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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Eric D. Wish, PhD, Erin Artigiani, MA, June Moore, Jill Choyka, Dana Lehder, and Craig Winters. Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR), University of Maryland, College Park, 4321 Hartwick Road, Suite 501, College Park, MD 20740
Maryland's statewide Drug Early Warning System (DEWS) is unique in its focus on detecting emerging drugs and in its ability to disseminate findings quickly to state government. DEWS has three primary data collection components: 1) Offender Population Urine Screening (OPUS), which tracks drug use and urinalysis trends in arrested juveniles; 2) Drug Scan, a statewide modification of the national Pulse Check program, which interviews more than 130 representatives from education, health, and law enforcement programs about perceived emerging drugs; and 3) Analyses of state and local indicators of drug use. DEWS uses three primary vehicles to disseminate findings directly to policymakers: 1) the DEWS Action Team is composed of representatives from state government, including the Governor's Office, law enforcement, education and treatment, who meet regularly to review DEWS findings; 2) the DEWS Fax is sent to over 3,000 recipients in the Maryland/ D.C. area to highlight findings and drug alerts; and 3) Statewide drug action plans and press conferences are formulated by DEWS staff in conjunction with government officials. In addition to describing the development and operation of DEWS, this presentation will describe a case study of how DEWS information was used to prepare Maryland's Ecstasy Action Plan.
Learning Objectives:
Related Web page: www.cesar.umd.edu/dews.htm
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.