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Legislative Report: Substance abuse a top concern |
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Monday, 29 October 2007 |
I was recently appointed to serve on the governor’s Alcohol and Drug Prevention Advisory Task Force. Our task force recently heard testimony on a number of troubling statistics regarding the use and abuse of alcohol and drugs in our state. The report below is one of the most alarming.
The State Epidemiological Outcomes Work Group (SEOW) was initiated in 2006 by the North Dakota Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. Funding for the project was provided by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental health Services Administration. (SAMHSA). The mission of the state association is to utilize relevant state, tribal, and local data to guide substance use prevention planning, programming and evaluation.
The following information includes some excerpts from the results of the review:
North Dakota has the highest rates in the nation in recent alcohol use and binge drinking, regardless of age group. For example, among North Dakotans age 12 to 20 years, 42.7 percent consumed alcohol in the past 30 days and 32.3 percent engaged in binge alcohol use in the past 30 days (National Survey on Drug Use and Health). Both of these figures are the highest in all 50 states. In a similar vein, the state ranks near the bottom among U.S. states regarding the percent of persons who perceive great harm associated with drinking five or more drinks at a time on two or more occasions in the past month. The finding strives to understand why binge drinking rates are so high in North Dakota: Many simply perceive no or little, mental or societal harm associated with this behavior.
There is evidence that alcohol use and abuse is generational in North Dakota: Children and young adults are following the example of the state’s adults who use and abuse alcohol at the highest rate in the country. Now, North Dakota children and young adults, those who are not of the legal drinking age, are also number one in the nation for recent alcohol use and binge drinking. Further, North Dakota students grades 9-12 are substantially more likely than their U.S. counterparts to have recently driven a vehicle after consuming alcohol. Among recent DUI arrests in the state, people age 21-24 are the most frequent offenders and their arrest rate has substantially increased in recent years (N.D. Office of Attorney General, 2006).
A harsh potential consequence of alcohol use is prison time. In 2002, 823 inmates entered prison in North Dakota. Of this number, 42.6 percent were drug and alcohol offenders; 35.2 percent were property offenders; 14.6 percent were violent crime offenders; and 7.5 percent were sex offenders.
In the years 2004 to 2005, 884 male offenders entered the North Dakota prison system for the following criminal offenses: drug and alcohol (40 percent); property crimes (25 percent); violent crimes (21 percent); sexual crimes (seven percent); DUI (four percent); and other (three percent). In that same year, 168 female offenders entered the North Dakota prison system for the following criminal offenses: drug and alcohol (55 percent); property crimes (32 percent); violent crimes (seven percent): DUI (four percent); and sexual crimes (two percent).
The human and other costs associated with these statistics is indeed alarming. Child abuse and neglect is one of the many serious consequences of this behavior. We continue to experience traffic fatalities, high rates of incarceration coupled with the associated costs to the judicial system. Additionally, there are costs to social services, performance or lack thereof in workplace, costs to our system of health care, the list goes on and on. We are also losing family, friends and loved ones. There is no way we can ever begin to place a cost on the loss of lives.Our task force will continue to meet and attempt to identify programs and initiatives that will serve to curtail these alarming statistics. Our task is monumental. The concern is real. There are many areas in which North Dakota is proud to be in a leadership position. This is certainly not one of them.Until next time, please contact us with your thoughts and or concerns:
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; pmueller @nd.gov or
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Editor’s Note: Robinson is a senator in North Dakota’s legislature. He is a Democrat and lives in Valley City.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 23 May 2008 )
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