Missoula Underage Substance
Abuse Prevention Team (MUSAP)
MUSAP is a Forum coalition of
professionals, volunteers, community leaders,
and agencies collaborating to improve community
strategies to reduce underage substance use in
Missoula County.
MUSAP works to prevent underage substance
abuse in order to give youth a
better chance at success in all aspects of life and to
reduce the negative consequences related to youth use of
alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
Risks related to youth
ATOD-use include, but are not limited to: chemical
dependency; crime; death; depression; disease; other
physical and mental health issues; family and
interpersonal conflict; injuries; neurological
impairment; overdose; sexual assault; teen pregnancy;
traffic-related injuries and fatalities; and violence.
Our work:
Strengthens family communication and relationships
Encourages all
community members to make safer and
healthier decisions about
their own drinking
Increases feelings of
safety
Builds community and
neighborhood pride
Makes dating safer
Lowers hospital
visitations and expenses
Encourages healthy
community norms, behaviors,
and expectations
Influences
decision-makers to consider health impacts of
policies and funding focuses
Click
HERE
to see all of our 2009 Billboards (pdf)
Why is Missoula concerned about underage substance
use?
Underage substance use
puts the well-being of individuals, families, and the
community at risk.
Injury,
crime, sexual assault, school drop-out, family and
interpersonal conflict, and future alcohol and other drug
dependence are just some of the problems that are associated
with underage use.
Underage substance use can
also be deadly. In fact, underage
drinking is the leading factor in the four leading
causes of adolescent death: car crashes, homicide,
suicide, and unintentional injuries.
We're concerned about
Missoula's kids and families.
Missoula suffers from
some of the highest rates of underage substance use in the
nation.
While Missoula
youth report using less alcohol
and illicit drugs; they continue
to report well above both the state and National averages.
Missoula's underage drinking rates are 3-11% above the
national average.20% of
Missoula County 8th graders report alcohol use in the last
30 days, 4% higher than the national average.
Furthermore, the majority of
local youth who report using alcohol sometime in the past
month, also report
binge drinking-- drinking 5 or more drinks
in one sitting-- at least once within the past 2 weeks.
And it's not just older teens:
9% of local 8th graders report
binge drinking in the past two weeks.
(2008 Montana Prevention Needs Assessment)
As a community,
Missoula is rallying to
Make the Connection for our youth, to reduce
underage alcohol and other drug use, and to prevent the
litany of harms and risks associated with youth substance
use.
MUSAP brings everyone to the
same table, recognizing that we all have a stake in
preventing underage alcohol and other drug use.
Schools, law enforcement, youth development, treatment,
University, prevention, health care, and retailer
representatives work together to implement and coordinate
evidence-based community prevention strategies.
