Substance abuse meetings seek feedback, propose plan

    PRESQUE ISLE – Aroostook Substance Abuse Prevention, a collaborative project with approximately 10 agency partners countywide, held a community meeting at ACAP in Presque Isle on August 1 to present findings of a comprehensive assessment of substance abuse in both Presque Isle and surrounding towns and Aroostook County and present potential strategies to address the problem. Meeting attendees were asked for feedback about the findings and proposed strategic plan.
   Use of substances and resulting harms were discussed. It was determined that:
• Substances most frequently abused by youth and adults are alcohol, marijuana and prescription drugs, all of which are associated with harms such as domestic violence, child abuse/neglect, hospitalizations and arrests;
• Youth use of alcohol, marijuana, prescription drugs, inhalants, cocaine and heroin surpassed or was comparable to national consumption rates for most grade levels;
• Adult abuse of prescription drugs, stimulants (such as methamphetamine) and hallucinogens was higher than state levels;
• The percentage of substance abuse treatment admissions for alcohol, marijuana and prescription drugs were higher than state and national percentages for youth and adults, with the exception of adult admissions for alcohol, which equaled state admissions. Stimulant (example: methamphetamine) admissions were also higher than the state;
• Harms caused by alcohol misuse were more frequent than harm caused by any other substance;
• Child Abuse: Alcohol or drugs were involved in 55 percent of substantiated child abuse/neglect cases. Increased prescription drug abuse is partly responsible for an increase in child abuse/neglect cases throughout the County;
• Domestic Violence: Alcohol, marijuana, prescription drugs and cocaine/crack were all primary substances of abuse reported by domestic violence offenders admitted for treatment. An average of 76 percent of domestic violence cases in the County had substance abuse involved in the violent incident preceding arrest;
• Drug and Alcohol-Induced Deaths: Since 1999, alcohol-induced deaths increased from 4.0 to 10.9 while drug-induced deaths increased from 1.3 to 13.7 per 100,000. The County has a higher average rate of alcohol-induced deaths (4.9) than the state (4.5);
• Aroostook County Maine Drug Enforcement Agency Cases: Prescription drugs were most frequently involved in MDEA cases, followed by marijuana and methamphetamine, cocaine (8 percent), heroin (6 percent) and ecstasy (1 percent). The County MDEA recently identified YABA (methamphetamine) tablets as a substance creeping into Aroostook County from Canada; and
• Prescription Monitoring Program: Narcotics were identified as the most frequently prescribed scheduled drugs in Aroostook County, representing 56 percent of all County scheduled drug prescriptions filled, followed by tranquilizers and stimulants. Aroostook County is the fifth highest county in Maine for average number of scheduled drug prescriptions filled. The County average scheduled drug scripts per person (1.58) surpassed the state average (1.50).
    Factors contributing to the problem were discussed and included:
• Ease of access to alcohol and prescription drugs;
• Lack of consequences for adults who sell or provide alcohol to minors;
• Community norms  (especially related to alcohol, marijuana and prescription drug use);
• Cultural acceptance of and preference for use of prescription drugs to manage pain;
• Limited access to alternative methods of pain care and management (example: acupuncture, massage therapy, biofeedback, chiropractic care);
• Youth perceptions of availability of drugs;
• Inaccurate perceptions of harm related to alcohol, marijuana, prescription drug, inhalant, stimulant and over-the-counter drug use;
• Youth perceptions of parental attitudes favorable to drug use and anti-social behavior; and
• Family management (parental monitoring and involvement, rule-setting and discipline).
    The evening concluded with those present discussing what should be done to alleviate the problem. Possible options included:
• Use public education and social marketing to:
• Address misperceptions of risk/harm;
• Increase family management skills;    
• increase awareness of alternative treatments for chronic pain;
• increase awareness about the problem and what is contributing to it.
    Collaborate with law enforcement, criminal justice system, municipalities, community groups, retailers, schools and early intervention programs to work on other factors contributing to the problem:
• Work at the State level to change relevant policies;
• Work with community groups to assess the potential of establishing a long-term in-patient treatment facility in the County and after-care support services;
• Seek sustained funding to implement prevention strategies and programs on an ongoing basis.
    One concerning finding that emerged from the assessment project was that the County has very few resources to comprehensively address substance abuse prevention. At this time, there are three grant-funded initiatives – Community Voices in Fort Kent, Aroostook Teen Leadership Camp and Aroostook Substance Abuse Prevention. This lack of resources leaves many areas of the County without access to ongoing, comprehensive prevention services. Aroostook Substance Abuse Prevention and its partners has applied for two federal grants and plans to apply for more. Although there are two other substance abuse prevention coalitions in the County (CADET and Link for Hope), each is working to address the problem without funding, which limits what can be done.
    “If we really want to decrease substance abuse and its harms, our County and its community members have to commit to dedicate their time and money to substance abuse prevention,” said Clare Desrosiers, MSW, Aroostook Substance Abuse Prevention, Cary Medical Center.
    For more information or to provide feedback about the information presented in this article, contact Desrosiers at 521-2408.