STUDY: MORE SUBSTANCE-ABUSE EDUCATION NEEDED

STOCKTON - More young people need to be taught about the destructive
effects substance abuse has on families and communities in the San
Joaquin Valley, according to a new study chronicling public concerns
about methamphetamine in the eight-county region stretching from
Lodi to Bakersfield.

The study also found more residential facilities are needed to treat
drug abusers and start them on the road back to becoming productive
citizens.

The study, "Local Solutions to Regional Issues: A Report from the
Methamphetamine Recovery Project," was prepared for the California
Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley by the Central California Social
Welfare Evaluation, Research and Training Center at California State
University, Fresno. It focuses on meth use but doesn't just quantify the
problem, it offers recommendations on what next steps should be taken in
the Valley to address the issues of education, prevention, treatment and
recovery.

In creating the study, public forums were held throughout the Valley
last summer and fall in which 758 people participated. The Meth
Recovery Project report highlights community-specific efforts and
describes what programs, legislation and policies are needed to
support a comprehensive approach to meth addiction and other types of
substance abuse.

The forums produced the following priorities for what needs to be
done next:

- - Expand public drug awareness and education activities, particularly
early in life.

- - Expand the availability of residential treatment, especially for
vulnerable and at-risk populations.

- - Initiate a system of consistent, comprehensive, publicly funded
recovery services.

- - Engage and mobilize Valley residents to address the threat of
methamphetamine and other forms of substance abuse in their
communities.

"This report represents evidence of a regional consensus of what
works, what doesn't work and what is needed if the Valley is to
confront and reduce the effects of methamphetamine and other
substances," said Virginia Rondero Hernandez, principal investigator
for the Methamphetamine Recovery Project.

Meth production, use and abuse has been the scourge of the San
Joaquin Valley for many years, going well beyond just affecting the
individuals involved with the illegal drug. It's well known that
families are disrupted and whole communities are impacted, despite
millions of dollars thrown at the problems it creates. Those dollars
primarily fund law enforcement and incarceration.

"You are always talking about the money," said Cary Martin of
Stockton, chairman of the San Joaquin County Mental Health Board who
also co-chairs the regional Meth Recovery Project.

"We can't realistically deal with this at the county level because we
can't get the money down at this level either with state or federal
money, but they seem to readily fund the penal system," Martin said,
believing that to be shortsighted.

In San Joaquin County, the Behavioral Health Department operates the
Recovery House Program, a 91-bed, 24-hour residential treatment
facility next to San Joaquin General Hospital. It's open to
individuals trying to kick an addiction to alcohol or drugs,
providing stays from 28 to 90 days and offering individual
counseling, group counseling sessions and various independent
support groups on site. Residents are given chores to do and there is
an active resident council. The program typically houses 65 clients.

Martin is a big believer in providing residential treatment for up to
18 months, removing the individual from the drug environment they are
in, "but it's expensive. That is the best treatment-response modality
we have based on the results. But it's way cheaper than what we are
doing now, which is the state penal system."

[sidebar]

To learn more

For additional information about the Methamphetamine Recovery Project
report, contact Juanita Fiorello with the Central California Social
Welfare Evaluation, Research and Training Center at California State
University, Fresno, at (559) 294-9772 or jfiorello@csufresno.edu.