November 28, 2007
In this issue:
Oregon Partnership Calls For “Very Cautious Approach” to OLCC Proposal Allowing Teens into Music Venues that Serve Alcohol
Oregon Partnership recommends caution and strict enforcement of a proposed rule change by the OLCC that would allow teens to be admitted to more establishments where alcohol is served. Local music industry promoters are backing the move, saying teens who want to listen to live music have little opportunity because they are unable to attend venues where drinking is allowed.
But Oregon Partnership, warns that it won’t support the rule if it allows younger children – particularly those seventeen and under - into entertainment venues where alcohol is consumed.
“More young tweens and teens – especially girls –are partying with older males in their 20s,” says Oregon Partnership’s Pam Erickson. “No rule should facilitate this dangerous trend.”
Click here to read the rest of the news release.
Your Online Holiday Shopping Can Help Oregon Partnership Raise Funds
You can help Oregon Partnership to end drug and alcohol abuse every time you shop on-line by using GoodShop.com or search the internet using GoodSearch.com.
GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates a percentage of each purchase to your favorite cause. More than 100 great stores including The Gap, Best Buy and Barnes and Noble have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you’ll be supporting your favorite cause. Just click on the link below, and type in Oregon Partnership, and hit verify. It's that easy.
GoodSearch.com is a new search engine that donates half its revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. You use it just as you would any search engine, and it's powered by Yahoo!, so you get great results.
Click here to get started today.
Join Together Features Oregon Advocacy Efforts
Oregon Partnership was featured prominently in Join Together’s on-line newsletter November 16th following OP’s success in convincing Nordstrom stores to discontinue the sale of flip-flops with built-in flasks.
The article "Nordstrom Agrees to stop Selling Sandals after Complaint about Secret Flask" explains how Oregon Partnership’s letter to Nordstrom's President, Eric B. Nordstrom, led to the product being removed from Nordstrom stores nationwide.
Join Together, one of the nation’s leading alcohol and drug policy advocacy groups, is based at the Boston University School of Public Health.
Click here to read the article.
Rockstar 21 Is No More in Oregon
Rockstar 21, the alcoholic energy drink, is no more – in Oregon and apparently anywhere else. Parents, health experts, teachers, law enforcement and community groups complained that consumers were confusing the product with its non-alcoholic counterpart, Rockstar. The Rockstar Brewing Company, Inc. obviously listened and has decided to discontinue the product and have notified the OLCC of its decision. Sold in brightly colored cans, Rockstar is popular with teens, as are other energy drinks.
As pointed out by the Marin Institute, an alcohol industry watchdog group, alcoholic energy drinks combine alcohol with caffeine, which promotes binge drinking and risk-taking behavior. The California Coalition on Alcopops and Youth is calling on other companies that market alcoholic energy drinks to follow Rockstar’s lead.
Click here to read the California Coalition on Alcopops and Youth press release.
Training Opportunity: OHSU Lecture Series - Methamphetamine Abuse; A Tale of Sex, Drugs, and Dependency
Known as “speed”, “chalk”, “crystal” or “ice”, methamphetamine has a rapid and devastating effect on users and those around them. While local legislation has reduced the number of home-based cooking operations in Oregon, industrial-level production and supply continues elsewhere in the United States, Mexico and Asia. Dr. Janowsky's work focuses on how drugs of abuse impact the release and recycling of dopamine, a chemical that is key to signaling reward in the brain. Drugs like methamphetamine disrupt the normal pattern of dopamine’s release, leading to the addictive behavior of seeking more drugs.
The lecture will take place on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008, at 7:30 p.m., at the OHSU Auditorium, Old Library Building, at the OHSU Marquam Hill campus. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. The lecture is free but seating is limited. Reservations are requested at 503-494-4240.
Dr. Janowsky is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience in OHSU’s School of Medicine, Director of the Methamphetamine Abuse Research Center, and a Research Career Scientist at the Portland VA Medical Center.
Click here to download the lecture flyer.
New Online Multi-Language Resources from CSAT
The Multi-Language Initiative (MLI) of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) has released new publications for members of non–English-speaking groups or those with limited English-language abilities.
MLI presents new adaptations of "What Is Substance Abuse Treatment?" A Booklet for Families, created for Chinese-, Vietnamese-, and Korean-language audiences. The publication answers questions often asked by family members and significant others of people entering treatment and includes a list of support groups.
Additional MLI products available in Spanish, Russian, and Navajo can be downloaded from the KAP website.
Click here to download MLI products now.
MADD Releases New Drunk Driving State Progress Report
A new progress report released by MADD ranks states based on their percent of total traffic fatalities that involve a drunk driver. American families will share the roads this Holiday Season with more than an estimated 2.8 million drunk drivers with three or more convictions, and of those, more than 600,000 have five or more convictions. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is urging every state to pass life-saving, comprehensive alcohol ignition interlock laws that prevent the offender from driving the vehicle after drinking.
Click here to view the new report.
Click here for more information on MADD.
Do you have information to share with your prevention colleagues around the state? Please send to: dslifman@orpartnership.org.
Thank you for your continued support of this publication.
