Adolescent Medicine Open House October 8

Prevention WINS is part of the Division of Adolescent Medicine at Seattle Children's Hospital.  The Division's Adolescent Substance Abuse Program includes a continuum of services -- prevention, school-based early intervention, and out-patient treatment.

Earlier this year, the Division moved off of the hospital campus and across the street to one of the Springrbook office buildings.  The community is invited to an open house on October 8 to tour the new clinic and offices and meet faculty and staff.

Adolescent Medicine Open House
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
4:30 - 7:30 p.m.
4540 Sand Point Way NE, Suite 200

For more information please contact Adolescent Medicine.

Prevention WINS general meeting next week -- all are welcome!

Prevention WINS General Meeting
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
8-9:00 a.m.
Seattle Children's Hospital, Room OA.5.340
4800 Sand Point Way NE

All coalition meetings are open to everyone concerned about youth substance use in NE Seattle.

For more information, contact the Prevention WINS coordinator.

Possible marijuana business locations in NE Seattle

Yesterday, the City of Seattle Department of Planning and Development released an updated map that shows where they currently think that marijuana businesses could be located in the City.  The map takes into consideration proposed Liquor Control Board rules and the proposed City of Seattle land use ordinance.

In their latest set of proposed rules, the Liquor Control Board (LCB) changed the definition of the 1,000 foot buffer between marijuana businesses and schools, playgrounds, and other places frequented by children.  Marijuana business interests lobbied for the change stating that the original definition limited possible business locations too much.

Here is what the NE Seattle section of the City's map looks like:

In the map above, the yellow areas indicate places where marijuana businesses may be located using the initial definition (as the crow flies) of the 1,000 foot buffer.

The pink areas indicate the additional land that would be acceptable for marijuana businesses under the LCB's newly proposed definition: "along the most direct route over or across established public walks, streets, or other public passageway between the proposed building/business locations to the perimeter of the grounds of the entities listed."

Since the LCB and the City of Seattle have yet to adopt their proposed policies, this map is not to be considered a final representation of where marijuana businesses will be located.

Update: It turns out the the pink areas will not be considered for marijuana businesses.  On September 13 the LCB released the following statement:

The Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) announced today that it will file an emergency rule on October 16, 2013, to make a single technical revision to the recreational marijuana rules. The emergency rule will revise the method of measurement of the 1,000 foot buffer measurement between a licensed marijuana business and an elementary or secondary school, playground, recreation center or facility, child care center, public park, public transit center, library, or arcade where admission is not restricted to those age 21 and older. The emergency rule will not affect the Initiative 502 implementation timeline.

The current proposed rules filed with the Code Reviser on September 4, 2013, state “the distance shall be measured along the most direct route over or across established public walks, streets, or other public passageway between the proposed building/business location to the perimeter of the grounds.”

The emergency rule will state: “The distance shall be measured as the shortest straight line distance from the property line of the licensed premises to the property line of the entities listed below…”

“The current measurement mirrors the existing method of measurement between liquor-licensed businesses and schools,” said agency director Rick Garza. “We’ve since learned that this measurement, as it pertains to marijuana, conflicts with federal law. Although the emergency rule won’t be filed until October 16, it is critical that we announce our intentions now so that potential licensees, local government and law enforcement will have clarity and predictability going forward.” 

WA Prevention Summit: October 20-22

Registration for the 2013 Washington State Prevention Summit is now open.  This annual event is a great way for adults and youth to network and learn about preventing youth substance abuse.

When: October 20-22, 2013
Where: Yakima Convention Center
Website: www.PreventionSummit.org

Dr. Leslie Walker, Chief of Adolescent Medicine at Seattle Children's Hospital, is a keynote speaker this year!

How many marijuana stores will be located in Seattle and King County?

The Washington State Liquor Control Board (LCB) today approved the filing of proposed supplemental rules that, if ultimately enacted, will help govern Washington State’s system of producing, processing and retailing recreational marijuana. The LCB earlier this summer filed proposed rules and chose to revise them after receiving public input.

In addition to the rules, the LCB released information about how many marijuana stores will be allowed to open in every county.  Here is a list of King County jurisdictions and the number of proposed marijuana stores in each one.

The LCB would like your input on the proposed rules to implement Initiative 502.  Please send your initial comments to the LCB by October 4, 2013 at:

Rules Coordinator

Liquor Control Board

P.O. Box 43080

Olympia, WA 98504-3080

rules@liq.wa.gov

Public hearing will be held on October 8 and 9 -- details to be posted on their website: www.liq.wa.gov

Free webinar: How to prevent medicine abuse

The Medicine Abuse Project

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Noon - 1:00 p.m.

Click here for more information and to register.

This webinar will illustrate the nature, extent, and underlying attitudes/beliefs related to intentional medicine misuse and abuse behavior within the general population.  It will identify proactive steps, resources, and tools to effectively address the issue. Participants will understand the positive role they can play as well as the broader network of organizations working to reduce prescription and over-the-counter medicine abuse. Finally, the presenters will detail the range of free resources provided by a range of association, nonprofit, and government organizations available for use at the community level.

Are alcohol & marijuana social host laws right for our community?

National Electronic Seminar: Social Host Laws: The Good, the Bad and the Changes

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Noon-1:15 p.m.

To register, click here.

Since the 1990’s local and state governments have passed laws designed to hold those who provide alcohol, or enable the consumption by providing an environment in which a minor can consume alcohol, responsible for their conduct. These “social host” laws are often different and unique to the communities they serve.  (In fact, WA communities may want to consider social host laws for marijuana as well as alcohol.) 

This webinar will take a retrospective look at the different social host approaches used by cities, counties and states. Laws that have survived as well as those that have been struck down by the courts will be examined and the challenges proponents of social host legislation face in the future will be discussed.

The public health approach to preventing underage drinking

Earlier this summer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hosted a webinar: The Role of Public Health in Preventing Underage and Excessive Drinking by Adults.  During the webinar, national experts examined new research findings on the relationship between alcohol policies and underage drinking and provided recommendations for policy and community prevention strategies.  

What works to prevent underage drinking?

Recommended interventions for preventing underage drinking include:

• Increasing alcohol taxes.
• Limiting the density of alcohol retail outlets.
• Commercial host liability laws that hold businesses that serve alcohol liable for serving minors.

Two of the challenges to promoting a public health approach to preventing underage drinking include:

• Lack of attention to policy and community factors that influence underage drinking.
• Limited public health capacity to inform communities about prevention strategies.

Policies that affect adults also affect youth

When a state has strong policies to prevent excessive alcohol consumption among adults, youth in that state tend to drink less than youth in states with weak adult-related policies.  "Youth-drinking is not simply an age-specific problem, and optimal approaches to prevention include policies that address excessive drinking in the general population."

Barriers to implementing strong alcohol control policies include the commercial interests (alcohol businesses including retailers) that have the capacity to lobby against regulations.  However, communities are finding success in getting local alcohol control ordinances adopted.

Learn more!

Another free webinar about preventing underage drinking will be offered this fall.

Community Coalitions Working Collaboratively Across Secondary and Postsecondary Education to Address Underage Drinking

September 18, 2013, 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

This webinar, hosted by the U.S. Department of Education, will explore prevention research that strongly supports the use of comprehensive, integrated programs with multiple complementary components to address underage drinking.

For more information and to register, visit

http://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/events/community-coalitions-working-collaboratively-across-secondary-and-postsecondary-education.

Adolescent brain development & preventing risky behaviors

"OMG, What R They Thinking?: The Adolescent Brain: Risk Assessment and Decision-Making" was the topic of the August 15 Grand Rounds at Seattle Children's Hospital.  Dr. Douglas Diekema discussed the newest research about brain development and what it means for approaches to guiding teen decision-making and injury prevention.

Dr. Diekema provided examples of how peer pressure and just being with friends influences the social-emotional part of the teenage brain to the extent that the rational part, which understands the consequences of participating in risky behaviors, is overruled.   Therefore, it is important for teenagers to be in a larger environment that supports healthy and safe decisions.  Laws that decrease access to things (guns, alcohol, drugs) or situations (driving with friends) associated with unhealthy risk-taking are important.  These kinds of laws are consistent with what we know about the teenage brain.

Community laws & norms favorable toward drug use

Risk and protective factor-focused substance abuse prevention theory is based on the idea that to prevent youth drug use communities need to identify the factors that increase the risk of drug use starting and find ways to reduce that risk.  "Community laws and norms favorable toward drug use" is one risk factor identified by prevention researchers.

Community laws & norms
Community norms are the attitudes and policies that a community holds about drug use and are communicated to teens through laws and written policies, through social practices, and through the expectations adults have of young people.

"Another concern is conflicting messages about alcohol/other drugs from key social institutions.  An example of conflicting messages about substance abuse can be found in the acceptance of alcohol use as a social activity within the community.  The 'Beer Gardens,' popular at street fairs and community festivals frequented by young people, are in contrast to . . . the messages that schools and parents may be promoting.  These conflicting messages make it difficult for children to decide which norms to follow."  (From: Substance Abuse Prevention: The Intersection of Science and Practice, page 18.)

Hempfest
From this science-based approach to preventing teen marijuana use (which is still illegal despite I-502), let's think about Seattle Hempfest.

Here is a picture from a Tweet from the Seattle Police Department (a key institution in our city):

The young person  in the photo is holding a bag of chips that SPD handed out to Hempfest participants that included this sticker:

While SPD handed out chips to educate people about the law, KOMO News took photos of people who appear to be minors smoking pot in public.  

(Joshua Lewis / KOMO News)

Some argue that the stickers affixed to the chips is a good way to teach minors that marijuana use is still illegal for them (even though minors apparently ignored the SPD warning).  Others say that it is another example of community laws and norms favorable to marijuana use.  That SPD's approach to educating the public about the new marijuana law provides conflicting messages to teenagers making it difficult for them to decide which norms to follow.

NE Seattle

What does NE Seattle data say about community laws and norms favorable to drug use?  One of the Healthy Youth Survey questions that provides an answer asks students if they will be caught by police if they use drugs.  Since 2006, the percent of Eckstein 8th grade students who report that they would be caught by police if using marijuana decreased.  

Not surprisingly, the overall risk factor of laws and norms favorable toward drug use increased within that time, jumping by almost 10 percentage points between 2010 and 2012 among Eckstein 8th graders.