The role of public policy in preventing underage substance use

Community coalitions like Prevention WINS advocate for policies that are proven to prevent underage drinking and substance abuse.  Below are a few examples.

Taxes
While consumers may complain about the cost of alcohol since the approval of Initiative 1183 last year, high prices are actually good when it comes to preventing underage drinking.


Raising alcohol excise taxes can help deter young people from drinking, according to a leading expert on preventing drinking in youth.

“These taxes prevent and reduce drinking and death among young people, as well as among heavy drinkers,” says David H. Jernigan, PhD, Associate Professor and Director, Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who has conducted research on the effect of the taxes.


“When alcohol is cheaper at the corner store than milk, orange juice or sometimes even water, it sends young people the wrong message,” Jernigan says. “It makes alcohol look like an ordinary commodity when it is not.” He notes that prices on alcohol used to be much higher than those on other beverages. The most important factor in the price drop has been the inability of alcohol taxes to keep up with inflation.

State Alcohol Policy Changes

The Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS) has updated its list of state alcohol policies to reflect substantive changes that occurred last year. The list is available online.

Many of the state policy changes are consistent with the goal of reducing underage drinking and its consequences, as well as the goal of reducing alcohol-related death and injury in the general population, according to APIS.

Changes to state alcohol policies include an increase in Connecticut’s excise taxes for beer, wine and distilled spirits and Mississippi’s prohibition against hosting underage drinking parties.

Law Enforcement
Policies are only effective if they are enforced.  This story, Laws to Crack Down on Serving Intoxicated People in Bars Largely Ignored, provides a good example.

A recent study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health supports previous studies that show that, when enforced, laws meant to prevent and reduce underage drinking can be effective.  

Marijuana in the news

Here are links to marijuana related stories that I've been collecting over the past month.

Teen heavy marijuana use increased significantly since 2008
New, nationally projectable survey results released earlier this month by The Partnership at Drugfree.org and MetLife Foundation found that past-month marijuana use – particularly heavy use – increased significantly among U.S. high school students since 2008.

California's Emerald Triangle pot market is hitting bottom
Since medical marijuana was legalized in California, illegal marijuana farms have sprung up throughout Humboldt County, known as the "Emerald Triangle".  The supply of marijuana now exceeds demand and prices have dropped.  With too much marijuana flooding the medical marijuana market, some people are selling it illegally.  

Why we should not legalize marijuana
This article is part of a CNBC special report, Marijuana & Money.  The report contains many articles from both sides of the debate.

Rethinking the War on Drugs
This essay, appearing in the Wall Street Journal, makes the case that "prohibition and legalization aren't the only choices when it comes to drugs."

Obama Drug Czar stumps for 'third way' policy
“Over the past few years, this public debate on drug policy lurches between two extreme views,” White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske said during a speech today at the Center for American Progress.


“On one side we have a very vocal, organized, well-funded advocates who insist that drug legalization is a ‘silver bullet’ for addressing our nation’s drug problem. Then we have the other side. On the other side of the debate are those who insist that a law-enforcement-only, ‘War on Drugs’ approach … is the way to create a drug free society,” Kerlikowske said.


“The Obama administration strongly believes that neither of these approaches is humane, realistic, or — most importantly — grounded in science,” Kerlikowske said.

In the news: marijuana legalization

Since drug policy affects youth drug abuse, I have set up regular Google Alerts about "marijuana legalization". No matter what your stance on marijuana policy, it's useful to know what is being reported and debated. Here are a few of the articles that I find interesting.

Portugal's drug policy pays off: US eyes lessons (Seattle Times) -- This article really isn't about legalization since Portugal decriminalized, not legalized, marijuana:

Drugs in Portugal are still illegal. But here's what Portugal did: It changed the law so that users are sent to counseling and sometimes treatment instead of criminal courts and prison. The switch from drugs as a criminal issue to a public health one was aimed at preventing users from going underground.

Other European countries treat drugs as a public health problem, too, but Portugal stands out as the only one that has written that approach into law. The result: More people tried drugs, but fewer ended up addicted.

Time to again moblize against marijuana (Christian Science Monitor) -- This editorial suggests that President Obama should speak out against marijuana legalization:

The culture of pot acceptance must be reversed in America. It was turned back after 1979, and that can happen again. But the drug czar can’t do it alone. We need the man at the top, and all of the relevant administration players, saying the same thing, and saying it often. What’s good for the president’s children is good for the country. He must tell us so.

Afternoon jolt: Pot reform (Publicola) -- This post reports on local initiatives to legalize marijuana in Washington.

Time to answer concerns to advance marijuana policy reform (Seattle Times) -- This opinion piece is written by a former UW professor and he suggests that the following concerns need to be addressed when discussing possible marijuana legalization:

• Protecting adult civil liberties,

• Effectively preventing marijuana's harms to children and adolescents,
• Acknowledging the reality of marijuana dependence and addressing its prevention and treatment,
• Proposing credible prevention of accidents because of driving while stoned, and
• Identifying specific health risks from pot use in vulnerable groups (for example, individuals with cardiovascular disease).

When should I call the cops about my neighbors weed smoking? (Seattle PI) -- A blog entry with interesting comments following it.

Experts worry that medical-pot laws promote teen use (Denver Post)