Committee hears testimony on bill to study and expand school-based substance-use screening, prevention and recovery supports

Salem — The Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response held a public hearing March 12 on House Bill 2502, a measure that would direct the Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission (ADPC), in collaboration with the System of Care Advisory Council, the Oregon Health Authority and the Department of Education, to study the feasibility of expanding school‑based substance‑use prevention, screening, intervention and referral programs and to create limited grant opportunities to support recovery services at recovery high schools.

The bill matters because state and local witnesses told lawmakers that large numbers of young Oregonians have unmet needs and that schools and recovery high schools are key places to identify youth and link them to care. “For 18 to 25, the estimate is that 83 percent who needed treatment did not receive it,” said Annalise Stolf, director of the Oregon Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission. “Our 12‑ to 17‑year‑old prevalence is about 12.5 percent — and the 18‑to‑25 range is,…