Iowa AC4C goes to Capitol for Substance Abuse Prevention Day on the Hill
On Wednesday, Feb. 21, the Alliance of Coalitions for Change (AC4C), a state-wide collaboration to effect positive change in substance abuse, met with the state legislators to discuss their concerns about youth marijuana and substance use in Iowa along with education on increasing the beer excise tax in Iowa.
Winnebago County Task Force was among the several community coalitions, representing a mixture of Iowa’s rural and urban populations at this event. Students from North Iowa Community School and Forest City schools participated in this event. The youth were able to meet and discuss with Senator Dennis Guth and Representative Tedd Gassman about local concerns youth are facing within Winnebago County.
Iowa has a low rate of marijuana use when compared to the national average. However, the perception of harm among youth is declining. A lower perception of harm historically shows us that there will be a rise in use. Winnebago County has already seen a rise in use among our teens, reported in the 2016 Iowa Youth Survey.
The 2016 Iowa Youth Survey showed 10 percent of 11th graders reporting marijuana use in the past 30 days. Forty-one percent of 11th graders believe there is a slight risk or no risk in harming themselves if they use marijuana once a week. In states with policy expansion of marijuana, youth use rose as perception of risk decreased.
For 32 years Iowa’s beer tax has remained at LESS THAN $.02 per drink. In Iowa, excessive alcohol use including binge drinking cost $1.9 billion or $1.59 per drink in problems associated with binge drinking in 2010 (CDC, 2016). Alcohol is the most commonly used substance in Iowa and binge drinking is a common form of alcohol consumption. It is a serious public health concern.
Young adults aged 25-34 years of age are most likely to binge drink, followed by those aged 18-24 and 35-44 years old (IDPH). In 2015, 20 percent of adult Iowans (over 400,000 people) engaged in binge drinking (BRFSS). In 2015, Iowa ranked 5th in th nation for percentage of adults who binge drink (CDC, 2016). According to the 2016 Iowa Youth Survey, 13 percent of Iowa 11th graders have binge drank in the last 30 days.
It is important for the health of Iowans to keep drug use at a low rate.
For further information, please contact Libby Myer or Krista Tegland at 641-562-2525.
