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June 30, 2014 Testimony to Dr. Starr and MCPS Board of Education

Good evening, Dr. Starr, Mr. Kaufmann, and members of the Board of Education.

My name is Patty Winters. I am the coordinator of the Brave and Bold Coalition,

which strives to reduce underage substance abuse by providing parents with

strategies to help their children make safe, legal and responsible choices regarding

alcohol and other drugs.

In your June 17 Superintendent Comments, Dr. Starr, you noted we must be

vigilant in continuing to talk about risky behaviors despite the 2013 Monitoring the

Future (MTF) study (http://www.drugabuse.gov/monitoring-future-survey-

overview-findings-2013) indicators that there is a declining trend in risky and

harmful behaviors among our youth.

For sure, we have great kids doing great things and avoiding harmful choices. The

caveat lies in the reality that many of our adolescents walk with a foot in both

worlds as they work to define their core values in a culture immersed in powerful,

negative influences [such as misinformed views on marijuana# (which is harmful to

their developing brain and remains a gateway to risky behaviors for tweens and

teens lacking a mature prefrontal cortex), easier access to opiates and other

prescription pills, and too many parents who still think “experimenting” with

alcohol or other drugs is a rite of passage or lack knowledge or backbone on how

to set limits], all reinforced in the media and exacerbated with inappropriate use of

social media, and all at an unprecedented scale.

I am talking about the senior who testified in Teen Court that he was not a bad kid

for using marijuana because he had just been awarded his Eagle Scout badge the

previous week; the sophomore president of her class and sports team captain who

lost both privileges because she was caught drinking by the Police, the junior

National Honor Society member who bought Adderall from a peer to help her do

well in her AP classes.* These are not hypothetical examples; I know each case

first-hand and others, and they are why Brave and Bold exists.

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Please, please give this matter equal attention as you do with the Connecting Youth

to Opportunity, cyber civility, bell times and other matters that have dedicated

work groups, town meetings, and MCPS website visibility. The Community

Forum last fall and its subsequent Parent Academy are a good start, but there many

more opportunities for MCPS – as a critical part of the proverbial village – to

engage teachers, counselors, parents and community stakeholders in keeping our

children safe and drug-free.

Rachel Boxman’s suggestion to partner with coaches and PTSA leaders is a perfect

example of where the rubber meets the road, and therefore a great place to start. I

have listed other resources and suggestions below my signature, and look forward

to hearing your feedback at the next quarterly report on Public Comment.

Thank you,

Patty Winters

Coordinator, Brave and Bold Coalition

*See http://www.drugfree.org/newsroom/adderall-abuse-increases-among-high-school-

students/?utm_source=Join+Together+Daily&utm_campaign=39f4d18dc5-

JT_Daily_News_New_York_Los_Angeles&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_97f4d27738-

39f4d18dc5-221529213

# See National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) resources a) Drug Fact Sheet,

http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/commonly-abused-drugs/health-effects#marijuana; b)

MTF report on increased marijuana use by teens, http://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/nida-

notes/2014/04/in-nationwide-survey-more-students-use-marijuana-fewer-use-other-drugs; and c)

Drugged driving, http://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/drugged-driving

Addenda

Current Substance Abuse Trends among Montgomery County Youth

The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)

2013 Report: http://phpa.dhmh.maryland.gov/cdp/SitePages/youth-risk-survey.aspx

Another reason to Keep the Local Growing Heroin Addiction/Overdose

Problem at the Forefront of Our Efforts

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July 28 Washington Post article on the spike in heroin-related deaths, including an outstanding

MCPS student: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/heroin-deaths-spike-in-

maryland/2014/06/27/5a0dd2ce-fe18-11e3-8176-f2c941cf35f1_story.html

Please review and fix the following outdated/non-functioning items on the

MCPS website Department of Safety and Security screen

(http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/security/), which has not been

updated since 2010:

1. Safe Schools 24-hour Hotline: 301.517.5995: I let this number ring for sixty seconds; it

ended with a busy signal.

2. Drug Tip Hotline: 240.773.DRUG (3784): See what happens when you click on the link.

The number gives the following recorded message: “You have reached a non-working

number of Montgomery County Government.

3. The Bullying Information and Reporting tab

(http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/bullying/) was last updated August, 2010

and contains outdated information, such as the GUIDE item.

4. The “Hear something? Say Something!” link in the Students column of the Department of

School Safety and Security site on the MCPS homepage: it does not take you to the screen

with the Text-A-Tip information site. This is the closest I could find on an internet search:

http://montgomerycountymd.libguides.com/content.php?pid=38448&sid=3406313.

5. The peer-mediated version of Screening for Brief Intervention for Referral and Treatment

[SBIRT a best-practice model; see the SBIRT for Youth booklet

(http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/Practitioner/YouthGuide/YouthGuide.pdf) and pocket

guide

(http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/Practitioner/YouthGuide/YouthGuidePocket.pdf)

created by the NIAAA] known as electronic screening and brief intervention (eSBI:

http://www.thecommunityguide.org/alcohol/eSBI.html);,

Suggested links/information for Department of School Safety and Security site

on MCPS website: 1. The US HHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Opioid Overdose Prevention Toolkit: http://store.samhsa.gov/product/Opioid-Overdose-

Prevention-Toolkit/SMA13-4742

2. The Maryland State Report from the 2013 Report to Congress on the Prevention and

Reduction of Underage Drinking submitted to Congress by The U.S. Department of

Health and Human

Services.https://www.stopalcoholabuse.gov/media/ReportToCongress/2013/state_reports/

maryland_profile.pdf

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3. From the Keeping It SAFE

(http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DLCLRE/Community/keepingitsafe.html)

coalition: Montgomery County has the following resource available to all residents: The

SAFE line 301-670-SAFE (7233). This phone line is dedicated to providing support to

Montgomery County residents on youth alcohol issues. The two functions are:

a. To Report (anonymously) the following: underage (under 21) drinking, an

upcoming underage drinking party, an adult providing or serving alcohol to youth or

adults selling alcohol to youth. If the previously described activities are currently taking

place then call the non-emergency 301-279-8000 or when a life is in danger-911.

b. To Request: assistance when planning an under 21 alcohol free activity.

3. The MADD website link regarding underage drinking and what parents can do:

http://www.madd.org/underage-drinking/the-power-of-parents/

4. Many Voices for Smart Choices http://www.manyvoicessmartchoices.org).

5. The Partnership for Drug-free Kids: http://www.drugfree.org/.

6. Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking

(ICCPUD): https://www.stopalcoholabuse.gov/Default.aspx

7. From the National Institute on Drug Abuse, their Easy-to-Read Drug Facts website:

http://easyread.drugabuse.gov/

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Science Education resource for

implementation in the Health Education Curriculum

Free materials at http://science.education.nih.gov/index.html, including The Brain:

Understanding Neurobiology Through the Study of Addiction:

http://science.education.nih.gov/customers.nsf/HSAddiction.htm