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    Home » What is Trending? Current Substance Abuse Trends in Yavapai County and in Arizona
    Yavapai County

    What is Trending? Current Substance Abuse Trends in Yavapai County and in Arizona

    September 22, 20215 Comments4 Mins Read
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    By Merilee Fowler, Executive Director, MATFORCE

    Sedona AZ news — MATFORCE, is a Prescott Valley 501 C3, focuses on drug abuse prevention in Yavapai County, Arizona, and in implementing drug abuse coalitions statewide. Their mission statement is, “With determination and integrity, we, the citizens of Yavapai County, commit to working in partnership to build healthier communities by striving to eliminate substance abuse and its effects.”

    What are the drug trends in Yavapai County as respects adult use? Illicit fentanyl is the #1 killer, with methamphetamine being #2.

    Overdose deaths are on the rise in our county. In 2017, there were 40 overdose deaths but in 2020, there were 81 deaths or a 100% increase in four years.   Of the 81 overdose deaths in 2020, 42 decedents had fentanyl in their system, 28 decedents had methamphetamine in their systems.   5 teenagers between 14 and 19 died in 2020, all from taking counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl.

    Fentanyl is an opioid that, when legal and utilized by trained physicians, is a prescription pain reducer. Illegal fentanyl is a synthetic (illegally man-made) that is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine. Heroin is an illegal opioid that comes in a white powder form or as “black tar”. Beware of pressed pill fentanyl referred to as”M-30’s”.

    Fentanyl is flooding our Arizona streets and there has been a 1610% increase in illegal fentanyl pill seizures. 2021 “meth. 2.0” is purer, more plentiful, more dangerous, more deadly and cheaper than previous years. Since 2017, there has been an 86% increase in Arizona meth. deaths due to the lower cost, higher potency and greater availability.

    Meth is produced in “super labs” in Mexico by the cartels and is transported illegally across our border. AZ meth. seizures since 2015 have jumped from 3574 kilograms to 15,791 kilograms, or a 342% increase.

    What about our Arizona children and grandchildren? The 2020 Arizona Youth Survey showed that past 30 day use of substances by our children was as follows: (1) e-cigarettes, (2) alcohol (3) marijuana (4) marijuana concentrates (5) binge drinking (6) marijuana edibles (7) cigarettes.

    The good news is youth alcohol, cigarette and prescription use is declining. The bad news is there is a 20% increase in marijuana use and a 51% increase in vaping (e-cigarettes).

    What can we do to help our children and grand children stay off illegal drugs? The Youth Survey answers on why kids use, in the children’s own words, were as follows: (1) “to have fun” (2) “to feel good “(3) “stress due to school” (4) “stress due to family” (5) “feeling sad”.

    Kids who answered the Youth Survey and indicated that they did not use drugs gave these reasons: (1) “not interested” (2) “could harm me” (3) “it would disappoint my parents” (4) “it is illegal” (5) “I could lose privileges” (6) “I would disappoint others” (7) “I would get a bad reputation” (8) “I would get expelled”.

    When asked if they had talked to their parents about drugs, the Youth Survey results indicated that only 35.1% of kids had talked to parents about alcohol, only 31% had talked to parents about marijuana, only 25.7% had talked about tobacco, only 25.2% talked about illegal drugs, and only 20.5% had talked about prescription drugs.

    What can you do to protect your family and your children or grandchildren? 9 out of 10 people who become addicted to alcohol or drugs started using as a teenager. Parents or grandparents should talk early and often with children against using alcohol, marijuana and/or any indiscriminate use of pills, legal or illegal. We must have specific conversations about fentanyl and about avoiding any pill that is offered to our teens at a party or, is offered by another teen or an adult in any indiscriminate setting.

    We must encourage our schools, our City Councils, our Board of Supervisors, our Arizona Legislature, our Federal Government and our local medical personnel to advocate for good, protective policy. We must consider carrying Naloxone (Narcan) with us (available in Arizona pharmacies without a prescription) in case of an overdose. We must get involved and be strong advocates to protect all of Arizona children. Go to MATFORCE.org for more information.

     

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    5 Comments

    1. Andrea Kadar on September 22, 2021 10:42 am

      Thank God for Merilee Fowler and her team at MATFORCE! These “soldiers” for our children’s well-being fight tirelessly everyday to raise awareness on substance abuse and prevention. I am gravely concerned about high potency recreational marijuana being legalized in Arizona and hope that we do not have the same experience as Colorado after legalization: auto accident statistics went up, teen use increased, poison control calls increased, hospitalizations increased, etc. Educate yourselves on drug abuse and the signs, please, parents and grandparents. Our children are our most precious asset.

    2. Michael Schroeder on September 22, 2021 11:22 am

      Thank you Merilee for keeping us informed on the major issue.

    3. Dwight Kadar on September 22, 2021 12:13 pm

      Question: Why are fentanyl and methamphetamine flooding our Arizona streets? Answer (In my opinion): The open border policy of the the current administration is directly responsible to this dramatic increase. As stated
      in the article, “Meth is produced in “super labs” in Mexico by the cartels and is transported illegally across our border.” Elections have consequences and clearly, the 2020 elections are having negative and deadly consequences on the citizens of Arizona.

    4. Trisha Denney on September 22, 2021 12:42 pm

      The is very informative. Anything we can do to bring continued awareness to this horrible problem. Thank you!

    5. Bruce Bramblett on September 23, 2021 7:00 am

      Thank you Merilee for this excellent article and for the amazing work you and your team at MATFORCE do to reduce and hopefully eliminate substance abuse in Yavapai County.

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     THE MOMENT IS UPON US

    Dear Sedona,

    The moment is upon us. The time for a united effort to shift the focus back to our community is now.

    The ability to thrive in our community, our environment, our workforce, and the tourist industry, is entirely possible because we have all the resources needed for success.

    Still, we need a council that isn’t afraid to ask the hard questions, that makes decisions based on data and facts, and through discussion, rather than moving and voting in group unison as they so regularly do.

    This is my home. I have been a part of the Sedona community for 28 years. I witnessed the road debacle, the lack of planning, the city circumventing the local businesses ability to thrive, while making choices to expand the local government and be in direct competition with private industry.

    I am a unique candidate because unlike the incumbents, I don’t believe the government should expand in size, nor in operations, nor would I attempt to micromanage every aspect of our community.

    City government should stay in its lane and allow the competitive market of local private industry to prosper. And it should defend our community from corporate takeover and infiltration of our town.

    I do not agree that we should sign onto International Building Codes and regulations by signing Sedona up to the ICC. It is imperative that we remain a sweet, rural community.

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    The discord between the decision making process and the desires of the community have never been more clear. It has been nearly a decade in the making.

    It is time for a new era of energy to take charge. An energy that is reflective in the ability to succeed rather than be trapped in out of date consciousness.

    It has been a great honor meeting with each of you. I hear your concerns over the insane and out of control spending and I echo them. A budget of $105,000,000 in a town of 9700 residents is completely unacceptable. A parking structure (that looks like a shoe box) originally slated to cost 11 million, now projected to cost 18 million, is incomprehensible. Especially, considering there is no intention of charging for parking.

    For those who are concerned that I lack the political experience within our established system- that is precisely what Sedona needs… Not another politician, but instead a person who understands people, who listens to the voices within the community, and who will act in service on their behalf with accountability, for the highest good of Sedona. What I am not, will prove to be an asset as I navigate the entrenched bureaucracy with a fresh perspective. Business as usual, is over.

    Creative solutions require new energy.

    Every decision that is made by our local government, must contemplate Sedona first.

    • Does this decision benefit the residents?
    • Does this decision benefit the local businesses?
    • Does this decision actually help the environment?
    • Will this decision sustain benefit in the future, or will it bring more problems?

    What we have now is a city government that expands to 165 employees for 9700 residents. Palm Desert has 53,000 residents and 119 city employees. Majority of our city department heads are not even in town. I find this problematic.

    Efforts towards championing in and courting new solutions for our medical needs are imperative. We are losing our doctors. We must encourage competition with other facilities rather than be held hostage by NAH, who clearly have their own set of dysfunctions.

    We must remember that so many move to Sedona for its beauty, hiking, and small town charm. Bigger, faster, and more concrete does not, in broad strokes, fit the ethos of Sedona.

    The old world must remain strong here in balance, as that is what visitors want to experience. Too many have noted that Sedona has lost its edge and charm.

    As Mayor I will preserve the rural charm of our community, and push back against the urbanization that is planned for Sedona.

    As mayor I will make it a priority to create opportunities to support our youth.  After school healthy, enriching programs should be created for our kids, and available to the Sedona workforce regardless of residency and regardless of school they belong to.

    As Mayor, I will create an agenda to deliberately embody the consciousness of our collective needs here, allowing private industry to meet the needs of our community rather than bigger government.

    I hope to have your vote on Aug 2nd. I am excited and have the energy to take on this leadership role with new eyes, community perspective, and the thoughtful consciousness that reflects all ages of the human spectrum.

    Thank you deeply for your consideration.

    Sincerely,

    Samaire Armstrong


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    Let’s face it. I love conspiracy theories. The more far-out the better. Yup. I’m one of those. Looking at the Trump raid fiasco there can only be two theories that I see fit perfectly into the scenario that’s being weaved for public consumption. The first is that what is happening is actually being engineered by the forces that want Trump to return to the White House. Just like with the Russia-Russia thing, what is going to happen after all the hoopla,Trump will be found completely innocent just like before and he will be loved even more by his fans and followers. Those who tried to put him down will be chagrinned while those who supported him politically will be exalted. Republicans will be revived, and they will go out and vote in a new Congress and Trump will rule once again. Then there is the other side of the coin. Read more→
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