Hope for a Brighter Future
NASHVILLE- The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) is proud to announce that youth substance use trends are declining in Tennessee according to a new report from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration. (Source: SAMHSA Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2006-2008; 2008-2010; 2010-2012; and 2012-2014)
“It is very encouraging to see that in all substance use areas our young people are using substances less; this means prevention efforts are working,” said Marie Williams, TDMHSAS Commissioner. “Youth substance use can take a tremendous toll on individuals, families, and communities. Most Tennesseans know someone’s family who has been impacted by the unfortunate reality of adolescent substance use. For those that have struggled with, been impacted by youth substance use, or been part of the prevention efforts, these new indicators give us hope.”
Substance use declined among Tennessee youth from 2004-2006 to 2012-2014:
- Illicit drug use dropped from 6% to 3%
- Alcohol use declined from 14% to 10%
- Misuse of pain relievers dropped from 9% to 5%
- Cigarette use declined from 13% to 7%
Tennessee’s youth substance use trends have been decreasing at a faster rate than the national average. Tennessee youth illicit drug use has declined and is now at or below the national average. Fewer Tennessee youth (6%) used marijuana in the past month than compared to the United States youth (7%). The full report outlines many positive trends in Tennessee related to youth substance use.
“The Department places an emphasis on education, prevention, treatment and early intervention efforts directed specifically at Tennessee youth,” said Rodney Bragg, TDMHSAS Assistant Commissioner of Substance Abuse Services. “The earlier we can identify and engage youth that are more susceptible to substance use, the more effective our efforts will be.”
“The fact that these key substance use indicators are declining among our youth in Tennessee provides great hope for the future of our State,” said Commissioner Williams. “Our hope is that the culture is changing in Tennessee and that we will also see a decrease in adult substance use trends in the future as well.”
For the full TDMHSAS report on Youth Substance Use Trends, CLICK HERE
If you or someone you know is struggling with a substance use disorder, call Tennessee REDLINE (1 -800-889-9789) or visit http://www.samhsa.gov/find-help.
The Smith County Drug Prevention Coalition had its’ first meeting on January 28, 2011. The Youth Services Officer invited community leaders as well as other sectors of the community to meet and address the increase in underage alcohol and drug abuse consequences among our youth. As our community came together there was agreement that we needed to develop a coalition made up of twelve sectors of the community in order to identify and analyze the scope and root cause of youth substance abuse in Smith County. Once causes and scope were identified we could then build capacity to effectively develop and implement evidence based, community wide prevention strategies. With strong community partners that included (but not limited to) Smith County Mayor and City Mayors, Law Enforcement, Riverview Regional Hospital, Faith Based organizations, Smith County Board of Education, The Chamber of Commerce, Smith County Insider, and the Carthage Courier, as well as many caring volunteers, the coalition began to gather data on local consequences and contributing factors in regards to youth substance abuse. The coalition was funded by the State of Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services in 2012 and has become a center for substance abuse education, data, and resources and continues to gain momentum as more and more of our community members recognize the need to join together to battle the epidemic of addiction. The Smith County Mayor’s Office is the fiscal agent for the coalition. The Youth Services Office: Patrick Warren and Randy Wakefield are key partners as well as Juvenile Judge Michael Collins. Current data is showing that coalitions are making a difference locally and across Tennessee in reducing the number of youth involved in substance abuse. These reductions are a result of the hard work and collaboration of our community and bring a celebration of hope to all who are involved. The goals of the Coalition are to reduce substance abuse among Smith County youth, ages 14-25, in particular underage alcohol use and in the long term reduce substance abuse and related public health problems in the county as a whole. For more information on the Smith County Drug Prevention Coalition please contact us at info@smithcodrugprevention.org or 615-588-1622. Open meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month at the Smith county Chamber of Commerce, 11:00 a.m.
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