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| 14 July 2000 - The San Diego North County Times Agents, strike force target 'mom and pop' meth labs ALPINE – The Alpine Collaborative Substance Abuse Prevention Team had its first meeting Tuesday, July 18 at the Alpine Community Center. In cooperation with Communities Against Substance Abuse (CASA) of El Cajon, a group of 18 local citizens will devise methods in attempting to prevent substance abuse in the community. "People in the community want to create unity and harmony," said JoAnn Tapp, prevention specialist for CASA. "We are not like a vigilante group or an anti-group. We want to create harmony rather than disharmony." Tapp said the good news in current college research is that more students are starting to choose abstinence than in the past. But the devastating part, she added, is those who are drinking are "going off the charts" in regard to-the amount they do imbibe. According to Tapp, there are three goals in the prevention process: increasing abstinence among youths, delaying the possible first usage of alcohol until one is 21 years old and reducing high risk use. "We want to reduce the risk of young people making the wrong choice," Tapp said. "It's important to change attitudes and behaviors through a comprehensive plan." The group discussed several possible ways to prevent substance abuse in the surrounding community. They included a safe party information phone line, a Website possibly through the community center concerning prevention, and parent support groups. Judi Bums, coordinator for the Alpine Community Center, heads the group. She said the collaborative would spend its first three months learning and researching along with CASA about prevention methods for the community. During that time, she added the group would likely plan at least one or two initiatives. Tapp said the collaborative deals with people in all stages. "When you tell people about prevention, it only seems to be natural to hear about people in trouble," she said. "It's also for healthy families." Article Snapshot (41K) |
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