Page B4
May 31,2000
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Drug, alcohol use up 25% since 1995, says survey Pacific Power from page 1
bi
Gim.u> L.viTf.
A survey released recently by the
s ta te ’s D epartm ent o f H um an
Services, DHS, show s illegal drug
and alcohol abuse and dependence
up 25 percent in Oregon from 1995.
An
e s tim a te d
3 7 6 ,5 3 6
Oregonians— approximately onein
nine, now need treatm ent. The
estimate was 1 in 16 in a similar 1995
survey.
“ T h e c o s t to O re g o n ia n s is
enorm ous in accidents, chronic
unem ploym ent, child abuse and
crim e, as w ell as the hum an cost in
broken hom es,” said DHS Director
G ary W eeks.
O v e r a ll a lc o h o l u se an d
dependence during the period from
1995 to 1999 declined by nearly 26
percent from 1995. However, use o f
m a riju a n a , m e th a m p h e ta m in e ,
cocaine, heroin and hallucinogens
such as LSD increased by 232 percent,
and surpassed the use o f alcohol in
O regon for the first tim e. M arijuana
remained the most used drug although
there were increases in all categories.
In M ultnom ah C ounty percentages
foralcoholanddrugusein 1997among
adults w ere 14.6 percent. That rate
increased in 1999 to 18.7, according
to statistics available from the DHS
D irectorG ary Weeks office. Statistics
w ere u n a v a ila b le fo r N o rth ea st
Portland at presstim e because the
information was not com piled for that
area, said L u th er S to h s, S en io r
Research A nalyst for the S tate’s
O ffice o f Alcohol and Drug Abuse.
O v erall d ru g a b u se by w om en
increased from 1.4 percent o f the
population to 7.6 percent from 1995 to
2000, an alarm ing increase o f 442
percent. T hat com pares w ith an
increase from 4.9 percent o f men to
13.3 percent, or up 171 percent.
O ne piece o f mixed new s is that the
age o f abusers is now increasing.
"T hat leads us to believ e youth
p r e v e n tio n an d
in te r v e n tio n
programs are working. Unfortunately
that m eans older abusers are now
parents— and role m odels,” W eeks
said.
“ I t ’s critica l to get p eo p le into
treatm ent,” said W eeks. “Those who
a b u s e a lc o h o l or o th e r d ru g s
e n d a n g e r o th e r s as w e ll as
them selves by driving, operating
equipm ent, using w eapons, and
taking care o f children w hile under
the influence.
“And, in econom ic terms, w e know
that each $1 spent on treatm ent
returns an estimated $5.60 in public
savings on reduced welfare, food
stam ps, M edicaid, crim e, courts
and im prisonm ent,” W eeks said.
A pproxim ately 600 o f the 12,000
p e o p le s u r v e y e d h a v e b e e n
recruited for follow up, to see
w hether to receive treatm ent and
how effective it is.
T he surveys w ere conducted by
B illF eyerherm ,P h.D .,ofP ortland
State University for 1999 and 1995
for DHS.
pledges for the year o f m ore than $26,000.
A m ina A nderson, BUF executive director, said the project will help agencies
build their capacity to serve the com m unity through centralized access to
resource m aterials, technology and space. T he cen ter’s new library and
com puter rooms for use by area com m unity developm ent organizations will
open this fall.
“O ur goal is to establish an incubator, com plete w ith training and support for
agencies w orking to develop the com m unity,” A nderson said. “N onprofit
agencies play an im portant role in neighborhood revitalization. Providing
access to resources, training and space for doing business is critical to the
long-term developm ent o f com m unity-based organizations.”
N ew grants in May included an open M eadow Learning Center, $ 1,000, forthe
Restoring the Urban Environment program. The Early Head Start Family Center
o f Portland, $5,000 to furnish classroom s for infants and toddlers in the
childcare program. The Oregon Association o f M inority Entrepreneurs, $5,000
to support business m entoring and incubator program s. The N orth-N ortheast
Econom ic D evelopm ent Alliance, $5,000 for operations and staffing for the
allian ce’s m ission o f recruiting and retaining jobs.
O ther year 2000 grants for the area included $ 10,000 to Cam pfire for operating
support o f program s offered to students from inner N orth/N ortheast as part
o fa three-year, $30,000 commitment, and $ 12,000 to S elf Enhancement, Inc., as
paym ent on a four-year $50,000 grant sponsoring an incom ing class o f
students now at Jefferson High.
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Continuing her commitment to family and
community
M emorial S cholarship
Joyce Washington was tireless in her devotion to children and
building a better community.
d ie ^ortlanh Observer is continuing this loving legacy by
awarding high school seniors from our community
scholarships to help them achieve their dreams.
You can help by sending your contribution to the Joyce
Washington Memorial Scholarship Fund in care of Bank of
America.
Your support will be truly appreciated.
Call your local Bank of America for more information,
thank you.
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