Substance Abuse

General Comments:

Overall, the participants were in agreement with the draft goals and objectives of the chapter and the placement of the chapter in the section entitled Prevent and Reduce Diseases and Disorders.

For several objectives, it was suggested that we look at additional age cohorts, for example, 18-24 year olds.

Refinement Issues:

Several suggestions for enhancing the chapter were offered. It was suggested that the chapter include: discussion of other types of problem drinking that is occurring among college and high school students, in addition to binge drinking; discussion of other classes of drugs such as ecstasy and rohypnal (the date rape drug); the issue of relapse as it relates to treatment; the treatment gap for adolescents; more discussion of the children of current substance abusers who are most at-risk for substance abuse later in life; that objective 22 (Administrative License Revocation (ALR) laws) and objective 23 (blood alcohol levels) not be included as objectives, since they are strategies for accomplishing other objectives. It was also suggested that we make it clearer (in the discussion of age of first use) that our ultimate goal is to keep youth substance-free.

There was discussion of what constitutes a drink, with some participants arguing for inclusion of a definition in the chapter and others against the idea. If a definition is used, it was further suggested that it not be based on The Dietary Guidelines for Americans but on "serving sizes." Other participants disagreed, noting that we need to stay focused on the message we are trying to convey (i.e., that the number of drinks consumed on any one occasion should be limited), not how much alcohol is in each type of drink (beer, wine, or a straight or mixed drink).

It was suggested that the Overview Section acknowledge that several factors may have an impact on the extent to which we will be able to make progress on the objectives, issues such as funding availability and managed care. It was also suggested that we need to work with states (i.e, outreach to individual state agencies) to demonstrate how HP 2010 can be used by the states.

Wendy Davis

Session Facilitators:

Wendy B. Davis, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP)
Ann Mahony, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT)

Participants:

Christine Botsford, NCADI/Press
Jane Dion, Program Analyst, National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration,
Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
Lewis Eigen, NCADI/SHS
Charles Fromm, Multinational Business Services, Washington, DC
Karen Gordon, Director of Health Education, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Mayra Rodriquez-Howard, Director, Bureau of Substance Abuse Services,
Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, MA
Elizabeth Jackson, Statistician, National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD
Terence Jackson, Addictions Program Specialist, New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Albany, NY
Renee Lohman, Washington Behavioral Health Care, Washington, DC
Kathleen Sheehan, Public Policy Director, National Association of State Alcohol and
Drug Abuse Directors, Inc. (NASADAD), Washington, DC
Sis Wenger, Executive Director, National Association for Children of Alcoholics, Rockville, MD