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Prevention Research
Volume 12, Number 1
January/February 1997 |
Initiative Brings Lessons To Fight Drug Abuse Into Nation's
Schools and Home
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The classroom poster is part of the package of materials NIDA developed
with Scholastic, Inc., to foster antidrug attitudes among schoolchildren. |
NIDA, the Department of Health and Human Services, and Scholastic, Inc.,
joined forces last year to give parents, teachers, and students knowledge
they need to fight drug abuse. NIDA worked with Scholastic, Inc., to design
and develop a science education package of drug abuse prevention materials
that provide science-based information about inhalants, tobacco, and marijuana
in an easy-to-use format. The prevention materials appeared in the November
1, 1996, issue of Scholastic News, a current events magazine. That issue
of the magazine was distributed to more than 73,000 of the Nation's third-
through six-grade teachers and reached about 2.3 million schoolchildren
and their families.
"Our research shows that the increase in drug use among young Americans
that has occurred since the early 1990s has been accompanied by a significant
erosion in antidrug attitudes and knowledge among young people," said
NIDA Director Dr. Alan I. Leshner. "This is why we are pleased to provide
important science-based information about drug abuse and addiction that
parents and teachers can use to arm students with knowledge about drugs
and their harmful effects," he said.
The package of materials is called "Don't Harm Yourself, Arm Yourself
With Knowledge About Drugs." It consists of a classroom poster, a teaching
guide for teachers, and a four-page take-home guide for parents.
The colorful 32- by 20-inch
poster features cartoon schoolchildren making antidrug statements such
as "drugs are for losers," "drugs slow you down and mess
you up," and "cigarettes stink."
The flip side of the poster is a teacher's guide, which provides background
information on drug abuse and suggests a variety of classroom activities
to both increase children's understanding of the consequences of using drugs
and encourage positive alternatives to drug use.
The parent guide includes key facts about inhalants, tobacco, and marijuana;
easy-to-understand questions and answers that provide basic information
about drug abuse; and specific suggestions of activities parents can engage
in with their children to help them understand why drugs are dangerous and
unhealthy.
For more information about the "Don't Harm Yourself, Arm Yourself
With Knowledge About Drugs" materials for parents and for teachers,
contact NIDA's Public Information Branch at (301) 443-1124.
From NIDA NOTES, January/February, 1997
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