Out of the Dark

TIME FOR CHANGE! Our communities are the foundation and heart of our society. Unhealthy communities, quite simply, create an unhealthy society. The resulting growth of drug addiction has been in the loss of many lives, destruction of families and has reached every sector in our community causing an enormous drain on our economy and our way of life. Our historical misunderstanding of drug addiction and the denial of this chronic illness has resulted in creating a growing dark hole in the heart of many communities and it pervades our public consciousness. "I would just about call this an epidemic," said Craighead County Sheriff, Jack McCann. McCann says the number of Arkansas' youth abusing prescription pills is rising. A trend experts say is happening county, state, and nationwide. (KAIT8.com) So what are YOU going to do about?
We need your ideas to help address the drug problems in Northeast Arkansas because we can not do this alone! VOLUNTEER TODAY on our STEP UP PAGE. Want to start an Out of the Dark Organization in your community? Contact us at outofthedark.org@gmail.com
(July 2010) There has been a 400% rise in the number of substance abuse treatment admissions for prescription pain narcotics between 1998 and 2008 involving all segments of the population regardless of age, gender, educational level and employment status. "Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions Involving Abuse of Pain Relievers: 1998 and 2008" (June 2010) Out of the Dark founder and local attorney, Charles "Skip" Mooney, Jr., has been awarded the 2010 CE Ransick Award from the Arkansas Bar Foundation and the Arkansas Bar Association for his outstanding service to the legal community in connection with the Out of the Dark Movement. (March 2010) Out of the Dark Students speak out. “I’d say about 75 percent of people in our school have done drugs at some point,” said Norman, president of the JHS Out of the Dark anti-drug campus organization. “I think about 50 percent of them are using drugs regularly. It’s a lot, and I’m concerned because my little sister is in second grade and will be coming up through the school in the next few years.” Read more.
Get an Out of the Dark Newsletter. Send us your mailing address HERE!	Tired of drug dealers in our community. Well you can help by reporting drug activity! Read more... "STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFER INSIGHT" - new survery. In excess of 90% of respondents, "when asked: 'what are the emerging drug problems in your jurisdiction, in your state, and what do you see on the horizon as something we, as a nation, need to prepare for?', simply said: Prescription Drugs…the pills. Read more...
Check our OD calendar for up coming area events here! The Out of the Dark Movement will voice its concerns about state policies to the ARKANSAS LEGISLATIVE TASKFORCE ON REDUCING POVERTY AND PROMOTING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at a Town Hall Meeting in Jonesboro. Read More. Out of the Dark Coalition will meet on Friday, July 23, 2010 for for its second meeting at 11:30 a.m. at the Mid South Health Systems. The ODC is a group of community leaders from all sectors of our community to that discuss local issues and local solutions. If you would like to be part of the ODC then please contact us at outofthedark.org@gmail.com Out of the Dark Inc. receives 501(c) (3) IRS Tax Exemption. Great news for our community organization because now all donations are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Craighead County Community Foundation Steps Up. The CCCF recently provided Out of the Dark Inc. with $2,500.00 grant to help build a great foundation for our volunteer community organization. United Way of Northeast Arkansas Helps Out. he United Way of NEA has agreed to provide Out of the Dark Inc. with a new home. In May OD Volunteers will start moving their operations into the Untied Way Building located at 407 Union Ave. in Jonesboro, Arkansas. New Local Partnership. The American Advertising Federation of Northeast Arkansas has announced that it has selected Out of the Dark Inc. for their 2010 pro bono support program! More info... Brookland Out of the Dark. Congratulations to Ms. Brandy Dunigan and the Brookland Out of the Dark at the Brookland Junior High School for creating their newsletter in honor of Red Ribbon Week. Read the newsletter... JHS Out of the Dark. The Jonesboro High School Out of the Dark Chapter is now on Facebook. Support our students in making our community a better place to live. Sign up here. New PRESCRIPTION WARNING FORM to help local Medical Providers Read more... Teen Prescription Drug Abuse Decoding Cough Medicine Abuse Hour of Power Meetings Understanding METH Addiction Don't understand? Why not? Read more... We like to share stories about how drugs affect our community. Read more... People that have become involved with non violent illegal drug activity because of their ignorance of the risks of addiction need education and help, not a criminal record. It really does not matter anymore whether you believe that addiction is self imposed or a disease because the fact is that the results of this growing epidemic adversely affects all of us, either directly or indirectly. Visit our Support page HERE.	“Substance Abuse Prevention Dollars and Cents in Arkansas: A Cost-Benefit Analysis” (Feb. 2010), released by the Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention, investing in drug prevention is the most effective way to reduce the economic burden placed on our public systems. More info... U.S. says "drugged driving" growing threat. "If you think about driving on an American road on a Friday or Saturday evening about 16 percent of the vehicles - one in six of the cars - (the driver) will be under the influence of an illicit or licit drug," Gil Kerlikowske, director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, said. Read More... Afghan Police Recruits Abusing Drugs, US report finds. Drug abuse is rife in the Afghan police force with up to four out of 10 recruits testing positive for illegal drugs in some areas, a US report says. Read More… Shoveling Up II: The Impact of Substance Abuse on Federal, State, and Local Budgets a new study report released on May 27, 2009, found that the Federal, State and Local Governments spend almost half a trillion dollars a year on substance abuse and addiction and that out of every dollar spent only 1.9 cents goes to prevention and treatment even though research has established that every dollar spent on quality treatment can deliver a return of $12.00 or more in reduced substance abuse-related criminal justice and health care costs. Read more... Heroin Addiction Spreads Like Wildfire. Russia has called on the United Nations to link the foreign troop presence in Afghanistan to an obligation to destroy poppy plantations. Read more... "Nationwide Alert" issued by SAMHSA on Cocaine use. Substantial levels of cocaine may be adulterated with levamisole – a veterinary anti-parasitic drug. Read more... Drug-related Deaths. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that because of the increase in abuse of prescription opiates such as the painkillers Methadone, Oxycontin and Vicodin drug-related deaths have overtaken the number of traffic fatalities in 16 states. Read more... Drug Overdose. Arkansas is included in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2008 Report “Prescription Drug Overdose: State Health Agencies Respond”. Read more… Support our Out of the Dark School Chapters! According to the The 2009 Arkansas Prevention Needs Assessment Survey (APNA), a lot of 6th through12th graders are using prescription drugs for non medical reasons. Take a look. Read more... This past year Out of the Dark Inc. has established new Out of the Dark School Chapters in 7 out of 8 school districts plus the Success Academy. That you to our School Representatives for getting involved. You should get involved too! Read more...