HHS Awards $23 Million to Fight Club Drug Use

							Press Releases




                                        News Release



                             Date:                        October 18, 2004
                             Media Contact:               SAMHSA Media
                             Phone:                       240-276-2130



                                   HHS Awards $23 Million to Fight Club Drug Use at Local Level

                 Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced awards totaling more than $23
                 million over five years to fight the spread of Ecstasy and other club drugs. The funds from HHS’ Substance Abuse
                 and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will foster development of projects through schools, Boys
                 and Girls Clubs, local health departments and other community-based organizations that have strong evidence of
                 effectiveness.

                 The grants to 17 programs in 11 states will total $4,970,058 in the first year. Grants will go to Arizona, California,
                 Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and the Jamul
                 Indian Village of California.

                 “America’s youth should be learning and preparing for their futures, not escaping into the dangerous world of
                 drugs,” Secretary Thompson said. “This grant program heeds President Bush’s call to go to the places where
                 Americans live, go to school and work to promote healthier choices. We are using recent research and providing
                 funds to insure local programs are using the most up-to-date and effective practices to protect our youth.”

                 “SAMHSA is gratified that the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows that among youth 12-17 there
                 was a 41 percent decline in use of Ecstasy in the past year,” SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie noted. “This
                 grant program will build on these results to protect youngsters who might be tempted to start down that
                 dangerous road of drug abuse.”

                 While Ecstasy mentions in hospital emergency rooms were stable from 2001 to 2002, there were large increases in
                 ecstasy reported in emergency rooms from 1994 onward. Mentions of ecstasy in emergency rooms rose 1,491
                 percent from 1994 to 2002.

                 The following programs received grants:


                       The Arizona Department of Health Services will implement the Pulse for Life Ecstasy and other
                       club drug prevention and harm reduction project for high-risk men in Tucson. The project will
                       endeavor to change social norms and support behavior change in individuals with sustained ecstasy
                       and other club drug abuse problems. The program will receive $292,356 each year for five years for
                       a total of $1,461,780.

                       The California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs will enter into a cooperative
                       agreement with the Kern County Mental Health Department in cooperation with the Community
                       Action Partnership of Kern and Youth Together Program to provide prevention and intervention
                       services and case management to 120 at-risk middle school and high school students. The program
                       will receive $292,356 each year for five years for a total of $1,461,780.

                       The Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services will implement
                       evidence-based prevention programs in two Boys and Girls Club sites in the Greater Bridgeport area.
                       The curriculum will be expanded to other Boys and Girls Clubs in the area in years three through
                       five. The program will receive $292,356 each year for five years for a total of $1,461,780.

                       The Florida Department of Children and Families, District 11, in coordination with the
                       Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the south Florida Regional Prevention Center, and the Village,
                       Inc., will conduct the Prevention, Research, and Outreach Technologies for ecstasy and Club Drug
                       Termination (PROTECT) Project. The goal is to build the prevention infrastructure and increase
                       services for minority youth between the ages of 13 and 19 residing in Miami-Dade County. Over
                       5-years, the project will serve 9,985 persons. The project will receive $292,356 each year for five
                       years for a total of $1,461,780.



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                 The Florida Department of Children and Families in partnership with Gateway Community
                 Service and the Stewart Marchman Center will use funds to continue implementation of an effective,
                 innovative prevention program in Northeast Florida. This program will be tested and evaluated with
                 the goal of establishing it as the first ecstasy and club drugs prevention program on SAMHSA’s
                 National Registry of Effective Programs. The program will receive $292,356 each year for five years
                 for a total of $1,461,780.

                 The State of Hawaii, Department of Health, has contracted with the Coalition for a Drug-Free
                 Hawaii to conduct the Hawaii Ecstasy Project to expand an evidence-based prevention services and
                 practices intervention that is culturally relevant and effective in addressing the increasing and urgent
                 problem of ecstasy use among residents in the Windward School District of Oahu. The plan is to
                 modify their program to prevent college alcohol abuse to address Ecstasy and use it with high school
                 students. The project will expand the capacity of service providers, schools, parents and community
                 members to deal effectively with the problem of ecstasy abuse. The program will receive $292,356
                 each year for five years for a total of $1,461,780.

                 The Maryland Department of Health and Hygiene’s AIDS Administration in collaboration with
                 Chase Brexton Health Services Inc., and the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health intends
                 to reduce club drug use among high-risk men through a coordinated system of prevention and
                 substance abuse treatment in the Baltimore metropolitan area. The project was developed in
                 response to the growing use of club drugs including ecstasy, methamphetamine, GHB, ketamine, and
                 LSD and high-risk sexual practices that pose serious public health effects. The program will receive
                 $292,356 each year for five years for a total of $1,461,780.

                 The Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Abuse Services, in
                 conjunction with the Boston Public Health Commission, the Fenway Community Health Center, the
                 AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts and the Fenway Institute, intend to deliver both universal
                 and selective ecstasy and other club drug prevention interventions to high risk men aged 18 and
                 older and who participate in the “club” or “internet hookup” scenes. The project will use quota
                 sampling to obtain a representative sample of 200 high-risk men about whom data will be collected.
                 The universal intervention will be public health social marketing messages and use of the
                 Communities Mobilizing for Change in Alcohol model adapted to club drugs. The program will receive
                 $292,356 each year for three years for a total of $877,068.

                 The Mississippi Department of Mental Health has contracted with the Mississippi Southern
                 Coalition to implement two-evidence based prevention interventions to prevent, reduce, and/or delay
                 use of ecstasy and other club drugs. The target population includes youth and adults between age 12
                 and 24 attending alternative schools, the community college and state university in the rural southern
                 part of the state. The plan is also to further develop the prevention infrastructure in the rural
                 southern part of the state. Mississippi has a one year grant of $292,356.

                 The State of Oregon contracted with the Oregon Partnership to conduct the Club Drug Awareness
                 Project (CDAP), which is a school-based prevention intervention in Portland, Oregon. The
                 intervention involves an after-school film-making project that will include education,
                 community-outreach and evaluation. Its goal is to prevent, reduce or delay club drug use by
                 increasing individual protective factors, raising community awareness about the dangers of club drugs
                 and providing youth with the opportunity to participate in a progressive science-based prevention
                 activity. The project will involve about 40 primarily African American youth who have up to this point
                 been underserved per year and is designed to help them build connections to their school and
                 community. The program will receive $292,356 each year for five years for a total of $1,461,780.

                 The State of Oregon had contracted with the Oregon Partnership to conduct the Beaverton Parents
                 and Youth Together program to implement three evidence-based strategies: 1) All Stars for Youth
                 that will involve 300 youth aged 11-15/year, 2) The NICASA Parent Project that will involve 110
                 parents per year, and 3) a social marketing campaign that will expand and strengthen effective,
                 culturally appropriate and sustainable prevention interventions for using Ecstasy and other club drugs
                 in the Beaverton school district. The target population is multi-ethnic. The program will receive
                 $292,356 each year for five years for a total of $1,461,780.

                 The Pennsylvania Department of Health Ecstasy and Other Club Drug Prevention Project will
                 implement a program targeted at three public high schools in Berks County. Data about student use
                 and nonuse of club drugs will be presented to discourage use and increase the incidence of nonuse.
                 The project will involve collecting student data on their use and perceptions of peer use of ecstasy
                 and other club drugs. The program will receive $292,356 each year for five years for a total of
                 $1,461,780.

                 The Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, with Community Partner, Tarrant County
                 Challenge will provide ecstasy and other club drugs prevention services in Forth Worth. This project
                 will target youth and young adults who attend raves and similar parties, college students, and high
                 risk men who use drugs. Using Tarrant County Challenge’s 200 active members, and current
                 community collaborations, the program will implement prevention services in collaboration with Santa
                 Fe Adolescent Services with options for adolescents, young adults, parents, professionals, and
                 community agencies. It will employ combinations of neurobiological and psycho-educational



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                       approaches. The program will receive $292,356 each year for five years for a total of $1,461,780.

                       The Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse will support the Proyecto Ganadores Program
                       in San Antonio. The program will expand and strengthen effective, culturally appropriate rohypnol,
                       ecstasy and other club drug prevention services at the Texas-Mexico Border (Lower Rio Grande Valley
                       area) to reduce the disproportionately high usage of Rohypnol and other club drugs among the target
                       population. The program will receive $292,356 each year for five years for a total of $1,461,780.

                       The Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, in collaboration with Phoenix House, the
                       Center for Success and Independence, and the Council on Alcohol and Drugs in Houston, will target
                       youth in selected high schools, Asian youth, and gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender youth, all at
                       high risk of using ecstasy and other club drugs, with an expanded Towards No Drug Abuse model
                       program adapted to address the specific risk and protective factors. The goals are to reduce current
                       use of ecstasy and other club drugs; increase knowledge about the dangers of use of ecstasy;
                       decrease attitudes that ecstasy is a harmless drug; and increase knowledge among law enforcement
                       personnel regarding the avenues of distribution and how to help prevent club drug in the community.
                       The program will receive $292,356 each year for five years for a total of $1,461,780.

                       The Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, in partnership with Aliviane, Inc., will
                       conduct Project CARE (Character and Resiliency against Ecstasy). The program is designed to
                       strengthen Hispanic/Latino youth and their families, and provide culturally sensitive, comprehensive,
                       risk-focused services to youth in four targeted areas of El Paso. The plan is to provide them with a
                       prevention education curriculum designed to reduce adolescent substance abuse and other related
                       problematic behaviors. The program plans to reach 1,836 unduplicated individuals in a five year
                       period. The program will receive $292,356 each year for five years for a total of $1,461,780.

                       The Jamul Indian Village, in partnership with the Institute of Public Strategies and prevention
                       groups, has formed The East County Tribal Club Drug Project. This project will assist the tribe in
                       addressing club drug availability to east county youth. The Jamul Village will lead a binational effort
                       between the Tribal Government and the San Diego East Region of California and SAMHSA. This
                       cooperative agreement will implement culturally appropriate prevention services including assessment
                       of problems and solutions, community organizing to support an East County Tribal Club Drug Task
                       Force, media advocacy to raise the issue on the public agenda, and policy development to address
                       raves and drug availability. The coalition will work with law enforcement partners to monitor
                       ordinances and laws. The program will receive $292,356 each year for five years for a total of
                       $1,461,780.




                 SAMHSA, a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the lead federal
                 agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment and mental
                 health services in the United States.




                                                        This page was last updated on 18 October, 2004
                                             SAMHSA is An Agency of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Service




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