Paper Example on Substance Abuse Trend and Response Task Force

Introduction

Drug abuse is currently considered to be one of the most dangerous menaces among the people living in the specific community. This kind of predicament is not only considered as an enemy of an individual's health but also a threat to country's security and economic status. Once the drug users have reached the addiction stage where one cannot do anything without the influence of specific drugs, he/she will do anything to get the drug and consume it, to cater for the body's demand. Additionally, once an individual is addicted to a certain drug, composure is lost and the ability to make concise and healthy decisions declines; a factor that has been the reason behind elevated crime rates, especially from Colorado State in the United States of America. According to Sullivan, drug addicts are economically inactive in that they spend much of their time on drugs as compared to the time spent in productive activities. As a result, the country loses because human resources go into waste, productivity time is spent in irrelevant drug-related activities and the consequence is low revenue collection and incomes. In this context, the United States of America and particularly in the state of Colorado, the issue of drug abuse and drug trafficking has been a topic of concern and United States of America is ranked third among the top ten countries affected by the drug menace.

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One of the organizations, Substance abuse Trend, and Response Taskforce, has been working closely with the local government of Colorado to see to it that the issue of the drug and substance abuse reduces significantly in the region. Since its inception in 2013, by the Colorado general assembly, the task force remains committed to delivering its roles. Among them are an examination of the drug trends and patterns, elucidating the most effective models and practices which can be instrumental in the prevention as well as intervening in the interception of drug and substance abuse. In relation to this, it actively engaged in streamlining the health sector as far as their contribution to drug abuse is concerned. In this line, it ensures that pharmacists and other health practitioners practice professional drug dispensation and comply with the rules governing drug sale and administration. Secondly, the body is responsible for the formulation of response mechanisms and strategies to the impromptu and emerging substance drug-related issues that may emanate from criminal justice, treatment sectors and prevention measures. Thirdly, it has to formulate precautionary measures that protect children and other individuals vulnerable to the adverse effects of abuse of illicit substances. Lastly, the body works with the local communities in the implementation of the policies set to curb substance abuse.

The Task Force Membership and Meetings

In most cases, the members of the Colorado Substance Abuse Trend and Response Task Force hold their meetings in February, March, August, and November of every year and the meetings are attended by the chairperson, the three-voice chairpersons, and twenty members. The serving chairperson of the body is Cynthia H. Coffins. She doubles as Colorado's attorney general. The three vice-chairpersons of the task force are; Marc Condoning, Jerry Peters and Jose Equable. In the year 2015, the task force met twice, convening a stakeholder's session with Subspace Newborn Starring Committee and the Colorado Consortium for the Prescription and Drug Abuse Prevention.

This agency gets its funding from trustworthy sources and for a long time, Ell Palmar foundation has proven to be of much importance due to its reliable and accurate data. Apart from this foundation, it also gets its findings from Colorado Alliance for Drug Endangered Children and rises above Colorado firms.

Members of the task force include the following: Chairperson: Attorney General Cynthia H. Coffman. The task force has three deputy chairpersons and each of them is tasked with the respective responsibilities as follows; Marc Condoning - Director of Community Treatment and Recovery Programs; Office of Behavioral Health, Colorado Department of Human Services. Jerry Peters - Criminal Justice; Commander of Thornton Department of Police and President of the Colorado Drug Prevention Investigators. Jose Esquire - Director, Office of Community Engagement, Colorado Department of Law, And Office of the Attorney General

Some other members include Governor's Policy Staff Representative: Adrienne Russ man, Policy Advisor. Senate Minority Leader Designee: Sen. Michael Johnston, Senate District 33. Speaker of the House Designee: Rep. Rhonda Fields, House District 42. President of the Senate Designee: Dan Rubinstein, District Attorney, 21st Judicial District. House Minority Leader Designee: Rep. Kathleen Cont. Major Health Facility: Dr. Kathryn Wells, Medical Director, Denver Health Local Child and Family Service Providers: Julia Rousakis, Savior House/Child Protection Services. Human Service Agency: Lorena Schmidt, Colorado Department of Human Services, Division of Child Welfare. Mental Health Treatment Provider: Liz Hickman, Ph.D., Centennial Mental Health Center. Colorado Department of Education: Vacant. Criminal Defense Bar: Greg Daniels, Attorney of Haddon, Morgan, and Foreman. Colorado District Attorneys Council: Vacant. County Sheriffs of Colorado: Sheriff Jim Bicker, Fremont County. Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police: Chief Michael Root, Town of Platteville. Organization Providing Advocacy and Support to Rural Municipalities: Rachel Allen, Colorado Municipal League, Staff Attorney. County Commissioner from a Rural County: Wendy Buxton-Andrade, Prowers County Commissioner. Licensed Pharmacist: Robert J. VA luck, Ph.D., D.Ph., University of Colorado, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Colorado Department of Public Safety: Peggy Hail, Division of Criminal Justice, Office of Research and Statistics

Colorado Department of Corrections/Adult Parole: Melissa Gallardo, Manager, Division of Adult Parole, Community Corrections and Youth Offender Systems. Office of Child's Representative: Dorothy Macias, Office of Child's Representative

State Judicial Department: Judge Dan Kaur, 8th Judicial District, Larimer County Justice Center Amy Gingery, Office of the State Court Administrator. Substance Abuse Recovery Organization: Mike Britton, Phoenix Multisport. Colorado Drug Investigators Association: Jim Gerhardt, Thornton Police Department Environmental Protection: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment: Lindsey Meyers, Injury, Suicide and Violence Prevention Branch, Prevention Services Division

Community Prevention Coalition: Lisa Noble, Colorado Prevention Connection, and Gold Belt Build a Generation. Colleen Bresnahan, Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Colorado Department of Human Services, Office of Behavioral Health: Vacant

Task Force Priorities

During the fiscal year 2016, the members of the task force discussed and reached a mutual agreement on the following; taskforce communication, prevention, policy and practice recommendations. For the prevention, the task force members during this time agreed on that it is essential for them to promote researched informed prevention practices and programs. These programs not only for educating youth and adults but also instilling some of the resilient actions that yield a drug-free environment. This could be done whether at home, in the community or could aswell be accomplished at schools. Better still, it was revealed that the federal funding between 2004 and 2014 was significant in enhancing and improving the community-based substance abuse prevention efforts. In the process, that task force learned that there is right community-based pronation substance abuse which is prevalent in the state. However, this concept is not well known and in most of the occasion, and the effort is underfunded. Consequently, in the recent years, the aspect of insufficient financial resources has been seen as a hindrance as far as substance abuse prevention in the state of Colorado is concerned. Consequently, in its 2016 fiscal year, the Colorado State government allocated approximately $ 7,125,000 and approved the disbursement of the funds at the same time. Although it was generated from the marijuana tax fund, it targeted the community youth and substance abuse prevention. The focus was the implementation of the drug abuse preventive measures among communities through what the Colorado government described as the That Care Model. The funds which are driven from the marijuana tax are managed by the Colorado department of public health. The funds are also disseminated to the local public health department for the state fiscal year 2016-2017. The purpose of the funds is mainly to boost the success of the evidence-based substance.

Coming second was the practice policy recommendations and the following were agreed. First, there was a need to add on the increased access to naloxone with which the whole task force of the state gave a consent on the increment of the access of the naloxone. Naloxone was discovered during the reverse opioid overdose and stood as one of the strategies for the period 2016. To reach such a solution, the task force reviewed data which was analyzed by the Colorado health institute. The data showed the overall statewide rate of the drug overdose death. According to the data, deaths related to drug overdoses increased by a whopping 68% in a span of twelve years, the period between 2002 to 2014. The task force also enlisted the aspect of the Naloxone workgroup of the state consortium for prescription drug abuse and prevention. This was a particular measure to determine various strategies which could greatly increase access to Naloxone. It was also done wrong through poor law enforcement by incompetent law enforcement personnel who served the state over that period of time. For this to fully function, there had to be a partnership with various groups in the state to spearhead the implementation.

Another area which the organization has been really concerned with is the aspect of medication-assisted treatment. In this area, the task force was to ask treatment workgroup of the Colorado consortium for specific prescriptions of drug abuse preventions. The aim of this was to prepare a recommendation purposed for expansion of the medical-based treatments in the state of Colorado.

Responses to Substance Abuse Issue in Colorado

Community Connection and Assistance

The crucial issue of equal significance is offering to assist the local communities with different implementation of effective drug and substance abuse prevention practices. The move can yield a potential decrease in drug abuse. Therefore, the task force saw it better to collaborate with local communities in the eradication of drug consumption.

Medication Assisted Treatment(MAT)

The co-chairs of the Treatment Work Group, Paula Riggs, MD, and Denise Vincanol, briefed the task force members on the efficacy of MAT and the gaps as well as barriers in Colorado to expanding MAT.

Opioid addiction is a neurobiological-based medical disorder. Opioid addicts indicate a high mortality rate, high incarceration rates, and elevated relapse rates. For individuals who desire to seek treatment for their addiction, there is a severe lack of substance abuse treatment in Colorado, especially Medication Assisted Treatment. The task force asked the Treatment Work Group of the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention to prepare recommendations for expanding Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) in Colorado to assist individuals with treatment for opiate addiction and the follo...