Is It Time to End the War on Drugs? - King County Bar Association

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4. Improving Washing<strong>to</strong>n’s Drug Abuse Prevention StrategyPrevention GoalsWashing<strong>to</strong>n’s overall prevention goals should be:1) <strong>to</strong> prevent or delay <strong>the</strong> use of alcohol, <strong>to</strong>bacco and o<strong>the</strong>r drugsamong young people;2) <strong>to</strong> reduce <strong>the</strong> harm from and curb <strong>the</strong> progression of alcohol,<strong>to</strong>bacco and o<strong>the</strong>r drug use among youth who have already begun;3) <strong>to</strong> reduce <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r problem behaviors that can co-occur with <strong>the</strong>use of alcohol, <strong>to</strong>bacco and o<strong>the</strong>r drugs; and4) <strong>to</strong> increase <strong>the</strong> availability of school- and community-based preventionservices, especially for vulnerable groups and high-risk individuals.Despite some progress in fur<strong>the</strong>ring <strong>the</strong> understanding of <strong>the</strong> fac<strong>to</strong>rs associatedwith substance abuse, Washing<strong>to</strong>n has not come close <strong>to</strong> attaining any of <strong>the</strong> goals outlinedabove.Prevention science is still in its infancy. The bulk of recent research, based on <strong>the</strong>“risk and protective fac<strong>to</strong>r” paradigm outlined in this report, has illustrated <strong>the</strong> need foryouth <strong>to</strong> develop healthy bonds with peers and adults, <strong>to</strong> take on meaningful responsibilities,<strong>to</strong> be recognized and rewarded and ultimately, <strong>to</strong> develop an increased sense of self-worthand <strong>to</strong> make informed decisions. However, researchers are still struggling <strong>to</strong> explain whataccounts for <strong>the</strong> success of prevention programs that “work.” 96 Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, puttingprevention <strong>the</strong>ory in<strong>to</strong> practice has been extremely difficult, as prevention programs have<strong>to</strong>o often suffered from faulty design, insufficient resources, inadequate training andcommitment of teachers and a lack of support from school administra<strong>to</strong>rs.If Washing<strong>to</strong>n is <strong>to</strong> deal effectively with preventing and minimizing <strong>the</strong> harm fromsubstance abuse, more resources should be allocated for research-validated, school-basedand community-based prevention programs, and also for measures <strong>to</strong> ensure <strong>the</strong>ir properimplementation. Washing<strong>to</strong>n is just beginning <strong>to</strong> establish a statewide structure forimplementing youth-focused substance abuse prevention programs. Appendix C of thisreport provides a summary of Washing<strong>to</strong>n’s current, state-sponsored substance abuseprevention initiatives.The state’s current attempt <strong>to</strong> implement a substance abuse prevention strategy ishampered by limited resources and inconsistent results. The prevalence of alcohol, <strong>to</strong>baccoand o<strong>the</strong>r drug use by minors in Washing<strong>to</strong>n has not decreased, particularly among youngerchildren, and <strong>the</strong>refore, <strong>the</strong> risks of substance abuse and o<strong>the</strong>r problem behaviors have notdecreased.41
The programs implemented under <strong>the</strong> State Incentive Grant, and also <strong>the</strong> Children’sTransition Initiative (each of which are summarized in Appendix C of this report), seem <strong>to</strong>be based on <strong>the</strong> kind of rigorous research that has been <strong>the</strong> foundation for effectiveprevention programs. Those programs should help <strong>to</strong> provide <strong>the</strong> state with more reliabledata on <strong>the</strong> effectiveness of certain prevention strategies. Unfortunately, significant fundingis still being devoted <strong>to</strong> abstinence-only programs that have been shown <strong>to</strong> be ineffective(particularly through <strong>the</strong> federal “Safe and Drug-Free Schools” program), and also <strong>to</strong>universal programs aimed at all youth ra<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>the</strong> more cost-effective and efficaciousprograms targeted at “high-risk” youth.The effort <strong>to</strong> improve Washing<strong>to</strong>n’s prevention strategy is clearly in flux at <strong>the</strong> moment.For <strong>the</strong> people of Washing<strong>to</strong>n, an investment in research-validated programs <strong>to</strong> prevent,delay and reduce <strong>the</strong> harm from <strong>the</strong> use of alcohol, <strong>to</strong>bacco and o<strong>the</strong>r drugs will help <strong>to</strong>avert <strong>the</strong> much higher costs of drug treatment, criminal justice and social and health servicesthat would o<strong>the</strong>rwise arise. Reallocating funding away from drug-related criminalenforcement and <strong>to</strong>ward substance abuse prevention will also reflect <strong>the</strong> proper emphasis onsubstance abuse as principally a social and public health problem.42
Page 7: KING COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATIONDRUG POL
Page 10 and 11: KING COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATIONDRUG POL
Page 12 and 13: IntroductionThe King County Bar Ass
Page 14: Conclusions and RecommendationsEFFE
Page 17 and 18: DRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT (cont.)sym
Page 19 and 20: 11. Opiate-replacement the<
Page 21 and 22: DRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT (cont.)17.
Page 23 and 24: Assessing the Effe
Page 25 and 26: Current Drug Policy Reforms• Citi
Page 27 and 28: ___________________________________
Page 29 and 30: Formal research studies of adolesce
Page 31 and 32: methodological difficulties in esti
Page 33 and 34: Risk Factors and P
Page 35 and 36: Protective Factors
Page 37 and 38: 3. The Promise and Perils of Drug A
Page 39 and 40: Prevention strategies have been des
Page 41: Universal prevention programs gener
Page 45 and 46: SECTION IIDRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT:
Page 47 and 48: 2. Society is justified in offering
Page 49 and 50: 4. Treatment is an effective respon
Page 51 and 52: 5. Some basic principles should inf
Page 53 and 54: “11. Possible drug use during tre
Page 55 and 56: There are currently drug courts in
Page 57 and 58: “become almost illusory.” <stro
Page 59 and 60: ___________________________________
Page 61 and 62: levels” for some drug offenses 16
Page 63 and 64: treatment, drug testing and o<stron
Page 65 and 66: to the</st
Page 67 and 68: and especially considering
Page 69 and 70: Those with problems are heavily con
Page 71 and 72: Just as it is difficult to<
Page 73 and 74: The federal criminal justice system
Page 75 and 76: A core principle of Washing
Page 77 and 78: Rehabilitation is the</stro
Page 79 and 80: Damaging Collateral Effects of <str
Page 81 and 82: have been so overwhelmed with drug
Page 83 and 84: creates a conflict of interest that
Page 85 and 86: The links between illegal drug prod
Page 87 and 88: convicted.” 351 Proposition 36 al
Page 89 and 90: non-violent offenders facing length
Page 91 and 92: is still supervised by the<
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emedies may be appropriate, and <st
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___________________________________
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have shown less promise, especially
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Unique Opportunities in Washing<str
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State of Washingto
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This program provides to</s
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way.”9 According to</stro
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Best states: “ They are basically
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4, pp. 590-593, who state that <str
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109 For a summary of the</s
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Profile report is available on line
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to anothe<
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program of drug treatment that begi
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237 No deaths have ever been record
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290 A special exception to<
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Following the pass
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Academy of Arts and Sciences, vol.
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Is It Time to End the War on Drugs? - King County Bar Association

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