Follow up to Jan 23 Substance Abuse Forum

The Forum featured David Rosenbloom, executive director of Join Together, a national program of the BU School of Public Health, who presented the findings and recommendations from their September 2007 report, Prevention Education in America’s Schools. Data was presented on the prevalance of substance abuse in Essex County. A multi-disciplinary panel provided their reactions to the report and shared the barriers they are facing and best practices around substance abuse prevention and intervention.

What seemed to resonate most from the report by David Rosenbloom, the panel and audience was the need for strategies that worked to change the environment around alcohol, tobacco and other drug use rather than focus on the individual youth.

Environmental strategies are defined as approaches and changes that can lead to reductions in dangerous drinking and drug use. We also heard that it was important to employ proven prevention models in communities that underscored the need for a holistic community response that included environmental strategies.

A white paper will be prepared in the next few months with input from an ad-hoc working group representing the different voices in the debate. The document will include a synopsis from the Forum, resources and best practices, and recommendations to take action. The document should be posted to the website in Spring/Summer 2008.