Substance Abuse

Project Unite, Healthy Androscoggin’s community-based substance abuse prevention steering committee is working on several initiatives to curb youth substance use. There is representation from school substance abuse counselors, law enforcement, social service, treatment providers, parents, school administrators, school resource officers, district attorney’s office, and media/business leaders. To get involved with Project Unite, please email Healthy Androscoggin. gagnonsc@cmhc.org

For Parents:

• Parent Tips for Preventing Youth Alcohol or Drug Use
• Parents Who Host, Lose the Most
• Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse tips for parents.
• Inhalant abuse prevention tips for parents.
• Families in Action Free family communication workshop for parents and teens in 6th-9th grade.

For Communities:

• Medicine Disposal/Take-Back program.
• Tips for Safe Medicine Disposal

For Schools:

• Drug Impairment Training for Education Professionals
• Email: Scott Gagnon, Drug Free Communities Project Coordinator, gagnonsc@cmhc.org or call 795-2120 to get information on how to bring this training to your school.
  

For Retailers:

• State-approved Server Seller trainings (PDF 2010-11) To register, email lauzeka@cmhc.org.
• Card ME, a free one-hour consultation , on-site and at the business’s convenience, to review and establish policies  that prevent underage sales of alcohol and tobacco.
• To find out more about these programs email Healthy Androscoggin.

Androscoggin County Alcohol Enforcement Team - Collaboration with Local Law Enforcement Reduce Youth Access to Alcohol:

• Party Patrols - Patrols by local law enforcement during high use times such as sporting events, holidays, proms and graduation.
• Store Surveillance - Monitoring store parking lots for those over 21 that are purchasing alcohol for those under 21.
• Investigations - Investigating underage drinking incidences to determine the source of the alcohol.
• Compliance Checks -Identifying alcohol establishments that sell alcohol to underage youth and to enforce state statutes. We also use compliance checks as an educational tool for merchants and other liquor licensees.

Substance Abuse Resource Guide (PDF 737 Kb)

Androscoggin County Substance Abuse Prevention Plan: A Guide to Action for our Community (PDF 3722 Kb)

The Challenges:

• The 2011 Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (MIYHS) reported that 25% of Androscoggin County students in grades eight through twelve drank alcohol within one month of the survey, and 14% reported binge drinking (five or more alcoholic beverages in a row) wit hin two weeks of the survey.
• Research indicates that teens who begin drinking at an early age experience real change in the way their brain functions. In fact, 40% of kids who begin drinking before age 15 will develop alcohol abuse or dependence at some point in their lives.¹
• Data indicates that over one in five (22%) Androscoggin County high school students used marijuana in the past 30 days.
• Over 45% of high school students in Androscoggin County believe there is little to no risk from regular use of marijuana.  Over 40% believe there is little to no risk from daily alcohol use.
• According to MIYHS, only 38% of high school students report having conversations with their parents in the past 12 months about the dangers of tobacco, alcohol, or other drug use.

¹ Grant BE, Dawson DA 1997. Age of onset of alcohol use and association with DSM-IV alcohol abuse and dependence: Results from the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey. Journal of Substance Abuse 9:103-110