Curbing drug use

Efforts to curb teen substance abuse in Butte County got a boost on Sept. 10 with a $625,000 federal grant.

Butte Youth Now Coalition was one of 697 community-based organizations across the country awarded a total of $86 million of grant funding from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, according to a Butte County Behavioral Health press release. The funding will be allocated over the next five years to prevent youth abuse of prescription drugs, marijuana, tobacco and alcohol through its Committed programs, which involve student athletes, parents, businesses and physicians.

“Prevention is a powerful tool to counteract drug use in our community, and we will use this funding to help youth in Butte County make healthy choices about substance use,” said Danelle Campbell, program manager at Behavioral Health.