Drug, alcohol use high among islands’ youths

There is a need to step up efforts against alcohol and drug use among youths in the Northern Marianas, with past surveys pointing to high level of abuse among teeners of Chamorro and Carolinian descent.

The Department of Public Health has recognized that substance abuse in the CNMI has grown increasingly worse, noting that past surveys indicate that approximately 29% of students in grades 9-12 have drank excessively in the past 30 days and the numbers jump to 46% when data is restricted to students of Chamorro or Carolinian ethnicity.

Statistics regarding use of crystal methamphetamine, or ICE reveal that an estimated 16% of all students from grade levels 9-12 admitted use within the last 30 days.

This figure like that of alcohol use again jumps significantly when restricted to Chamorro and Carolinian students. These are just two figures out of the many and the general trend points toward increased use and experimentation at an earlier age.

In response to the islands’ increasing drug problem, several agencies, both non-profit and government-affiliated, have partnered to address these concerns.

“It has become apparent that in order to battle this disease we must come together as a community and join forces to come up with a cure. Although treatment programs have been existent in the islands for quite some time, it is a majority opinion of many professionals that the solution lies in prevention,” said a media statement from the Community Guidance Center.

The Community Guidance Center, working together with Laulima CNMI, OPM and Ayuda Network, brought guest speaker Gary Shimabukuro to give presentations to Northern Marianas residents on Drugs in the Workplace.

Attendees included government staff, CUC employees and members of Society for Human Resource Management and the Rotary Club.

Mr. Shimabukuro also spent time at an eye-opening experience. As a climax to the activities, a Kids’ Summit was held at the Kagman Community Center sponsored by the Governor’s Office, CGC, PSS and DPS.

Partnering up to assist in the activities were staff from DPH, CDC, PREL and various other members of the sponsoring organizations. Workshops were given on a variety of topics ranging from skill building and decision making to drug and HIV information.

Harvey Lee, a representative from the PREL office in Hawaii, gave his own workshop on Leadership and Self-Esteem. Altogether, the Kids’ Summit was a success with an estimated 200 student participants.

Because this partnership worked out so well, the CNMI can expect to see the creation of a coalition group, which will deal specifically with the topic of prevention. The only way to stem the flood of drug use is if the community is involved on the solution process.