Some Recent Visitors Write:
"I have just encountered your site. I am a clinic administrator for the Alcohol and Drug Program in Ventura California attached to Ventura County Behavioral Health.
We have three clinics and are currently serving approximately 250 individuals.
We have seen methamphetamine supplant all other drugs, including an old time favorite - alcohol, as the primary drug of choice.
I have visited countless sites including some of the more research oriented SAMHSA, CDC and find yours to be a rich source of apolitical, scientific and pragmatic information. Thanks."
Richard LaPerriere
California
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Your section on this awful drug is without question, the most accurate, most current and best written I've seen since I began gathering information on the topic two years ago.
The staff responsible within your organization should be commended and I shall look forward to becoming a part of this initiative."
Raisa Selwyn
Group Coordinator - AFDS
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"I certainly wouldn't recommend that anyone try reading your entire section on methamphetamines in one sitting! But I do recommend that anyone with any responsibility for the meth issue read it from beginning to end because I found information here I have been unable to find anywhere else. Just the page on the prices for methamphetamine is quite amazing."
B. Noble
London, Ontario
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
Welcome to All Positive Options.com and the two new initiatives we're launching. On April 30th, 2007, we launched The International Collaboration On Methamphetamine (I.C.O.M.) Then on June 1st, 2007, we'll be distributing our first issue of The Meth Update Newsletter. This page will provide you with the concept behind these powerful and unprecedented resources, as well as the many benefits they create for stakeholders in the meth issue. If you're only interested in The Meth Update Newsletter, please click HERE
Background For Development If you've visited our web site, you're no doubt already familiar with our section on methamphetamine, widely considered the most comprehensive and current examination of this drug available anywhere in the world. At well over 100 pages and updated on a daily basis, it's a rich resource of information that we've endeavored to keep completely free of exaggeration, scare tactics and misinformation. You will find information there that you won't find anywhere else, not the least of which is a running monitor of meth prices throughout North America. However, even with our examination of meth, we knew that much more could be done. We knew that if we were able to get stakeholders who were involved in the meth issue communicating freely and easily with each other, the potential for new ideas, strategies and solutions would be virtually unlimited. And that was the genesis of the initiative we're launching - The International Collaboration On Methamphetamine. A new resource for stakeholders in the meth issue that, while international in scope, is really designed to help you find solutions specifically for your community. Here's how it works:
The forum is going to be the "heart" of The Collaboration, with specific "rooms" for community coalitions, treatment providers, first responders, educators, researchers and so on. In any of these rooms, you can ask questions of other members, post requests for information, or make announcements. So whether you're trying to develop a task force funding proposal, a school awareness program, or develop a community strategy for methamphetamine, there's no need to "re-invent the wheel." All you need do is request material from another member that's already done it. Treatment providers will now have a platform to not only share and exchange information and insight on "best practices" and treatment techniques for meth, they'll also have a direct line of communication with researchers and educators. And while the collaboration is not involved in enforcement per se, law enforcement and other first responders will have access to the very latest information on safety issues and protocols involving methamphetamine - obviously an area of critical importance. And of course sharing and information exchange will also be encouraged between different types of stakeholders within the meth issue so that everyone can develop of sense of "the big picture." This will enable your coalition or meth task force to have a direct line of communications with treatment providers, school educators, and other responsible agencies in your area. In this way, we can make the concept of a "continuum of care" become a working reality in every region and community. The fact is, the possibilities are truly unlimited.
As a member of The International Collaboration, you will have the option of making your contact information available to other members via our network directory. The directory will give you the ability to communicate directly with other members, by email or messaging. And if you have a broadband internet connection, you will have the capability of contacting any other member, anywhere in the world for free, via voice-over-internet, two way video and video conferencing. All you need are a microphone and web cam, there are no other charges or equipment to buy. And best of all, it takes minutes to set up and is extremely easy to use.
There's absolutely no reason why All Positive Options.com should have the most comprehensive ongoing data bank of information about methamphetamine. Every stakeholder in the meth issue should have accurate, current information as well, and that's where the Collaboration Compendium comes in. Each quarter, the entire membership will receive all of the new information we ourselves, and the membership at large have gathered regarding methamphetamine, including updates to past installments. It will be broken down by area of interest (treatment, research, first responder issues, health issues, community issues, legislation, etc.) In this way, each member gradually develops their own compendium of current, accurate and organized information on methamphetamine - free of the distortion, exaggeration and misinformation normally associated with this drug.
Every member of The International Collaboration On Methamphetamine also automatically receives The Meth Education Update Newsletter. (M.E.N.U.) (A link to the newsletter is provided below.)
We're in the year 2007, and we truly do "have the technology." The days of being out of the "information loop" because of your size, budget, or geographical location are over. And the days of receiving flawed information on a second-hand basis, or having to rely on studies with outdated data, or questionable surveys are also over. And there's certainly no reason why anyone should have to re-invent the wheel, or cover ground that's already been covered. The immediacy of our times combined with the urgency of the meth problem in so many regions and communities throughout the world means employing new and more effective tools for collecting, analyzing, and most importantly, sharing information. Clearly, the action and implementation to address the meth problem has to be done within each single community. But the solutions, the insight and the wisdom can come from every community. So whether you opt for full membership in The International Collaboration On Methamphetamine, or just subscribe to the The Meth Update Newsletter, it's really about "the whole becoming greater than the sum of the parts." "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world." Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead
If you would like to purchase your Full membership in The Collaboration now, please click HERE. For a complete description of The Meth Education Update Newsletter, please click HERE. If you have questions, comments or suggestions regarding The Collaboration, we'd be delighted to hear from you. Please click HERE.
|
|
