COMMUNITY    MATTERS
		Addressing the Issue of Substance Abuse

I’d like to draw your attention to a problem of growing proportions, the affects of which can be seen across our communities, schools, homes, hospitals, and prisons. The problem is substance abuse. This is one of the 17 priority problems identified in our 2007 Community Assessment. There are an estimated 13 million illicit drug users in the United States, while an estimated 20 – 25 million Americans abuse alcohol. Another 12 million are estimated to abuse prescription drugs.

What’s more, Glen Lambert, executive director of the Odyssey House, tells us an estimated 80 percent of those in prison are there partly because of substance abuse problems. Truly, substance abuse is an invasive problem that ripples through all aspects of life, fostering crime, domestic violence, child abuse, homelessness, and medical/neurological issues.

According to the results of a State Substance Abuse Treatment Needs Assessment Survey and Student Health and Risk Prevention Survey, over 100,000 Utah adults and youths were in need of substance abuse treatment in 2006. Within Davis, Salt Lake, Summit, and Tooele Counties, nearly 49,000 adults and 10,000 youths are in need of substance abuse treatment. Summit County, with one of the state’s highest per capita household income levels, also has the highest percentage of adults and youths in need of treatment (13% and 11%, respectively). Clearly, substance abuse impacts all areas of our society. (Read the full article)
 
 Deborah S. Bayle
 President and CEO