular high--your medicine cabinet.

Many teens mistakenly believe abusing prescription drugs is safer than using street drugs.

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America launched a new site aimed at informing parents about prescription drug abuse, slang around this drug culture, tips on how to talk to teens about prescription drug safety, and encouraging us to carefully monitor and inventory all prescriptions in our homes. Learn more at:

http://www.drugfree.org/notinmyhouse/experts.aspx