By Ally McCabe, Project Director, CANDLE Coalition

The Cortland County Coalition on Cannabis & Alcohol: Neighbors with Disability & Lived Experience, or CANDLE, is a peer-led community group working to prevent and reduce substance misuse within Cortland’s disability community.

As a peer-led coalition, our members know that disability and substance use disorders often occur together. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), people with disabilities are substantially more likely to develop substance use disorders than the general population, and we are also less likely to receive treatment for them.

Some studies have suggested that up to 60% of people in substance use treatment have some type of learning disability or difficulty. While research on the “big three” (dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia) and their relationship to substance abuse is limited, the connection is clear. One often-cited related statistic is that among adults with an alcohol use disorder, ADHD is 5-10 times more common than within the general population.

On the prevention side, people with all types of disabilities have historically been left out of traditional drug prevention efforts. That’s exactly what CANDLE is working to change! We are currently conducting a survey to gather information about local usage trends and community needs, the results of which will be used to develop comprehensive, universally accessible prevention campaign for people with all types of disabilities.

For more information about CANDLE, contact: Ally McCabe, Project Director | (607) 753-7363 | c[email protected].