Coalitions Online

This week, an important decision was made on the potential integration of the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

While research supports the importance of community and systems change as a means of achieving population-level outcomes, there is little research on the process by which coalitions become effective. A recent study published by the Journal of Community Psychology indicates that CADCA’s problem solving framework for provides coalitions with an effective model for becoming community “change agents.”

Do you have an innovative strategy and successes to share with the field? What has your coalition done or is currently doing that you think would be useful for other coalitions in their work? On Monday, Feb. 4, you will have the opportunity to share you work with the coalition field and network with individuals from all across the country and from other parts of the world.

Join us in February for the 2013 National Leadership Forum, the nation’s largest meeting for community prevention leaders, treatment professionals and researchers, and SAMHSA/CSAP’s 9th Prevention Day! We have an exciting program planned with bigger and better workshops, more networking opportunities, and dynamic plenary sessions. We’re returning to the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center, right on the banks of the Potomac River and just 15 minutes from downtown Washington, D.C.

Your prevention efforts are helping people all around the country celebrate this holiday safely.

While marijuana is still illegal under federal law, statewide legal recreational use in Washington and Colorado has caused the law enforcement sector additional concerns about drugged driving.

Since receiving one of seven National Network Community Transformation Grants (CTG) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CADCA has expanded its prevention portfolio to include the science and strategies related to tobacco use prevention and control.

CADCA staff spent their day off on a Sunday morning walking and running to honor our nation’s veterans at the Veterans Day 10K and Fun Walk in Washington, DC. It’s this kind of commitment that has made our VetCorps program effective.

In honor of National Substance Abuse Prevention Month, the Ward 1 Drug Free Coalition in collaboration with The DC Prevention Center for Wards 1 and 2 and The National Capital Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking held a successful symposium on Emerging New Drugs & Their Impact on Youth on Wednesday.

A Chesterfield County (Va.) initiative, Compliance Checks: A Community Approach was among those recognized recently as Bright Ideas by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Thirty of America’s 50 largest cities are now covered by laws that prohibit smoking in all indoor areas of private workplaces, restaurants, and bars, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By late 2000, only one of the 50 largest U.S. cities—San Jose, Calif.—was covered by such a law. As of Oct. 5, 2012, 16 of the 50 largest cities were covered by local comprehensive smoke-free laws, and 14 more were covered by state comprehensive smoke-free laws.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy has rescheduled its Twitter chat in honor of the second annual National Substance Abuse Prevention Month to Friday, Nov. 9, from 2-3 p.m. EST.

Every year since 1977, on the third Thursday of November, smokers and local community coalitions across the nation have taken part in the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout.

A new University of Cincinnati study found that boys are more likely than girls to abuse over-the-counter (OTC) drugs.

The Roanoke (Va.) Area Youth Substance Abuse Coalition received the 2012 DEA Community Drug Prevention Award at the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Red Ribbon Rally October 24.