Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Indian Country Training January Newsletter
Click here to read the January Indian Country Newsletter about working together to stop gang violence, upcoming training and more!
Heroin and Synthetic Drugs Webinar
Click here to register for the Heroin and Synthetic Drugs Webinar
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Tribal Communities Launch Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Program
North Dakota tribal communities are working with state agencies to find ways to make sure those who need these drugs get them, while keeping them out of the hands of abusers. To learn more about this campaign, visit http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=54433
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
The first webinar in the Online Professional Development Series for the Tribal Prescription Drug Abuse and Drug Endangered Children Training Program, moderated by Steven Juneau, is available for viewing!
This webinar is an examination of the contemporary prescription drug and drug endangered children issues currently taking place in Indian Country. The webinar topics include an overview of substance abuse including opioids, depressants, and stimulants. Substance abuse discussion also focuses on the impact drugs have on children. The webinar concludes with an examination of free resources available and proactive tribal initiatives currently implemented.
This webinar is an examination of the contemporary prescription drug and drug endangered children issues currently taking place in Indian Country. The webinar topics include an overview of substance abuse including opioids, depressants, and stimulants. Substance abuse discussion also focuses on the impact drugs have on children. The webinar concludes with an examination of free resources available and proactive tribal initiatives currently implemented.
To view this webinar, click here.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Heroin: Our Next Major Battle?
Article published in Indian Country Today.
For a decade, heroin use has been declining across the United States, and particularly in Indian Country. The Indian Country Drug Threat Assessment of 2008 showed 15 percent less heroin use than in 2000, and a proportional drop in the number of heroin-related crimes or people seeking treatment on reservations. But troubling new numbers, released in August by the Justice department and statewide drug enforcement programs show that heroin use may be on the rise again, threatening community well-being, public health and law enforcement resources.
Mexican drug cartels have been producing heroin in record quantities, and both black tar and brown powder heroin have flooded U.S. markets. Because of its prevalence and low price, heroin is replacing both cocaine and prescription drugs for some users.
We monitor dangerous drug trends. Our training clients and relatives are telling us they are starting to see an increase in heroin use in our tribal communities. Vigilance is key. These drugs will greatly impact the quality of life, health, and safety of our communities.
For over 6 years we have been sounding the alarm that prescription drug diversion has been a growing problem in Indian Country and designed training specific to its abuse in our tribal communities. As prescription drug monitoring programs and other proactive efforts are reducing the availability of prescription drugs, particularly opiate based drugs such as OxyContin and Vicodin, we now believe the return of heroin is imminent.
In Indian Country and nationwide, the problem of prescription drug abuse has opened the door to heroin. Researchers at Drexel recently released a study showing that about 80 percent of people who abuse heroin started with prescription painkillers in their teens, and drifted into injecting heroin within two years. Oxycodone (as in OxyContin or Percocet) and heroin are chemically indistinguishable, except that heroin is often impure or prepared with unknown quantities of ingredients.
As heroin floods across the Mexican border and through the heartland en route to large cities, communities in its path–including in Indian Country–suffer increased addiction, overdoses, and deaths. Since the 2008 Drug Threat Assessment, deaths from overdoses have increased 7%, resulting in the highest overall numbers of heroin deaths since 2000. Overdoses have rocketed in 60 U.S. counties in 30 states, particularly impacting tribal members in California, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin. Heroin addiction is now the leading reason for seeking drug-related treatment at publicly funded facilities.
Some of the deaths and overdoses can be attributed to prescription drug abusers, who are attracted by heroin’s availability and low price. Like new heroin users, prescription painkiller addicts frequently overdose on heroin because they are unfamiliar with their tolerance levels, or because the heroin itself is impure. Not only is the Mexican brown powdered heroin more potent than pharmaceuticals; it can be more potent than previously available kinds of heroin. Dealers often mix the powder with potent Asian or black tar heroin or pharmaceutical opiates, with unpredictable results.
Serious health risks among heroin abusers injecting the drug also come from infections and diseases, namely HIV and AIDS, hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases, and other viral or bacterial infections from sharing unclean injection equipment. Many of these ailments are sexually transmitted or otherwise communicable, affecting non-users as well. Alarmingly, many prescription drug abusers in tribal communities are accustomed to injecting drugs using needles from diabetic patients.
Property crime and gang violence are two other ills that accompany increased heroin trafficking in Indian Country. Property crimes attributable to heroin use have increased to about 20% of all drug-related crimes nationwide. National gangs on Southwest and Great Lakes reservations, like 18th Street, Bloods, Crips and MS 13, are all known to engage in retail trafficking of heroin and both property and violent crime. In the northwest, nationwide gangs have less impact, but Native American dealers can easily transport large quantities of heroin from cities like Portland onto their reservations.
During the decade that heroin use fell, methamphetamine and prescription drug abuse soared. Now these numbers are stabilizing, and in the case of methamphetamines, seem to have peaked, so tribes wishing to act proactively to stop this new drug plague can use the same tactics and resources used in fighting meth to prevent heroin abuse and related criminal and gang activity in our communities.
The first step in effectively combating heroin is for tribes, tribal leaders, elders, adults, and youth to learn about the collateral impact drugs have on the health and safety of every community member. No one is immune from the impact of drugs. Community awareness and education is vital to first recognizing the threat. Many tribes have the expertise to develop a front-line response while incorporating traditional approaches in education and prevention.
Elders and tribal councils can support the efforts of professionals in our communities to prevent and manage heroin abuse by being vocal advocates for increased programs and governmental funding. Tribal leaders can also encourage a good working relationship with agencies in our communities, including outpatient care; law enforcement, courts, and social services to support community members in their effort to remain substance abuse free after they have undergone treatment.
Walter Lamar is President of Lamar Associates. Lamar Associates Indian Country Training Division offers culturally appropriate Drug Abuse Training for Indian Country law enforcement and service professionals in both on-site and online courses. Visit our website for more information.
For a decade, heroin use has been declining across the United States, and particularly in Indian Country. The Indian Country Drug Threat Assessment of 2008 showed 15 percent less heroin use than in 2000, and a proportional drop in the number of heroin-related crimes or people seeking treatment on reservations. But troubling new numbers, released in August by the Justice department and statewide drug enforcement programs show that heroin use may be on the rise again, threatening community well-being, public health and law enforcement resources.
Mexican drug cartels have been producing heroin in record quantities, and both black tar and brown powder heroin have flooded U.S. markets. Because of its prevalence and low price, heroin is replacing both cocaine and prescription drugs for some users.
We monitor dangerous drug trends. Our training clients and relatives are telling us they are starting to see an increase in heroin use in our tribal communities. Vigilance is key. These drugs will greatly impact the quality of life, health, and safety of our communities.
For over 6 years we have been sounding the alarm that prescription drug diversion has been a growing problem in Indian Country and designed training specific to its abuse in our tribal communities. As prescription drug monitoring programs and other proactive efforts are reducing the availability of prescription drugs, particularly opiate based drugs such as OxyContin and Vicodin, we now believe the return of heroin is imminent.
In Indian Country and nationwide, the problem of prescription drug abuse has opened the door to heroin. Researchers at Drexel recently released a study showing that about 80 percent of people who abuse heroin started with prescription painkillers in their teens, and drifted into injecting heroin within two years. Oxycodone (as in OxyContin or Percocet) and heroin are chemically indistinguishable, except that heroin is often impure or prepared with unknown quantities of ingredients.
As heroin floods across the Mexican border and through the heartland en route to large cities, communities in its path–including in Indian Country–suffer increased addiction, overdoses, and deaths. Since the 2008 Drug Threat Assessment, deaths from overdoses have increased 7%, resulting in the highest overall numbers of heroin deaths since 2000. Overdoses have rocketed in 60 U.S. counties in 30 states, particularly impacting tribal members in California, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin. Heroin addiction is now the leading reason for seeking drug-related treatment at publicly funded facilities.
Some of the deaths and overdoses can be attributed to prescription drug abusers, who are attracted by heroin’s availability and low price. Like new heroin users, prescription painkiller addicts frequently overdose on heroin because they are unfamiliar with their tolerance levels, or because the heroin itself is impure. Not only is the Mexican brown powdered heroin more potent than pharmaceuticals; it can be more potent than previously available kinds of heroin. Dealers often mix the powder with potent Asian or black tar heroin or pharmaceutical opiates, with unpredictable results.
Serious health risks among heroin abusers injecting the drug also come from infections and diseases, namely HIV and AIDS, hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases, and other viral or bacterial infections from sharing unclean injection equipment. Many of these ailments are sexually transmitted or otherwise communicable, affecting non-users as well. Alarmingly, many prescription drug abusers in tribal communities are accustomed to injecting drugs using needles from diabetic patients.
Property crime and gang violence are two other ills that accompany increased heroin trafficking in Indian Country. Property crimes attributable to heroin use have increased to about 20% of all drug-related crimes nationwide. National gangs on Southwest and Great Lakes reservations, like 18th Street, Bloods, Crips and MS 13, are all known to engage in retail trafficking of heroin and both property and violent crime. In the northwest, nationwide gangs have less impact, but Native American dealers can easily transport large quantities of heroin from cities like Portland onto their reservations.
During the decade that heroin use fell, methamphetamine and prescription drug abuse soared. Now these numbers are stabilizing, and in the case of methamphetamines, seem to have peaked, so tribes wishing to act proactively to stop this new drug plague can use the same tactics and resources used in fighting meth to prevent heroin abuse and related criminal and gang activity in our communities.
The first step in effectively combating heroin is for tribes, tribal leaders, elders, adults, and youth to learn about the collateral impact drugs have on the health and safety of every community member. No one is immune from the impact of drugs. Community awareness and education is vital to first recognizing the threat. Many tribes have the expertise to develop a front-line response while incorporating traditional approaches in education and prevention.
Elders and tribal councils can support the efforts of professionals in our communities to prevent and manage heroin abuse by being vocal advocates for increased programs and governmental funding. Tribal leaders can also encourage a good working relationship with agencies in our communities, including outpatient care; law enforcement, courts, and social services to support community members in their effort to remain substance abuse free after they have undergone treatment.
Walter Lamar is President of Lamar Associates. Lamar Associates Indian Country Training Division offers culturally appropriate Drug Abuse Training for Indian Country law enforcement and service professionals in both on-site and online courses. Visit our website for more information.
Monday, August 1, 2011
What is a Drug Endangered Child? What are the signs?
At what point would you stop a child from being struck by a car? Before they walk onto the road right? Well for many children who are in drug endangered homes, the intervention does not occur until AFTER a life endangering situation. Unfortunately, too late in many cases.
What if we could intervene before a serious incident occurs? What if we could recognize the signs and symptoms of a drug endangered child and help protect that child and get guardians the help they need? I guarantee, there is not a first responder out there who would not jump on the opportunity to help before it is too late.
The good new is we can intervene before it is too late. How? Well first we define what is a "drug endangered child".
The National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children defines drug endangered children as: "Children who are at risk of suffering physical or emotional harm as a result of illegal drug use, possession, manufacturing, cultivation, or distribution. They may also be children whose caretaker’s substance misuse interferes with the caretaker’s ability to parent and provide a safe and nurturing environment."
Whether we are first responders, family, or friends; here are a few signs to look for that endanger a child. These signs, when taken in totality, may constitute a drug endangered environment and a danger to a child:
1. Is the residence cluttered?
2. Is there garbage overflowing or scattered throughout the house?
3. Are there dirty dishes scattered on the counter and throughout the house?
4. Is there spoiled or moldy food?
5. Is the a lack of food in the home?
6. Is there pornography accessible to children?
7. Is there drug paraphernalia accessible to children?
8. Are there adults in the home under the influence?
9. Is there a methamphetamine lab or associated chemicals in the residence?
10. Is there feces in other rooms not including the bathroom?
11. Is prescription medication accessible to children?
12. Are there physical injuries to children (child abuse)?
13. Are there untreated medical issues?
14. Is there a lack of heating or cooling in the home?
15. Are the utilities not working?
Again, you may need to consider the totality of the home conditions-not just one indicator (minus the obvious availability of illegal drugs).
To learn more attend a tuition-free training on prescription drug abuse and drug endangered children, join us in Rapid City on August 17-18. To register online click here, or email us at info@lamarassociates.net, or call 202-543-8181.
What if we could intervene before a serious incident occurs? What if we could recognize the signs and symptoms of a drug endangered child and help protect that child and get guardians the help they need? I guarantee, there is not a first responder out there who would not jump on the opportunity to help before it is too late.
The good new is we can intervene before it is too late. How? Well first we define what is a "drug endangered child".
The National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children defines drug endangered children as: "Children who are at risk of suffering physical or emotional harm as a result of illegal drug use, possession, manufacturing, cultivation, or distribution. They may also be children whose caretaker’s substance misuse interferes with the caretaker’s ability to parent and provide a safe and nurturing environment."
Whether we are first responders, family, or friends; here are a few signs to look for that endanger a child. These signs, when taken in totality, may constitute a drug endangered environment and a danger to a child:
1. Is the residence cluttered?
2. Is there garbage overflowing or scattered throughout the house?
3. Are there dirty dishes scattered on the counter and throughout the house?
4. Is there spoiled or moldy food?
5. Is the a lack of food in the home?
6. Is there pornography accessible to children?
7. Is there drug paraphernalia accessible to children?
8. Are there adults in the home under the influence?
9. Is there a methamphetamine lab or associated chemicals in the residence?
10. Is there feces in other rooms not including the bathroom?
11. Is prescription medication accessible to children?
12. Are there physical injuries to children (child abuse)?
13. Are there untreated medical issues?
14. Is there a lack of heating or cooling in the home?
15. Are the utilities not working?
Again, you may need to consider the totality of the home conditions-not just one indicator (minus the obvious availability of illegal drugs).
To learn more attend a tuition-free training on prescription drug abuse and drug endangered children, join us in Rapid City on August 17-18. To register online click here, or email us at info@lamarassociates.net, or call 202-543-8181.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Effort needed to stem prescription drug abuse in Indian Country
Re-posted from the Billings Gazette
STEVEN JUNEAU, Vice President
Lamar Associates
In the past few years we have witnessed a segment of our tribal population escalate the abuse and diversion (theft and sale) of prescription drugs. Indian Country is experiencing the same impact as other Montana communities. We have our share of doctor shoppers, pill dealers and heartbreaking examples of overdose cases.
As a tribal member who has worked in criminal justice throughout Indian Country, I also have personal examples of loved ones who became addicted to prescription drugs, ended up in prison because of drug-related crimes or destroyed family relationships because of addiction.
Major enemy
Although methamphetamine continues to be a major affliction to our community health, we see the prescription drug abuse as an enemy sneaking up on us. In part, this is because of the misunderstanding about prescription drugs. It is not seriously considered a "drug" because it is prescribed by a doctor. For example, how many occasions can you recall of someone saying: "Take one of these pills, they are for (insert symptom here), I got them from the doctor." Prescription drug abuse is not widely considered to be as "bad" as meth or cocaine.
How serious is the situation? Consider the 2009 National Drug Threat Assessment, which states, "Increasingly, diverted pharmaceuticals pose a greater problem to some Native American communities than methamphetamine." In January, a man driving under the influence of alcohol and prescription drugs crashed his automobile and killed a woman on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. In 2007, the Montana State crime lab attributed 141 deaths to four major prescription painkillers compared with seven attributed to methamphetamine.
Why should this be a concern for us? Aside of the compassion we may have for an addict, we should be concerned because the abuse and diversion affects all of us. When drug abusers and traffickers fill the hospital with fake symptoms, we wait behind them for medical attention. We are affected when doctors are reluctant to prescribe medication to people who actually need them. Prescription abusers are involved in theft, elder abuse and violent crime like other drug abusers.
Our communities and service professionals need swift response in education and prevention to address this growing problem.
We must begin educating our community members about the proper use of prescription drugs and the potential danger of abuse and diversion, as well as basic awareness such as how to dispose of remaining pills. Our service professionals need to better understand methods of pharmaceutical diversion and over-the-counter drug abuse.
Safeguard medications
The old adage "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" certainly proves true with prescription drug abuse and diversion. We all are the first line of defense against abuse and theft by removing easy access and securing medication, and paying attention the signs and symptoms of abuse behavior.
The first step in addressing any community impact issue is to know your opponent and arm yourself with knowledge and resources to combat it. Because our tribal communities are very social and open, we should always apply right-sized prevention and response strategies to pin point the problem.
I hope you will become aware of the growing prescription drug abuse issue, start prevention at home and encourage our service professionals to receive the training they need to respond to this issue.
Steven Juneau of Billings is an enrolled member of the Haida Tlingit Tribe of Alaska who grew up in Browning. To register for tuition-free training online click here. Or contact us at info@lamarassociates.net or call 202-543-8181.
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