The Office of National Drug Control Policy recently released the "Drug-Free Communities Support Program’s 2014 National Evaluation Report," which provided some promising results for towns including Barrington.

The report shows that drug and alcohol use among middle school and high school students is down and the perception surrounding illicit drug use has also changed.

According to the report, the 618 Drug-Free Communities (DFC) funded by ONDCP in 2013, of which Barrington's BAY Team is a part, have recognized:

• A significant decrease in past 30-day use for alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and prescription drugs among middle school and high school youth;

• An increase in the percentage of survey respondents who reported that regular use of tobacco, alcohol, or prescription drugs has moderate or great risk;

• An increase in the perception of peer disapproval among middle school students in each of the four substance areas, and for high school students in each substance except marijuana.

• An increase in perception of parent disapproval for each of the substance areas, with the exception of marijuana among high school youth.

This information came as welcome news to Kathy Sullivan, the prevention director for Barrington's BAY Team.

"We are not powerless against the challenges of prescription drug use among young people in Rhode Island,” said Ms. Sullivan.

“Research shows that prevention is a powerful tool that can counteract the spread of youth drug use in our communities, and we will continue to work together to decrease drug use and change young people’s perceptions of drugs."

The goals of the DFC program are two-fold. The first goal is to establish and strengthen collaboration among communities and the second goal is to reduce substance use among youth.

As part of the Drug-Free Communities program, the BAY Team has pioneered programs to address the prescription drug problem in the community, such as the permanent collection box at the police station and the semi-annual Drug Take Back events. The next Drug Take Back will take place on Sept. 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at CVS on County Road.