Community Coalition

Colton Joint Unified School District to appoint a new Superintendent

23 Nov 2019 Leave a comment

by rialto-now in Colton, Community Coalition, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Inland Empire, San Bernardino

The Colton Joint Unified School District’s Board of Education today announced that it has begun the process to appoint a new Superintendent to replace long-time CJUSD leader Jerry Almendarez.

Almendarez, Superintendent of CJUSD the past nine years, accepted a position this week as the new superintendent of the Santa Ana Unified School District. He will begin his new duties Jan 1 and will remain Superintendent of CJUSD until then.

Almendarez became superintendent of CJUSD in November 2010. Focuses of his leadership include community involvement, collaboration, and seeking innovative ways to inspire student achievement and engagement. In addition to moving forward with an appointment process, the CJUSD Board also has a scheduled special meeting on Dec. 9 to discuss its goals, which set the district’s direction and priorities and are part of the superintendent’s evaluation process.

“We wish Superintendent Almendarez the very best and congratulate the Santa Ana school district on an excellent selection,” CJUSD Board President Joanne Thoring-Ojeda said. “We are also excited about continuing the outstanding work in our district to prepare all of our students for successful lives and to do that in the best, most effective ways possible.”

In 2013, Almendarez formed CJUSD’s Community Cabinet as part of his Purposeful Community project to bring the business, government, non-profit and educational communities together to work toward common goals such as preparing students for the workforce. Currently in its seventh year, the initiative pulls hundreds of members from a wide cross section of the community, informing them about district programs and engaging them in activities directly with students.

He co-presented this month at the EdSurge Fusion conference on the topic of “applying learning science to real classes and empowering students and educators,” along with a CJUSD principal and representatives from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning. In July, as part of the fourth cohort of TED-ED Innovative Educators, he delivered a talk on the topic, “Educational Inequities – identifying inequities within your own district and determining how to address them.”

“This was an extremely difficult decision,” Almendarez said. “CJUSD is more than the place where I work. It is home. My friends and colleagues here shaped my learning and growth as a professional. Our students and community inspire me to want to try my best to play a part in their success. And I know they will continue to thrive.”

Almendarez began his career in the Colton Joint Unified School District as a math teacher. Before becoming superintendent, he served as assistant superintendent of Human Resources and as director of Human Resources. Prior to that time he was a principal at Colton High School and an assistant principal. He also served as an adjunct professor for Azusa Pacific University and the University of Redlands, teaching courses in educational leadership for educators seeking their master’s degrees and/or administrative credentials. He represents East Valley superintendents on the San Bernardino County District Advocates for Better Schools (SANDABS) Executive Committee. Almendarez is also a product of the Colton Joint Unified School District. He received his K-12 education there, graduating from Colton High.

Read his personal message here: https://www.colton.k12.ca.us/Page/4866

Were California Voters Lied To With Marijuana Legalization

02 Apr 2018 Leave a comment

by rialto-now in #CA31st, 100 Black Men, AguLIAR, Ana Gonzales, and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy, Andy Carrizales, Aquenetta warren, Assembly Woman Eloise Reyes, Assemblymember-Elect Cheryl Brown, Ca, Colton, Community Coalition, Deborah Robertson, Dr. Michael Neeki, Ed palmer, Ed Scott, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Inland Empire, Rialto, San Bernardino, youth

When Prop 64 was voted in by voters there were 2 types of people that approved the measure. Those who wanted to smoke pot legally or didn’t care if other people did and those who saw a massive opportunity to fix California’s broken finances with Marijuana taxes. Many who were against the proposition warned that this would lead to more youth use and the taxes would not materialize like promised. Four months into the legal weed age of California and it looks like the opponents were right!

People posted all over social media and commented on news stories about the massive amount of money California voters would leave on the table if Recreational Marijuana was not made legal. Well four months in and you already have legislators looking to back down the promised tax to voters.

“Alarmed that California’s fledgling legal marijuana industry is being undercut by the black market, a group of lawmakers proposed Thursday to reduce state taxes for three years on growing and selling cannabis to allow licensed sellers to get on their feet.” (latimes.com)

What is adding insult to injury is that California has been leading the charge to hurt on industry to prop up another and attacked California residents at the same time. Billions have been and continue to flow into the Green Energy Sector while the California Government artifically inflates the cost of traditional fossil fuels and other traditional energy sources.

“California, long the national leader in clean energy policy, is poised to double down on its investments in the sector, with billions in new subsidies set to flow in over the next few years.” (reuters.com)

This means California leaders could care less if people can afford to drive but we must make sure that drugs are cheap and easy to get. Were not talking about drugs that save lives were talking about drugs that fry your brain and attract unsavory attention. Oh in full disclousre there are ZERO studies that have shown that THC the psychotropic portion of Marijuana has any positive benefits at all. The ground breaking science has come from CBD oil a chemical that is extracted from Marijuana & Hemp. Thomas Minnihan a prominent local doctor who works to highlight how CBD oils helped his daughters seizures said:

“One of the hardest things as a parent looking to CBD oil’s as a cure to a horrible sickness is that there is no way to get CBD oil without some THC. Also the grug legalization groups have used sick people as a prop for years and now that they have success they are leaving sick people in the dust”

Now when it comes to youth access the taxes collected were supposed to back fill the youth use portion to make it less likely to happen and deal with what youth use that was occurring. With the tax getting lowered and the Cartels seeing more opportunity to introduce their product to a market where it is excepted and cheaper without the tax youth use is still growing and there is now less money to handle it. To add insult to injury legal operations are acting the same way the Cartels do.

“We’ve been seeing that product end up in Florida, end up in New York — places that don’t have cannabis decriminalization and have very harsh punishments,” he said. “When you have prohibition in other states, it drives the price up [there] because it’s not regulated… I’d guess 80 percent of all product in Oregon is, unfortunately, leaving the state.” (vice.com)

After you vote the people behind the effort show their true colors. Dennis Hilton has been on a personal PR tour to make sure everyone knows his and the pro drug legalization lobby true feelings about dumping drugs on California communities and the Cartels big role in the whole game still.

“The bottom line is this: We want it, so we will have it. Period. And we will seek the best prices for the best quality. If competition from the cartels causes a price war resulting in the reduction of usurious taxes, that is great. May the best man win.” Dennis Hilton

So California voters have to ask themselves, do you feel lied to yet? If you do are you big enough to fix it?

Articles used in this story:

https://www.vox.com/2014/9/23/6218695/case-against-pot-legalization-big-marijuana

https://news.vice.com/article/how-americas-legal-weed-is-changing-the-black-market-and-influencing-mexican-cartels

https://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/california-ballot-measure-64-legalize-marijuana

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-clean-energy-california/as-u-s-hesitates-california-pours-billions-into-green-energy-idUSBRE8AD0F720121114

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-pot-tax-reduction-california-legislature-20180315-story.html

Rialto Relay for Life event kicks off tomorrow with a Celebrity Guest

25 Aug 2017 Leave a comment

by rialto-now in #CA31st, 100 Black Men, AFL-CIO, AguLIAR, Al Brown, al Estate, American Cancer Society, American Water, Ana Gonzales, and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy, Andy Carrizales, Aquenetta warren, Area Command, ARMC, Assembly Woman Eloise Reyes, Assemblymember-Elect Cheryl Brown, Barbara A. McGee, Batman Premier, Beatriz E. Valenzuela, beautification comittee, Black History Month, Brad Mitfelt, Budget, Burglury, Ca, Cancer, CBS, Centurion Security Patrol, Chief Mat Fratus, Child Care Careers, Chocolate, city attorney, City Clerk, City of Rialto, Coffee Nutz, Colton, Community Coalition, congress, Congressman Pete Aguilar, david phillips, davidsMarketing, Deborah Robertson, Dine 909, DOVE CHOCOLATE DISCOVERIES Chocolatier, Ed palmer, Edgar Montes, Edward J. Carrillo, Family, Fontana, Gino Garcia, Grand Terrace, hardy brown II, Inland Empire, Joe Baca Jr, Josef (Joe) Britt, joseph williams, Josie Gonzales, Mike Story, Public Safety, Rialto, Rialto, Rialto Fire, Rialto Parks, Rialto Police Department, Rialto Rotary, rialto unified school district, Run Watcha Brung, RUSD, San Bernardino, youth

Below is a list of events and some of the awesome things in store for tomorrow. The local celebrity that can be seen in Rialto regularly showing off what is cool to do and see right here in our little town is pretty popular. The exact time for the local celebrity arrival with his ever so popular live video stream that is seen by hundreds of thousands of Facebook users hasn’t been announced but as soon as we find out you will know so stay tuned/

Join Joel Greene as he helps to kick off the Rialto Relay for Life event. This year the Rialto event is looking to raise $30 Thousand to combat cancer. If you would like to help them hit that mark you can donate any amount by clicking here.

Relay For Life is the signature fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Relay is staffed and coordinated by volunteers in more than 5,200 communities and 27 countries. Volunteers give of their time and effort because they believe it’s time to take action against cancer.

Join us at these events to bring communities together to remember loved ones lost, honor survivors of all cancers, and raise money to help the American Cancer Society make a global impact on cancer.

Time: 9:00am

We’ll kick off the event by celebrating everyone who’s been affected by cancer. Whether someone’s been diagnosed for 10 days or been cancer-free for 10 years, they gather together for the crowd to cheer them on.

Survivors & Caregiver Lap

Time: 9:30am

Survivors define courage and inspire those facing a cancer diagnosis. Their strength is honored with each step they take around the first lap. If you know anyone who’s overcome cancer, invite them to join.

Caring for others is such a selfless act, which is why we honor caregivers with a lap. They often walk with the person they’ve supported.

Fight Back Ceremony

Time: 10:00am

Have you ever wanted to see a cement truck up close? Climb inside a cherry picker? Explorer a firetruck? Join us for a second annual Touch-A-Truck event.

Kids Corner sponsored by Target with games, crafts and activities for kids of all ages.

Be your own builder. Join us for a kids workshop sponsored by the Home Depot where kids can use tools to build their own creations.

Time: 4:00 pm

We will talk about what we can do beyond the event to fight back against this horrible disease.

Time: 9:00 pm

Each Luminaria bag represents a loved one lost to cancer, brings support to those affected by it, and honors survivors. This powerful moment gives people the opportunity to grieve but also offers hope and comfort.

Closing Ceremony

Time: 10:30 pm

We celebrate all that we’ve accomplished together and remember those we’ve lost. Together, we commit to take action and help end the pain and suffering of cancer.

September Is Going To Be A Very Busy Month

04 Sep 2016 Leave a comment

Well the summer is winding down were having cooler days everyone in the region is back to school and our High Schools have just finished Pre-Season football games. We also have a laundry list of people looking for your vote in just a couple of months!!!!!!

So with such a busy September who can keep track? Well were here to let you know whats going on in Rialto and why its important to you!

September Events

9/6/16 Promotional PD Pinnings 3:00 PM 214 N. Palm Gym

9/6/16 6:30 PM Council Chambers Parks & Rec Commission Smoke Free Park Ordinance. Coalition members attending.

9/7/16 6:00 PM Traffic Commission meeting

9/10/16 10:00 am 9/11 15 year Remembrance Ceremony at Fire Station and RPD.

9/13/16 8:00 am Coffee With the Chief Cocos

9/17/16 10:00 am Family Festival Civic Center

9/26/16 Rotary Golf Tourament Arrowhead Country Club 8:00 am

9/28/16 6:00 – 9:00 PM Citizen Academy starts. Goes until November 30th.

Image by rialto-now

Own It Rialto Shows Up At Morgan Elementary In A Big Way

01 Sep 2016 Leave a comment

Photo of former Eisenhower High Grad Lewis pumping up Morgan Students Photo Credit Emily Rickard Photo

Written By Mr. Inland Empire

What do you get when you take educators full of passion add a little alumni from Eisenhower High School and top it off with local celebrities like Wet Paint Larry? You get Own It Rialto and over 500 empowered young people.

Own It Rialto led by Eisenhower teacher Chad Rickard and his wife Emily have one goal in mind change Rialto for the better. Chad & Emily have taken on the task of taking the energy and passion former Eisenhower High students have once they graduate from High School and have turned that energy loose on Rialto in awesome ways. With the help of the popular Street Artist Wet Paint Larry and the Rialto Police Department Own It Rialto has targeted to areas that they want to launch their efforts. Local events, Morgan Elementary Students and a better understanding of how their local leaders represent them.

As a kick off to working with Morgan Students the group made wrist bands that had the name of their group “Own It Rialto” and the year that class will graduate. Group leader Chad Rickard said “we want these kids to know we expect them to graduate so if nobody else in their lives expect it someone will”.

Own It Rialto came out with Wet Paint Larry and a Tug of War contest between Morgan Elementary students and Own It Rialto member Louis Redd. The game was crafted to teach the students if they worked together and helped each other out that they could do anything. The students were victorious in the game with a little help from Rialto Police Officer Rice from the Community Policing Program. Next Morgan Elementary students were shown what Own It Rialto is and how it is possible to overcome a bad situation and do amazing things. Main speaker Esli Brito spoke to the kids about issues that they all deal with. Esli spoke about coming to this country at a young age and overcoming cultural and language barriers. Esli is just one of the many group members that want local kids to know that they can do anything. From local celebrities like Wet Paint Larry, Rialto alum Niyi Obileye that are acting in films, Police officers like Rialto Officer Rice and even Julie Vega who is going after her passion of being a chef.

Chad Rickard had a message for Rialto that he posted on Facebook:

“Our next steps will be to start volunteering in after-school programs and develop programs to help them in areas such as reading, athletics, and entrepreneuership. If you are someone or know someone who would like to get involved, please contact me. This was a beautiful experience today; thank you to all those who made it possible.Larry Jones Emily Rickard Esli Brito Julie Vega Niyi Obileye Louis Redd David Phillips Jessica Banks Ana I. Gonzalez Thank you to Principal Vara and Morgan Elementary. Thank you Scott Sparks for letting me hang out with little students instead of my own for a morning!”

Photo Credit Emily Rickard Photography

Video by rialto-now

What’s Going on in Rialto June 4th 2016

03 Jun 2016 Leave a comment

We posted a video on our Facebook page about this weekends events. For more info and a deeper look at what is going on here is what we showed off.

It’s HOT this weekend don’t forget about the cooling centers:

Love to garden and your looking for tips, soil and summer landscape workshops go to the Rialto Community Garden:

Summer Reading Program Kick-off Party is this Saturday at 10:00 am. Friends of the Rialto Library will have a face painter give us Superhero mask, sidewalk chalk and popcorn. Come and join us to sign up for a great SRP season. They want you! BRING WATER it is going to be hot!

Latin Concert & Sounds of Rialto Featuring VILMA DIAZ y la SONORA Saturday, June 4th 4:00 – 9:00 pm Free Concert!!!! Rialto City Park
130 E. San Bernardino Ave. For more information call Rialto Community Services at 909-421-4949

Friends of the Library presents: “One Sliver Spoon, One Silver Bullet” June 4, 2016 Rialto Senior Center 1411 S. Riverside Ave. Rialto, CA Doors open at 6:00 pm Tickets:$18 in Advance and $20 at the Door Tickets may be purchased at the Rialto Branch Library at 251 E. First Street, Rialto CA

Don’t forget to vote on Tuesday June 7th for the best person to represent Rialto in Washington D.C. Paul Chabot

https://www.facebook.com/PaulChabotCalifornia/?fref=ts

Image by rialto-now

Rialto Now Endorses For The 31st Congressional District Paul Chabot

27 May 2016 Leave a comment

First off we analyzed all of the candidates for this Congressional Seat and from the get go we found incumbent Pete Aguilar not the person that this region needs working for the people in Washington DC. Paul Chabot was the person that opposed Pete Aguilar in the last election 2 years ago. Paul Chabot ran a Grassroots campaign that was heavily out spent by the outsiders of the democrat party that flooded the region with money and a visit from Former President Clinton and Current VP Joe Biden. Even with all that Paul Chabot held on to make it a tough win for Pete Aguilar.

https://www.facebook.com/PaulChabotCalifornia/?fref=ts

Paul Chabot came to our city of Rialto and held a Coffee event at Coffee Nuttz in Rialto. Democrats came out and asked Paul Chabot some tough questions and he answered them all unlike Pete Aguilar who has made a habit of running from the constituents when the questions get hard.

Paul Chabot has worked tirelessly for the well being of families and children. His organization has come to cities all over the Inland Empire to bring resources and collaborative partnerships to make local cities better for everyone. Why don’t you know about this? Well you see Paul Chabot and his team don’t come in with a massive team of fake people for a single event jump in front of the cameras for that perfect shot. No Paul Chabot works behind the scenes and works alongside people to create a better community for everyone. His team spreads out all over the Inland Empire to make an impact on the lives of people that matter. We need real people in congress that are interested in fixing the problems that the tax payers care about.

When we first heard about Paul Chabot’s plan for a Joint Military Base in San Bernardino we were skeptical. After listening more about his plans and watching crime skyrocket in San Bernardino this year the plan became one of the best ideas that has been brought to the region. Think about it the world is getting more dangerous and the public has become less comfortable with massive troop boots on ground solutions and more special forces and using air technology resources has become the new way to combat the evil that threatens us. Also our staff grew up in this region and the area that used to consist of Norton Air Force Base and Base Housing was a nice safe place to live and shop. Fast forward today it is full of crime, drugs and looks like a dump. The International Airport has been stalled by years due to massive corruption from Airport Board Staff.

Wikipedia entry on the SB Int Airport has this to say about the demise of the Airport:

An audit completed June 2011 at the request of a grand jury investigation found examples of potential mismanagement and financial irregularities. In September 2011, as part of a special joint corruption task force, the FBI raided the offices of the airport and the home of airport developer Scot Spencer to secure internal documents. In late September 2011, Don Rogers, the Director of the SBIA Authority (SBIAA) resigned. The grand jury report questioned a relationship between Rogers and Spencer, including a settlement of a legal claim by companies owned by Spencer against the SBIAA for almost $1 million without ascertaining whether Spencer’s companies suffered damages equivalent to such an amount.

The good ole San Bernardino Sun also reported on this corrupt land of stolen federal money:

More than 80 FBI agents filled a 26-foot U-Haul truck with records – including computers and mobile phones – as part of an investigation into mail and wire fraud, bribery, conspiracy and money laundering, and theft and fraud related to federal funds.

June 7th is the primary and you have these choices: Pete Aguilar, Sean Flynn, Joe Baca, Kaiser Ahmed & Paul Chabot

The top 2 candidates to obtain the most votes will compete in the general election in November we say your vote should be for Paul Chabot.

Video by rialto-now

Listen to Our Interview with Rialto USD Superintendent Dr. Avila

26 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

Last week we had the opportunity to sit down and have a one on one interview with Rialto Unified School Superintendent Dr. Avila. The interview for our radio show Let’s Talk Community that aired last weekend.

Did you miss it? Well not to worry we have you covered with the video below:

After this interview we feel very confident about the future of Rialto Unified if Dr. Avila is able to complete all of what he spoke about in our interview.

Some of the things that we spoke about off camera were Dr. Avila’s wishes for the administrators of the schools in Rialto. He has an expectation that the administrators welcome the students into school and be outside as the children dismiss for the day. Dr. Avila spoke about the benefits he saw from his time as a school principal being outside and visible during the beginning and end of the day. He was able to connect with the students that didn’t find themselves in his office and he could survey the schools surroundings. Dr. Avila also doesn’t agree with administrators having labeled parking spots. He wants every aspect of the school setting to be welcome and inviting. He has gone as far as to remove all the assigned parking spots from district office including his!

The last thing we did is he walked me out into the lobby and asked me what do you see? As I called out items I saw he said now what is missing? I was puzzled I don’t know what is missing? He said where are the children? Why are the students not represented in this lobby? He was right there were lots of adults represented but no children. He said that he would be changing that as well.

We ran into Dr. Avila at the Puttin on a Ritz Gala Saturday Night and he said that he would like to sit down with us again and give an how are we doing now update on the progress of his desires for the District.

Video by rialto-now

Rialto Community Coalition Seeks To Take Away Community Rights

27 Dec 2015 Leave a comment

Join the only conversation that the community gets

on defending against people using tax money to steal your rights.

On December 1st 2015 the Rialto Community Coalition took a vote to move down the road of creating a city ordinance that would take away legal rights of law abiding adults. The organization that oversees the Rialto Community Coalition a group of community residents and leaders focus was Drug and Alcohol Prevention has now been given approval from the County of San Bernardino to also focus on Tobacco use. So Mental Health Systems the organization that oversees the Rialto Community Coalition has decided to partner with the Lung Association and IPS another private company tasked with drug and alcohol prevention to take away peoples right to smoke cigarettes outdoors. In documents we have received from Mental Health Systems the organization works county wide with a contract that is over $1 million to provide services to various cities throughout the county. Couple that with the $150 Thousand that the Lung Association and IPS are working though and it seems like that money should be better spent helping people off the addiction to Tobacco, provide education on the dangers of E-Cigarettes and leverage more retailers to not sell the product within the city limits. But no they sat down at Brothers Pizza in a Strategic Planning Meeting that was not open to the public looking at how they can further restrict the legal rights of people 18 years of age and older.

The meeting was held in a back room of Brothers Pizza that was set up for 15 people and only had 10 if you include all the paid staff employees from the various organizations looking to spend their government grant money. Now members like Pat from Rialto Unified School District Public Safety claimed that the meeting was open to the public yet only if you agreed with smoke free parks law. The communications with Michael Townsend asked that only those who supported the issue to attend. The email notifications also asked that members NOT distribute openly with the public.

David Phillips was basically the lone member speaking out against this effort and advocating for the community. Leader and Facilitator of the Rialto Community Coalition from Mental Health Systems said that this was not an attempt to go behind the communities backs and that the city leaders would solicit the communities opinion on weather Tobacco Free Parks were something that the community wanted. What is funny is the city never surveys the community when they are going to create yet another Ordinance to further restrict people by creating their own set of laws. Pat a self identified public safety officer with the school district claimed that this Ordinance would also deal with marijuana use in the parks. What is funny isn’t marijuana use already illegal? Why would we need a separate city law to deal with this?

I am not a fan of Tobacco use but I also know that if we make something legal and then make engaging in this very practice illegal we are heading down a slippery slope of government control and abuse. If this is so good for the community why is there no talk of how to first involve the community. The meeting was to look at ways of leveraging various elected officials to see things their was verses what the community really wants. What was very sketchy was the way the Rialto Unified School District Public Safety Officer made it clear that she would during work hours speak to her boss Eisenhower High School Principal and new Parks and Recreation Commissioner Scott Sparks about this effort to see where he was leaning on an issue that the public HAS NOT EVEN BEEN POLLED ON.

If they have worked this hard to avoid your opinion do you think they really care???????

This video we recorded for them says they care about what you think, is that true???????

Video by rialto-now

Adult Marijuana Use Attributed To A Rise In Youth Use

11 Sep 2015 Leave a comment

by rialto-now in Barbara A. McGee, Ca, City of Rialto, Colton, Community Coalition, Congressman Pete Aguilar, Crime, David Goldstein, Deborah Robertson, Ed palmer, Ed Scott, Edgar Montes, Edward J. Carrillo, Flores Park, Flores Park Neighborhood Watch, Fontana, Grand Terrace, hardy brown II, Henry Nickel, Inland Empire, James Ramos, Janice Rutherford, Joe Baca Jr, Josef (Joe) Britt, joseph williams, Josie Gonzales, Marijuana, Medical Marijuana, Public Safety, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands PD, Rialto, Rialto, Rialto Fire, Rialto Parks, Rialto Police Department, San Bernardino, San Bernardino Police, SCAT, Shawn O'Connell, SWAT, The Fellas, youth

Below is a message from the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to local prevention providers. This data and reports further confirm what prevention providers have been warning ever since the lie of Medical Marijuana began to take shape youth use is on the way up. One area where prevention providers have been looking to get to is kids in Elementary and they have been getting resistance due to the thought that these kids are to young to be involved in drug use. This study show a major increase in drug use among youth 12 and older meaning kids in 6th grade are being introduced to drugs.

Another thing that the data shows is a driving force behind an increase in youth use is the widespread use in adults. This matches what the Rialto Community Coalition found in February during their Strategic Planning Session was that one of the biggest reasons youth use drugs especially Marijuana is because of the lax attitude from adults. The investigative reports from David Goldstein on medical marijuana dispensary’s acting as a hub to get Marijuana to youth should be an eye opening period for parents.

We need to support local organizations that are taking this issue seriously and local candidates that value youth health over money from the Pro Drug Legalization Lobby. On of these organizations is the Rialto Community Coalition that meets the first Tuesday of the month from 6-7:30pm at Fire Station 202 at 1700 North Riverside Ave. Another group working locally and more regionally is Inland Empire Youth 4 Today a local network of prevention providers and business owners looking for innovative ways to engage and grow tomorrows leaders.

Today, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) released the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) report which shows progress in reducing some forms of substance use – especially among adolescents. Substance use levels in many areas, however have remained relatively constant.

SAMHSA issued the 2014 NSDUH report on mental and substance use disorders as part of the kick off for the 26th annual observance of National Recovery Month. Recovery Month broadens public awareness to the fact that behavioral health is essential to health, prevention works, treatment for substance use and mental disorders is effective, and people can and do recover from these disorders.

With regard to substance use, the report found some areas of progress, particularly among adolescents. For example, the percentage of adolescents aged 12 to 17 who were current (past month) tobacco users declined by roughly half from 15.2 percent in 2002 to 7.0 percent in 2014. Similarly, the level of adolescents engaged in past month illegal alcohol use dropped from 17.6 percent to 11.5 percent over the same period. The level of current nonmedical users of prescription pain relievers decreased from 3.2 percent in 2002 to 1.9 percent in 2014 among adolescents aged 12 to 17.

Marijuana continues to be the most commonly used illicit drug. In 2014, roughly 8.4 percent of Americans age 12 and older were current users of marijuana – up from 7.5 percent in 2013. Marijuana use is especially growing among those aged 26 and older – from 5.6 percent in 2013 to 6.6 percent in 2014. The percentage of adolescents who were current marijuana users in 2014 (7.4 percent) was similar to recent years.

Although the survey shows nonmedical pain reliever use continues to be the second most common type of illicit drug use, the percentage of people aged 12 or older in 2014 who were current nonmedical users of pain relievers (1.6 percent) was lower than in most years since 2002, and about the same as in 2013. However, current heroin use increased from 0.1 percent of the population age 12 and older in 2013 to 0.2 in 2014.

Overall, the use of illicit drugs – including marijuana – among Americans aged 12 and older increased from 9.4 percent in 2013 to 10.2 percent in 2014. This was driven particularly by the increase in adult marijuana use.

The data released today show some signs of progress, including lower levels of nonmedical prescription drug use and teen alcohol and tobacco use; however, we still have significant challenges to address. We know that evidence-based prevention efforts are the most effective way to reduce drug use and to support the roughly 90 percent of American youth who do not use illicit drugs.

This Administration will continue to expand community-based efforts to prevent drug use, pursue ‘smart on crime’ approaches to drug enforcement, increase access to treatment, work to reduce overdose deaths, and support the millions of Americans in recovery.

Sincerely,

Michael P. Botticelli, Director
Office of National Drug Control Policy