In an effort to build awareness for America’s leading issue, Dads and Moms Against Drug Dealers (DAMMAD) is seeking signatures from presidential candidates running in the 2012 election including President Barack Obama for its Contract with American Families.
“Nearly 8,500 Americans 12 and older choose the wrong path each day by turning to illegal and misused prescription drugs,” says Steven H. Steiner, founder of DAMMAD. “I’m a parent who lost a child to this dangerous path. We need to bring this issue back to the forefront of American politics.”
DAMMAD is calling on the presidential candidates to make a commitment to families in the coming year to make this more than a talking point.
“We want this issue to be front and center in the campaign,” Steiner said. “We want this to be a platform for our next president. America’s future – our children – deserve it.”
The drug problem has escalated in the past three years after tapering off before 2009. Most alarming is the number of deaths from prescription drug misuse. Between 2002-2006, the number of deaths from controlled prescriptions drug misuse increased 98 percent (2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health).
Marijuana, the most abused illegal drug in America, has made a comeback in the past three years, and it’s stronger than ever.
Commonly known as the “gateway” drug, marijuana abuse is up over 9 percent, according to the most recent data. Marijuana abuse by youths aged 12 to 17 years had been declining for the 10 years prior to 2010, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
Additionally, NIDA stated that “whenever 12th-graders report a heightened perception of the risk associated with using marijuana, their use of the drug declined.”
NIDA Director Dr. Nora D. Volkow observed in a report that media attention on the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes contributes to “an under-appreciation of the harm associated with the drug.” In response to this finding, Dr. Volkow has called for new research in this area.
Prevention programs are one of DAMMAD’s central focuses, and the organization is calling on presidential candidates to put more emphasis on these programs because they work.
In 2009, the federal government spent more than $170 billion on substance-related healthcare costs, according to the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. Nearly $158 billion of that spending was through the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
On the other hand, just over 2 percent of the federal spending on substance abuse was on prevention programs.
“The spending model is skewed toward treating the problem, not solving the problem,” Steiner said. “And that’s what we want from the presidential candidates – solutions. Solutions involve enforcing strict drug laws, prevention programs for children and dealing with the influx of drugs into our country.”
In 2009, midlevel and retail drug distribution in the United States was dominated by more than 900,000 criminally active gang members representing approximately 20,000 street gangs in more than 2,500 cities. The number one entry path was through the Mexican border, according to the U.S. Justice Department’s 2010 National Drug Threat Assessment.
“Our kids are the targets of these drug cartels,” Steiner said. “It’s time for our elected officials to stand up to this huge threat to national security. Our kids need and deserve it.”
About DAMMAD
Dads and Moms Against Drug Dealers (DAMMAD) was founded by Steven H. Steiner in 2001 after his 19-year-old son died from an accidental drug overdose. Since, then, DAMMAD has taken a grassroots approach to helping law enforcement fight against the drug problem in our communities, our workplaces and our schools.
For more information, please contact:
Steven Steiner, Founder
DAMMAD
Tel: 603-546-7194
SOURCE: Dads and Moms Against Drug Dealers
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