Teaching them to be Drug-Free
February 2017 Ohio Joint Study Commission Report on Prevention Education
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has taken on the issue of educating our children about the effects of both illicit and opiate prescription drugs, in light of the current opiate overdose crisis by assembling thought leaders accross the state. Please read his comments in the forward to the report below. You may wish to contact his office for a copy of the report and recommendations of the committee: K-12 prevention education for every Ohio child.
Attorney General Mike DeWine
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Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine
Here are AG DeWine's opening comments that accompany the report:
February 2017
Dear Fellow Ohioans:
At least eight people are dying each day in Ohio from accidental drug overdoses. The opioid epidemic has spread to every county, city, and village in Ohio. Without question, it is the worst drug epidemic I’ve witnessed in my lifetime.
There has been a cultural shift in how our society views drug abuse. The psychological barriers that prevented someone from taking heroin or other deadly drugs are simply gone.
Substance abuse and addiction has a major impact on children. During my time in Congress, I served on President Reagan’s National Commission on Drug Free Schools. We assessed the nature of the drug problem in our schools and colleges and recommended ways the problem could be addressed. The experts routinely told us that repetitive, comprehensive, school-based education was necessary to successfully combat drug addiction. While schools are making an effort to provide this education, time and resource constraints are often barriers to these comprehensive efforts.
We need a cultural shift in how we talk about drugs and how wecan work to prevent future addiction. To address this, in August 2016, House Speaker Clifford Rosenberger, then-Senate President Keith Faber, and I created the Ohio Joint Study Committee on Drug Use Prevention Education, made up of 24 members from across the state, including teachers, superintendents, substance abuse preventionists, elected officials, law enforcement officers, and other professionals. The committee was charged with examining how communities can implement consistent, age-appropriate drug messaging, particularly in schools.
The following are the committee’s report and recommendations. Copies are being shared with the governor and members of the Ohio General Assembly, so they can consider ways to support and implement the recommendations. Our hope is that schools and communities can use this report as a resource, with the goal of educating our children and preventing substance abuse.
I want to thank all the members of the committee. They served selflessly and devoted volunteer hours to create this report. I am grateful for their shared commitment to protecting Ohio’s children.
Very respectfully yours,
Mike DeWine
Ohio Attorney General
October 11, 2011 Ohio Governor Kasich signs bill designating May as "Substance Abuse Awareness and Education Month."
OHIO Senator Tom Patton's Senate Bill 101 is unanimously approved by the Ohio Senate...
To enact section 5.2266 of the Ohio Revised Code to designate the month of May as "Substance Abuse Awareness and Education Month."
Reporter Jackie Nash, The Daily Reporter (Columbus) writes:
"Sen. Tom Patton, R-Strongsville, the bill's sponsor, said he believes [SB101]would expand Ohio's substance abuse education, which is lagging.
"We always say, 'Go home and talk to your kids about drugs,' but I don't believe we can ever talk to them enough about it," Patton said. "(SB 226) is not going to solve the drug problem, but we also just can't quit trying."
Senator Tom Patton -R