NCSL Substance Abuse Snapshot, January 26, 2007

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NCSL Substance Abuse Snapshot

Allison Colker, Editor

January 26, 2007

In This Snapshot:

Emerging Issues

Emerging Issues

Combating Substance Abuse in New Mexico

New Mexico legislators will consider a package of proposals from Gov. Bill Richardson to provide more than $20 million to combat substance abuse and increase access to treatment. Modeled on U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce’s “Clean Town Act,” Richardson’s plan would create registries of convicted felony drug dealers and of meth-affected properties. The registries would be available to law enforcement authorities and members of the public. The Governor also wants to spend more than $28 million on behavioral health programs, with $20 million going to the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders. New Mexico’s “Total Community Approach” program would get $8 million to help individual localities tackle the specific substances that are abused in their area, and another $9 million would go to building a bed treatment center and community-based outpatient program. “Law enforcement plays a big role in our fight against illegal drugs,” Richardson said. “However…we also must invest in treatment for people who wish to reclaim their lives and become productive members of society.”

Study Questions “Gateway Theory” of Drug Use

A new study suggests that a child’s behavioral patterns and neighborhood have as much to do with whether he or she tries marijuana than if the child has tried alcohol or cigarettes first. The study, which appeared in the December American Journal of Psychiatry, questions the “gateway” theory of drug abuse, which theorizes that a child will use legal drugs first, then proceed to soft drugs like marijuana, and then on to harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Instead, the researchers support the “common liability” model, which hypothesizes that behavioral deviancy and genetic risk have the greatest influences on whether an individual will use drugs, legal or non.

The study followed 224 boys from ages 10-12 until they turned 22. Of these, 99 used legal drugs only (alcohol and tobacco); 97 used legal drugs before they started using marijuana; and 28 used marijuana first before using legal drugs. The researchers concluded that a child’s neighborhood – specifically one of poor quality – had the biggest impact on whether a child used marijuana. Patterns of delinquency also had a greater impact on marijuana use than prior use of legal substances. As a result, the researchers recommend early intervention for kids with conduct problems, writing “in effect, the greater the deviancy, the more likely an individual is to use an illegal drug. These findings underscore the need to prevent conduct problems in early childhood to diminish the risk of later illicit drug use.”

NCSL Technical Assistance on Addiction Treatment and Financing

State legislators can call on NCSL to provide technical assistance on the treatment (and financing the treatment) of alcoholism and drug addiction. NCSL can fund a one-day conference, briefing or workshop for a legislative committee or study commission. Technical assistance can include presentations, information and testimony by legislators from other states, as well as treatment experts in the field, state agency directors and university researchers. Agendas are tailored to individual states’ needs; possible subjects include methamphetamine addiction, drug courts, diversion, alcohol and drug abuse by youth, treatment for women, use of TANF funds for treatment, parity and other issues. To learn more about the services NCSL can provide, contact Allison Colker at 202.624.3581 or allison.colker@ncsl.org.

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