Report Title:

Substance Abuse Treatment; Juveniles

Description:

Appropriates funds for substance abuse services for children and youth statewide. (SD1)

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

976

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT SERVICES.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that substance abuse continues to be a particularly pernicious problem among youth and adolescents in Hawaii, resulting in adverse impacts upon families. Providing substance abuse treatment services to these individuals is necessary to avoid increased costs to the State at a later time. According to the department of health in its report, "The 2000 Hawaii Student Alcohol and Drug Abuse Use Study (1987-2000), Hawaii Adolescent Prevention and Treatment Needs Assessment" (DOH report), experts in the field have linked substance abuse to other societal problems, including family dysfunction, juvenile delinquency, poor academic achievement, impaired emotional functioning, and lowered social competence. Furthermore, the economic costs to society are often astronomical, with much of the burden falling on persons who are not substance abusers.

The DOH report found that nearly half of all twelfth graders, nearly forty per cent of tenth graders, nearly one-fourth of eighth graders, and nearly one-tenth of sixth graders surveyed have tried at least one illicit drug, with the most prevalent being marijuana, followed by inhalants, hallucinogens, and ecstasy. Nearly six per cent of twelfth graders have used methamphetamines, or "ice." By the time they graduate from high school, sixty per cent of Hawaii's teens have tried tobacco, and over three-fourths have tried alcohol. Nearly forty per cent of twelfth graders surveyed reported that they drank alcohol "regularly," meaning at least once or twice a month.

According to the department of health, the upsurge in illicit drug use during the last two decades is generally considered a youth phenomenon, given that onset is most likely to occur during adolescence. Experts generally agree that the key to reduction in the State's substance abuse problem lies in preventive efforts and early treatment programs aimed at reaching the State's youth.

The legislature further finds that there exists a critical need for substance treatment, therapy, counseling, and intervention services targeting youth and adolescents. The overall goal of treatment is to reduce or eliminate the use of drugs as a contributing factor to physical, psychological, and social dysfunction, and to arrest, retard, or reverse the progress of secondary problems. Therapy assists individuals to identify and address the underlying causes of their addiction. Counseling helps them look at the patterns of their substance abuse in order to understand and take responsibility for their recovery.

The DOH report found that substance abuse treatment is needed statewide for two per cent of sixth graders, eight per cent of eighth graders, eighteen per cent of tenth graders, and twenty-seven per cent of twelfth graders. Twelve thousand public school students in grades six through twelve (approximately fourteen per cent) are estimated to need treatment for drug or alcohol abuse. Statewide treatment needs for combined public and private school population in grades six through twelve are estimated to be 14,175 (thirteen per cent). The treatment needs are highest in Hawaii county at twenty per cent and lowest in the city and county of Honolulu at twelve per cent. In Honolulu, the windward district exceeds other districts on Oahu as to the proportion of students needing treatment.

The legislature further finds that substance abuse prevention is also critical to stem the rise of substance abuse among young people. The report found that the onset of illicit drugs seem to occur as early as nine years of age, but most typically between ages thirteen and fourteen. The use of marijuana is begun by age nine or ten, with a substantial portion of students reporting use of marijuana by the time they are twelve or thirteen years old. Approximately one-third of the students have used marijuana by the time they are fifteen years old. The onset of alcohol use is even earlier, with nearly one-fourth of sixth graders reporting that they have used alcohol at least once, and nearly one-tenth reporting that they have used alcohol within the past month.

Effective prevention stops potential substance abuse problems from arising in the first place. Prevention programs include:

(1) Information dissemination to provide awareness and knowledge of the nature and extent of substance abuse and addiction and its effect on individuals, families, and the community; and

(2) Education about substance abuse prevention to effect critical life and social skills, including decision-making, refusal skills, critical analysis, and systematic judgment abilities.

Prevention strategies can utilize support groups, classroom and small discussion groups, education services for youth groups, parenting and family management classes, and peer leader or helper services.

According to the DOH report, substance abuse among youth and adolescents is fueled in significant part by normative social pressure (peer pressure), or the exposure to substance abuse of others. If one's friends (or family) abuses alcohol or other drugs, one learns erroneously what society views as acceptable or "cool" behavior. Normative pressure exerts a powerful influence on adolescents because group acceptance is often necessary for adolescents' feelings of self-worth. Furthermore, exposure to substance abuse behavior teaches adolescents to imitate or model those behaviors, and teaches that there are immediate psychological and emotional rewards from abusing alcohol and other drugs. The results are disastrous later in life.

The purpose of this Act is to appropriate funds to combat substance abuse, including alcohol and "ice" abuse, among youth and adolescents.

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2003-2004, and the same sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2004-2005, is appropriated for substance abuse services for youth and adolescents, including but not limited to, preventive services, school education programs, counseling, evaluation, treatment, therapy, family services, case management, recovery services, and residential substance abuse treatment services, and the coordination of such services.

SECTION 3. The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of health, alcohol and drug abuse division, for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2003.