Barnstable County Regional Substance Abuse Council 

For more information on this event, view the event flyer.

It is noted within the text of the Request for Response that preference for new sites will be given to Recovery Support Centers located 5 specific areas, one of which is the mid Cape.

The Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center offers no-cost distance learning opportunities featuring courses that present best practices and strategies for enforcement of underage drinking laws and efforts to reduce underage drinking. 

Funded by an OJJDP grant, these web-based, on-line courses allow flexible scheduling, reduce travel costs and offer the ability to learn at your own pace in an online environment. Participants can receive a certificate upon completion of one of these courses.

For more information, view the distance learning website.

In this report by the CDC, interstate variation in rates of prescribing opioids and other prescription drugs prone to abuse, such as benzodiazepines were analyzed in order to assess the potential for improved prescribing of OPR and other drugs. 

 

The study found that the differences in regional prescribing practices varied to such a degree that they were unlikely due to underlying variations in health status. Additionally, high rates indicate in certain regions and states further show the need to identify prescribing practices that might not appropriately balance pain relief and patient safety.  

 

View the report, click here. 

Research Evidence on the Positive Public Health Impact of the Age 21 Minimum Legal Drinking Age

According to a recent review published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, the age 21 minimum legal drinking age saves lives and prevents a range of other harms, despite being often disobeyed and not always enforced.

 

They found that the minimum legal drinking age is associated with a 5 to 9 percent decrease in traffic fatalities for drivers between the ages of 18 and 21 and that heavy-drinking rates for college students have also steadily decreased since 1988, the year by which time all 50 States had adopted the age 21 minimum legal drinking age.

 

The authors of the review suggest that given the research evidence, college and university leaders should accept that the age 21 law saves lives and focus their efforts on "workable policies, stricter enforcement, and other evidence-based prevention efforts that have been demonstrated to reduce underage drinking and alcohol- related problems on campus."  

 

To view the report abstract, click here.