Chair’s Message
By Ann Mahony
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) recently announced the 2009 results of SAMHSA’s annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). NSDUH serves as the nation’s primary data source of the prevalence, patterns and consequences of substance abuse among people 12 years and older. The downtrend in drug use which began in 2002 was reversed with a reported increase in drug use in 2009. Of note was the continued increase in the prescription drug misuse, which as a class of drugs had more new users than any other class of drugs and is overwhelmingly associated with the non-medical use of pain relievers. Most young people who report the misuse of pain relievers report that it is found in family and friends unsecured medicine cabinets, especially prescribed painkillers. Young people report that because the drugs are prescribed it is thought that they are safer than street drugs.
In the release of the report, there was a 6.6 percent increase of the total population ages 12 and older who used marijuana, an 8 percent increase since 2008. Marijuana users comprise 77 percent of the 16.7 million of the current illicit drug users in the United States. This resulted in a significant increase of marijuana users seeking treatment admissions as compared to 2008 for persons age 12 and older.
Use of medical marijuana is legislatively decided at the state level by popular vote. As of today, 14 states and the District of Columbia have enacted medical marijuana laws. Two states, Maryland and Arizona, have also passed state legislation which is favorable to marijuana, but in which marijuana is not legal. The long term implication is that the potential exists to increase the number of states with legal medical marijuana use. Yet, the body of scientific knowledge continues to indicate that smoked marijuana lacks scientific evidence to support its use.
Many of these issues will be prominent in the 2010 ATOD annual meeting program in Denver including: Non-medical use of prescription drugs; New epidemiological evidence on burden of alcohol in support of the WHO global alcohol strategy; Marijuana as Medicine: Consider the side effects; Building strategic options to Opioid overdose, Health Reform and the Drug addiction system; and, potentially the HHS Strategic Tobacco Initiative. As in previous years, our entire ATOD section program will be published as a discrete program which will be made available online, via blast email and as a published program at all ATOD section meetings and the APHA ATOD Booth 1376. Details will follow.
I welcome all Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug section members and potential members to join the ATOD Section’s 25th Anniversary Celebration of our history of policy leadership. Dr. Tom McLellan will receive the ATOD section’s Lifetime Achievement Award on Tuesday evening, Nov. 9 and will reflect the history of the substance abuse treatment system and its future as health reform unfolds at the awards ceremony reception.
I, along with ATOD Section leadership, look forward to seeing you at the program sessions and events in Denver. Thank you for building a history of stellar program sessions, the Student Poster showcase, and policy leadership.