Drug and alcohol use is an ever-present problem in every community, so substance use is an important issue to your constituents. Exercise your powerful influence by becoming aware and supportive of the health and safety concerns of those you represent. 

Action Steps

• Advocate for quality alcohol and drug treatment and prevention strategies that have been proven effective.
  
  
• Support equal health plan coverage for mental health and substance use treatment in your state.
• Host a community forum to discuss current substance use problems and solutions.
  
  
• Use your connections with local media to highlight community responses to a current substance use problem.
  
  
• Chair, or become a member of, a policy panel that will make recommendations to the community or state on legislative or community changes that will reduce substance use or increase treatment in your community.
  
  
• Require that local government monitor appropriate substance use indicators in the community. This will help to develop a community-wide strategy to reduce problem substance use.
  
  
• Encourage the establishment and support of drug court programs to reduce recidivism and provide an alternative to incarceration.

Resources

Ten Drug and Alcohol Policies That Will Save Lives

National Council of State Legislatures, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Section 

Legal Action Center

What others have done

New Oklahoma Law Supports Juvenile Drug Courts

An Oklahoma law specifically addresses juvenile drug court programs, in an effort to remove some of the difficulties faced by officials who tried to channel juvenile offenders through the drug court system.

House Bill 1405, signed into law by the governor in a special ceremony in August 2005, encourages the use of drug court programs as an effective, lower-cost alternative to incarceration for juveniles pleading guilty to non-violent drug-related crimes. The law also establishes standard procedures for the state's ten drug courts, where individuals undergo mandatory substance abuse treatment and graduate far less likely to be arrested again.

"Once we place a child in a correctional facility, there's a good chance we've lost that child as a productive member of society," said Oklahoma State Representative Ray Young (R-Yukon). Young introduced the bill after one of his constituents, a drug counselor, explained the obstacles blocking juveniles from participating in drug court programs.

"Despite all the obstacles that were out there, I think the district attorneys did a great job utilizing the drug court program. Unfortunately, the lack of a state law that specifically addressed juvenile drug courts made it very difficult. Hopefully, [the new law] will make their jobs easier."