ONDCP Blog

California Makes Progress in Drugged Driving Legislation

Drugged driving is a threat to public health and safety.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) 2007 National Roadside Survey found that approximately one in eight weekend, nighttime drivers tested positive for illicit drugs.[1]  In 2010, a study conducted by NHTSA found that among fatally injured drivers who were tested and the results reported, 33 percent tested positive for at least one drug.[2]   While these statistics are useful, more data is needed to determine the full extent of the problem.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy supports efforts to obtain better information on drugged driving so that state and local governments can better tackle this growing problem.  A few weeks ago, California took an important step forward in providing better data on drugged driving. 

On September 29, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 2552 which will distinguish the offenses of driving under the influence of alcohol, driving under the influence of any drug, and driving under the combined influence of alcohol and any drug.  The law goes into effect on January 1, 2014.  California joins New York and Hawaii as the only states to separate these three offenses. “Up to now we have had limited statistics that seemed to point to increasing drug involvement in crashes,” said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety.  “With this new legislation, we will be able to gather a greater quantity of much more detailed information on the size and scope of the problem.  It will help in law enforcement, court system, and public awareness efforts to combat this growing problem.”

California recognizes that drugged driving is a serious threat to public health and public safety, and this law compliments other work being done in the state to address it.  The California Office of Traffic Safety considers “Alcohol and Other Drugs” a priority area and funds a number of initiatives to better understand and reduce drugged driving.  These initiatives include new drug testing equipment, grants for the Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) program and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) training, and a survey modeled on the 2007 NHTSA National Roadside Survey to determine the prevalence of drug and alcohol impaired driving.

School Nurses: Trusted Student Health Professionals and Agents of Substance Abuse Prevention

For more than a century, school nursing services have served a critical role in public health and ensuring the academic success of students in America. Particularly over the past five decades, school nurses have become more involved with addressing students’ mental, behavioral, and emotional issues, including substance abuse prevention. In fact, according to the 2007 Government Accountability Office report School Mental Health: Role of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Factors Affecting Service Provision, school nurses spend one-third of their time providing mental health services, including those for substance abuse.

With a presence in 75 percent of the Nation’s schools, school nurses comprise a significant force of professionals who serve as prevention agents. School nurses are in touch with substance abuse trends within the school and in the greater community, enabling them to make educated assessments when students visit their offices.

Many school nurses also spend time in classrooms providing substance abuse prevention curricula, and some with advanced training start treatment support groups. School nurses often work in teams with other specialized instructional support personnel, such as school psychologists, social workers, and counselors, to address substance abuse issues in schools.

When the rate of prescription drug abuse began to increase rapidly, school nurses recognized the trend and took action. The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) got the word out by providing school nurses with data showing that more teens are abusing prescription drugs than illegal drugs (except for marijuana);[i] that prescription medications, along with marijuana, are the drugs of choice among 12- to 13-year-olds;[ii] and that every day, approximately 2,000 young people use a prescription pain reliever non-medically for the first time.[iii]

The NASN provides materials to help school nurses understand and promote drug use prevention, including:

• Current information and links to resources through a Weekly Digest e-News and a “Drugs of Abuse” page, found at www.nasn.org
• Opportunities for online continuing education programs that focus on prescription drug abuse in schools and communities: http://www.nasn.org/ContinuingEducation
• A comprehensive Teen Prescription (Rx) Drug Abuse School Tool Kit:  http://smartmovessmartchoices.org/school-tool-kit
• Home 2 Homeroom – educational materials teaming parents with school nurses to prevent and address teen cough-medicine abuse:  http://stopmedicineabuse.org/tools-to-take-action/school-nurses
• A school nurse representative in the Five Moms campaign (part of the Stop Medicine Abuse Initiative of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association):  http://stopmedicineabuse.org/blog/details/welcoming-peggy-as-the-newest-five-mom

NASN recommends the following tips for school nurses:

• Familiarize yourself with the national effort and message led by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/prevention-intro/prevention-month%20
• Order a free Smart Moves, Smart Choices toolkit, which contains:
  • Curriculum video series
  • Posters/stickers
  • Dr. Drew segments
  • Access to other resources
• Team up with other specialized support personnel at your school to provide unified support of Prevention Month.
  

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Director Joins DEA for Red Ribbon Week Rally

This week, we join millions of young people across the country to celebrate Red Ribbon Week. Students, parents and educators this week participate by pledging to lead healthy, drug free lives and wear red ribbons while participating in community-wide, anti-drug events. 

Director Kerlikowske meets Elementary School Red Ribbon Bookmark Contest Winner, Haley Chilton. (Photo courtesy of DEA)

Red Ribbon Week is also a time to pay tribute to DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, whose tragic murder led to the creation of the Red Ribbon Program.  Red Ribbon Week is October 23 – 31 each year. On Wednesday, October 24, ONDCP Director Kerlikowske delivered remarks at the annual DEA Red Ribbon Rally at DEA headquarters in Arlington, VA. 

Director Kerlikowske joins DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart, Deputy Attorney General James Cole, and other officials for the singing of the National Anthem as the program begins. (Photo courtesy of DEA)

DEA Youth Dancers from Drew Model Elementary School. (Photo courtesy of DEA)

Deputy Attorney General James Cole, DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart, Peggy Sapp, President of the National Family Partnership, and Red Ribbon Youth Contest Winners also attended. They were joined by area youth who presented dance and musical performances for the audience. 

Afro Blue, Howard University's Vocal Jazz Ensemble, receives plaque after performance and poses with DEA Administrator Leonhart (Photo courtesy of DEA)

To learn more about Red Ribbon Week and take the pledge to live drug-free, please visit www.redribbonweek.org.

Advocates for Action Guest Post: Turning Tragedy into Purpose

At the time our son David died in June 2010 after smoking K2, virtually no one had heard of this synthetic drug.  There was literally no information from the scientific community available—it was just too new. We made a decision very early on that we needed to do something; we needed to share our story in the hope that we could prevent this from happening to another family.

We came across many terrible stories while searching for answers, but no one seemed to be connecting the dots concerning these synthetic cannabinoids. With an abundance of people pushing their drugs online and no place for parents and kids to go for the truth, we thought it was important to launch www.k2drugfacts.com.  Through this site, we started collecting stories from all over the country and gave families the opportunity to share their experiences.

Working through our Iowa Office of Drug Control Policy and local coalitions, we continue to speak at many high schools, colleges, church groups, EMS providers, and anyone else who will listen to us on the dangers of these drugs.  We have done multiple interviews with every local and many national media outlets to help get our message out. This has been a slow, difficult, and painful process, but we know we are making a difference.

We are excited to be working with The Partnership at Drugfree.org and their PACT360 program to continue advocating for action on synthetic drugs—preventing other families from experiencing the tragedy we suffered.