METROPOLITAN DRUG COMMISSIONs t r e n g t h e n s f a m i l i e s . p r o t e c t s l i v e s .

Funding for prevention can yield enormous Return On Investment (ROI)

continued on page 7

January-March 2012

Today’s modern, cutting-edge prevention goes beyond brochures and promises to “just say no.” These days, prevention initiatives are based upon environmental strategies. But what are environmental strategies, anyway? Recycling drives or wildlife conservation may be the first things that come to mind, but for folks in the prevention world, it represents a chance to change their community for the better.

Environmental strategies are based on solid scientific evidence. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), environmental strategies “establish or change written and unwritten community standards, codes and attitudes, thereby influencing incidence and prevalence of the abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs used in the general population.” In other words, environmental strategies go beyond direct service programs in which the goal is to change the behavior of a few individuals. Environmental strategies set forth to alter the circumstances in which substance abuse is likely to occur in the first place, making substances more difficult and less appealing to abuse. This is achieved by developing new laws, limiting illegal access to drugs and alcohol and changing community views on substance abuse.

“Convincing people to invest in environmental prevention is extremely difficult,” Karen Pershing, MDC executive director, said. “People simply don’t understand what environmental strategies are. It’s not something you can see, touch and feel. Unlike feeding the hungry or donating your used clothing, you don’t always see an immediate benefit. It takes a long time to bring about community change. This can be discouraging for the impatient, but if you work at it long enough, I can guarantee that the outcome is enormous.”

Substance abuse can be extremely costly. Drug and alcohol abuse costs more than $500 billion annually in law enforcement, violence, property damage, healthcare and other expenses. A 2003 report compiled by the

MDC has made great strides in combating substance abuse in Knoxville. However, recent grant funding reductions has greatly impacted our organization. After 10 successful years as a Drug-Free Communities grantee, funding ended this fall, leaving a $100,000 per year budget deficit.

To sustain our current level of services, we need your financial support. Your charitable contribution will be used to extend our reach to youth and adults throughout Knox County. As a 501(c)3 organization, all contributions are tax-deductible. Your donation will be used to support three major goals:

1. Reducing underage binge drinking2. Decreasing the misuse of prescription

drugs among youth3. Decrease the number unintentional

drug poisoning deaths

Donors will be acknowledged in the donor recognition section of future newsletters, as well as on our website. To donate online, click the “Donate” button on the right hand sidebar at www.metrodrug.org. Checks can be mailed to the address on the back of this publication.

We appreciate all of our past donors. Please be assured that all future gifts will be acknowledged in this section. In this edition, we would like to recognize our most recent contributors:

We need your help!

continued on page 2

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In December, a 25-year-old mother in Murfreesboro was arrested for child endangerment after her infant baby tested positive for prescription drugs. This is a story heard all too often in the media these days, and it’s happening right here in our own backyard.

Healthcare professionals call it Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). We know it more commonly as infant drug addiction. On any given day, approximately 30 percent of newborn infants in East Tennessee Children’s Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit are drug-addicted. That’s equal to 13 out of 44 beds in the unit. On average, it takes about 26 days for drugs to clear their system at $5,000 per day for a total cost of $130,000 per child. TennCare covers treatment for about 80 percent of these babies.

Withdrawing from drugs and alcohol is difficult and painful for anyone. When that addict is a newborn, the suffering is more severe. Drug-addicted infants run fevers. They shake violently and suffer chronic aches. They have a very distinct cry. To ease their symptoms, nurses will sometimes soothe them with low doses of Morphine, a potent narcotic used to treat severe pain.

“Drugs are the single, solitary reason they’re here,” Carla Sanders, a neonatal nurse practitioner at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital told the Knoxville News Sentinel in November. “They want to be consoled, but they can’t be consoled. Our nurses go home at the end of the day in tears.”

In years past, these babies may have been addicted to illegal street drugs, like cocaine or heroin. Today, the majority are prescription drug-dependant. Symptoms vary depending on the severity of the mother’s use and type of drug abused. They can begin within hours of birth, beginning with diarrhea, cramps, fever, tremors and severe diaper rash. Other symptoms include low birth weight, splotchy skin, rapid breathing, sweating, vomiting, dehydration, muscle tightness and seizures. These conditions can even result in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

”Their bottoms look like they’ve been dipped in scalding water,” Sanders said. “These babies have a high metabolism, so they get overheated really easily. They need a thin blanket. They eat a special diet. They look healthy at first. It’s hard to realize what’s wrong until you see them clawing at their faces, frantically trying to get their mouths around the bottles.”

With the exponential rise in prescription drug dependence in this country, the number of drug-addicted infants is expected to increase. How might this impact their lives moving forward? Will they relapse later on? Only time will tell.

“These children will always struggle with drug addiction. This is not something that they can simply recover from at the hospital as infants and then move on,” Webster Bailey, clinical outreach manager at Cornerstone of Recovery, said. “To think of this in other terms, imagine a child born with stage four cancer and what that would mean for their lifetime prognosis. Any form of drug and alcohol use during their lifetime will be problematic and will essentially kick-start their addiction all over again.”

To find out how you can get involved, contact Jill Edds with the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Task Force at (865) 541-8798.

Photo from the Knoxville News Sentinel

October 1 - December 20, 2011

IndIvIdual donors

Charles W. SwansonDonald B. Wake Chuck Baine Sterling Owen, IV C. Larry Elmore J.E. Henry Andy BlackCommissioner Mike BrownDaniel BrownMayor Tim BurchettMichele CarringerDennis FrancisKeith GoodwinJudge Tim IrwinSheriff Jimmy “J.J.” JonesDr. Parinda KhatriRick LassiterDick MoranSuzan Puhl MurphyGeneral Randy NicholsChief David RauschMarilyn RoddyW. Timothy RogersP.D. Mark StephensThomas “Tank” StricklandLoida VelazquezDr. Donna WrightWebster BaileyJohn GillMary Lou HornerJeff LeeTerry Upshaw MorganTim Wright Brandon Pouncy

Corporate sponsors

Employee Assistance Professionals Association

Comcast Cable

Norfolk Southern Railway

First Tennessee Foundation

AAA East Tennessee

City of Knoxville

Addicts without choice:

Drug-addicted babies face

long recovery, uncertain future

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January-March 2012

Super Bowl XLVI is just around the corner. With millions spent each year on alcohol advertisements, it is important for youth and adults to view these ads with a critical eye. What are you doing to help your teen analyze media messages and spot persuasive tactics?

Youth are exposed to thousands of alcohol advertisements in their lifetimes – in magazines, through social media and on television. These ads are sometimes shown during television programs with a large teenage demographic. According to the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY), youth exposure to alcohol advertising on television increased 71 percent between 2001 and 2009. Increased exposure has been shown to make a big impact on teens’ drinking habits. The more youth are exposed to alcohol advertising, the more likely they are to start drinking or to drink more if they are already consuming alcohol.

The Super Bowl is especially famous for its array of alcohol ads. The Center for Science in the Public Interest estimated that Anheuser-Busch alone spent nearly $20 million on commercials during the previous Super Bowl. Of the 98 million people that tuned in to the 2011 Super Bowl, a large segment of viewers were under the age of 21. With such a high volume of alcohol ads, it is no surprise that beer commercials regularly rank among teens’ favorite Super Bowl ads in national polls.

Alcohol accounts for the leading drug problem among youths in the U.S. More than 31 percent of Knox County high school students reporting alcohol use in the past month, according to the 2011 Knox County Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Parents must take action now to combat underage drinking. Prevention must start at home.

“Parents are the first line of defense against underage alcohol use,” Heather Sutton, Media Relations Director at MDC, said. “With the Super Bowl just around the corner, this is a great time for parents to start a conversation with their child about underage

drinking and help them identify and reject seductive alcohol ads.”

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), media literacy is the ability to “understand the intent of [media] messages and judge how the information is used.” SAMHSA notes that media literacy doesn’t mean “media bashing.” Not all alcohol ads are intentionally aimed at adolescents. Media literacy is designed to help youth make informed and intelligent decisions about the media messages they see and hear each day. You can help encourage media literacy in your home by asking:

What is this ad trying to sell you?•

Is this product healthy for you?•

How is this ad trying to get you to purchase their •

product?

How do you feel about the product now? •

Remember, it is never too early to begin this conversation with your child. Be sure they understand that these commercials do not show the negative consequences that may result from a night of excessive drinking. For small children, make sure you are monitoring their viewing patterns. Set up parental controls through your cable provider for times when your child is watching television without supervision.

For more tips on how to talk about media literacy or for sample conversation starters, visit the “What you Can Do” tab at www.metrodrug.org.

Super Bowl provides opportunity to discuss media literacy with teens

Students at Richard Yoakley School celebrated their semester achievements

at a rewards party on December 15. MDC offered staff support for the celebration. The students earned “reward bucks” throughout the semester for outstanding accomplishments that could be used to purchase prizes at the Richard Yoakley “gift shop.” Prizes were provided courtesy of Harvest Christian Fellowship Church.

4

Can social media make teen

drug use more likely?A recent survey shows teens that use social networking sites frequently and watch “suggestive” media are more likely to use drugs and alcohol than teens with limited exposure.

The survey, conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, looked at youth aged 12 to 17 and around half of their parents. On an average day, about 70 percent of teens said they used social networking sites. Teens that are heavy social network users were five times more likely to report using tobacco. Their likelihood of using alcohol and marijuana was two and three times higher. Twenty percent of 16 and 17 year olds reported trying marijuana, compared to 11 percent of kids that do not use social networking sites regularly.

Scandalous photographs and questionable videos are easily accessible to youth online. Half of teens who utilize social networking sites say they have seen pictures of their peers drunk, passed out or using drugs, according to the survey. These images may reinforce the idea that “everybody’s doing it,” and the younger the teen, the more easily influenced they can become.

While the survey indicates a strong link between social networking and substance abuse, it is important to remember that not all young social media users are drug or alcohol abusers. However, parents should monitor what their kids are viewing on television and social networks. The survey found that 9 out of 10 parents do not believe that spending time on social networking sites increases the likelihood kids will drink or use drugs, and only 64 percent of parents monitor their child’s use. Parents are encouraged to set limits on computer time and keep tabs on media use.

MDC offers a few suggestions that can help protect your teen while bringing you and your family closer:

Strive for family unity. Kids whose parents •disagree on how they should be raised are three times more likely to use marijuana and twice as likely to use alcohol.

Encourage your child frequently. Your love •and support can help minimize risky behav-iors.

“Play hooky!” Taking a day off work to spend •with your child can make a tremendous dif-ference.

Set academic goals with incentives. On aver-•age, incentives increase work production by 27 percent.

In our technologically-obsessed society, it’s easy to forget that there is a world outside of your laptop or smart phone. It’s time for us all to get from behind the computer screen and take advantage of all that life has to offer.

In P ictures

5

January-March 2012

The use of illicit drugs among American teens increased between 2008 and 2010, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Survey on Drug Use and Health. This survey indicated that 22.6 million teens age 12 and older (8.9 percent of the population) were current illegal drug users.

Use of prescription drugs without medical supervision remains a top concern. In 2011, 22 percent of high school seniors said they had misused at least one prescription drug — the same rate recorded in the 2007 survey. Most teens obtain prescriptions from friends and family. Less than 5 percent reported getting their supply from a drug dealer or on the Internet.

Marijuana use represents a growing problem. Daily or near-daily use of marijuana rose among teens of all ages with 6.6 percent of students admitting past use, the highest rate since 1981. According to the 2011 Knox County Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 22.2 percent of students have used marijuana in the past month, compared to 19.3 percent in the 2007 survey. The rise in teen marijuana use is largely responsible for an overall increase in youth drug use over the past four years, as reported by Lloyd D. Johnston of the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research.

Experts say that medical marijuana laws may have lead to this increase by making the drug more easily available and seemingly less harmful. When asked about perception of harm, many teens said they don’t think of marijuana as dangerous, therefore “we can predict that use of marijuana is going to increase,” Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said.

Synthetic marijuana, such as K-2 and Spice, is also trending. The survey found that almost 10 percent of high school seniors have used synthetic marijuana. Synthetic marijuana contains cannabinoids that act similarly to marijuana but are thought to be more dangerous. Several states, including Tennessee, have banned chemicals found in synthetic marijuana. However, the drug is still widely available online.

But it’s not all bad news. Fewer teens drink and smoke cigarettes than in any time in the past 30 years, health experts say. Since 1991, the number of 8th grade students reporting alcohol use within the past 30 days has declined by half, to 13 percent. Binge drinking among high school seniors has also dropped from 41 percent in 1981 to 22 percent in 2011. Among 10th, 11th 12th graders, a combined 11.7 percent said they smoked within the past 30 days, down from 12.8 percent in the 2010 survey. Declines were also seen in the use of inhalants, crack cocaine, the painkiller Vicodin, the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drug Adderall and over-the-counter cold and cough medicines.

Substance abuse is an issue that starts at home. We must promote the right choices and educate our children about drug use.

“We stand at a crossroads in our nation’s efforts to prevent substance abuse and addiction,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. “These statistics represent real lives that are at risk from the harmful and sometimes devastating effects of illicit drug use. This nation cannot afford to risk losing more individuals, families and communities to illicit drugs or from other types of substance abuse — instead, we must do everything we can to effectively promote prevention, treatment and recovery programs across our country.”

National student survey shows prescription drug abuse holding steady, marijuana use increasing

Smoke-Free Knoxville volunteers passed out tobacco cessation literature, offered carbon monoxide tests and provided support and encouragement to those looking to quit at the 2011 Great American Smokeout on November 17.

In P ictures

Got unused medicine left over from that pesky flu?

Don’t flush them down the drain! Visit us at our

next drug take-back event on Saturday, March 24

from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. and dispose of your medicines

properly. The collection events are part of a

nationwide effort to reduce the amount of drugs in

home medicine cabinets from either being flushed or

poured down drains. A list of locations is available

at medicationcollection.org or by calling John Homa

at (865) 740-3172.

Make the switch to our eNewsletter

If you’re like most folks these days, you probably

send and receive more messages through email

than snail mail. Our email-obsessed readers can

switch to the electronic edition of MDC’s ALERT by

visiting www.metrodrug.org. You will receive all

the information offered in our print newsletter

electronically. To register, simply enter your name

and email address into our online registration form,

located on the right hand sidebar.

We want to connect with you!

Have a question about a new drug trend or ways you

can prevent substance abuse in your home? Don’t

be shy! Join the conversation on Facebook at www.

facebook.com/MetroDrug or on Twitter @MetroDrug!

6

To submit an article, announcement or suggestion to the Metropolitan Drug Commission’s ALERT newsletter, please contact Heather Sutton at (865) 588-5550 or hsutton@metrodrug.org.

Metropolitan Drug Commission4930 Lyons View Pike • Knoxville, TN 37919

Phone: (865) 588-5550 • Fax: (865) 588-0891 •www.metrodrug.org

ANNOUNCEMENTSImportant Dates

January

1/1-31: National Mentoring Month

1/1: New Year’s Day

1/16: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

February

2/6: Community Prevention Day

2/12-18: National Children of Alcoholics Week

2/14: Valentine’s Day

2/20: Presidents’ Day

March

3/11: Daylight Saving Time begins

3/17: St. Patrick’s Day

3/18-24: Poison Prevention Week

Want to make your New Year’s resolution count?

Commit to making a difference in your community by

joining our Drug-Free Community Coalition. MDC will

host a coalition planning retreat on Tuesday, January

24 at the MDC office from 11 a.m – 2 p.m. to reflect on

last year’s successes and set new goals for 2012.

The coalition will meet again on Tuesday, February

21 and Tuesday, March 20 at noon in the Knox County

Health Department’s Community Room. Thank you to

Cumberland Heights for offering to sponsor lunches for

March. For more information, call (865) 588-5550.

We want to share our passion with you! Throughout 2012, we will devote a section of our newsletter to editorials written by our staff. We hope these pieces will help our readers get to know us a bit more personally and discover the people behind the MDC name.

by Karen Pershing, Executive Director

I began my career in public health in 1986 at the Knox County Health Department as a social counselor. Seeing the same people staying in the same situations motivated me to look for ways I could prevent some of the devastation I witnessed each day. In 1990, I moved into the drug education coordinator position at the health department where I coordinated SADD Chapters in local middle and high schools.

After leaving the health department, my career went in a multitude of directions, from managing a rehabilitation services company to conducting disease surveillance activities to managing the transformation work of the United Way of Greater Knoxville. Each of these experiences has been rich in opportunities to learn from and interact with people from different segments of the community.

My passion for serving others led me to join the Metropolitan Drug Commission in 2010. There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not challenged to do more to help my community. In the past year and a half, I have learned so much about the extent of the drug problem here in Knoxville. Some might

find this daunting, but I find it rewarding. I know that MDC can make a difference in the lives of many. I’ve experienced substance abuse in my own family and encountered many suffering from addiction throughout my public health career. I know that preventing the problem on the front end is essential. Each time I refer a person to addiction treatment, it makes me that much more determined to do whatever I can to make sure my kids, my new grandson and all youth in this community can grow up in a healthy environment, where drug abuse is no longer the way individuals are conditioned to cope with life’s hardships.

I look forward to continuing to work with each of you in 2012. I hope that everyone will do their part to help reduce the burden of substance abuse. In a world free of addiction, our prisons would be practically empty, child neglect cases would be rare, our neighborhoods would be safer, healthcare costs would be lower, workplaces would be more productive and our children would be achieving higher standards in our schools. All of this is possible, but it will not be easy. But I’ve learned that nothing worth doing ever is.

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January-March 2012

Meet the MDC staff

How an investment in prevention can yield enormous Return On Investment (ROI) – continued from page 1

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) noted that “about 70 percent of state and 57 percent of federal prisoners used drugs regularly prior to incarceration.” Of juvenile offenders, “56 percent of the boys and 40 percent of the girls tested positive for drug use at the time of their arrest.” Today, these numbers are likely much higher, causing a huge drain on our tax dollars.

Prevention is an important yet sometimes overlooked means to reduce costs. We often look to fix the problem after it has occurred, rather than preventing it on the front end. A recent cost-benefit analysis found that for every dollar invested in prevention, we save approximately $10 in addiction treatment. By investing in prevention efforts that work, we could save billions of dollars nationally.

“Donors are concerned about return on investment, and rightly so. They want to know that what they give is actually making a difference,” Pershing said. “We know that environmental prevention can yield enormous savings. Now, we have to educate the community and show them that investing in prevention is in fact a good use of their money.”

Want to know more about evidence-based prevention? Check out the “What is prevention?” page at www.metrodrug.org.

METROPOLITAN DRUG COMMISSIONs t r e n g t h e n s f a m i l i e s . p r o t e c t s l i v e s .

4930 Lyons View PikeKnoxville, TN 37919Phone: 865.588.5550Fax: 865.588.0891

VISIT OUR WEBSITE for information about starting or maintaining a Drug-free Workplace

Program; parent resources; treatment options; general drug descriptions, including warning signs and effects; and local and national research about

drug use.www.metrodrug.org

This project is funded under an agreement with The State of Tennessee

Non-Profit Org.

US Postage Paid

Permit #309

Knoxville, TN