It was surely not a coincidence that drug abuse declined during the Reagan years.
Dr.Herbert Kleber, interviewed on PBS's Frontline* told the truth.
"To diminish drug use, you need to de-glamorize and de-normalise drug use" in the manner of the Just Say No campaign, which "had a good effect in terms of decreasing initiation and use".
From l980 to 1991, marijuana use among high school seniors decreased from 33% to
12%, "an enormous decrease" according to Dr. Kleber. 21985-1986 turned out to be the high point of the cocaine epidemic".
Tragically, marijuana use increased rapidly again between l992 and l997 he added.
*(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/interviews/kleber.html)
The reason for the increase was because funding for prevention was cut - the
Government believing that the drug problem had been solved. It is essential that prevention funding and prevention messages continue even when there is a downturn in drug use. It will take more tha one generation to revert to the very low rates of illegal drug use in the 1950's. It is also interesting to note that research has shown that regular use of marijuana leads to the use of cocaine - thus prevention of marijuana use will also have a prevention of cocaine effect.
Showing posts with label drug prevention. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drug prevention. Show all posts
Federal anti-drug campaign will educate youth on 'harms of illicit drug use'
OTTAWA -- A new national program designed to prevent youth from using drugs received $10 million from the federal government Wednesday.
The money is slated to go toward the Drug Prevention Strategy for Youth, a new five-year plan led by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, the government-supported national agency for substance abuse. The strategy will target youth between the ages of 10 and 24 and will have several goals: to reduce the number of youth using illegal drugs, to delay and deter the onset of drug use, to reduce the frequency of drug use, and to reduce multiple drug use among those young people who do use.
The funding comes out of the government's $64-million National Anti-Drug Strategy, launched last fall. Part of that plan includes a two-year mass media campaign by Health Canada aimed specifically at youth. Health Minister Tony Clement, speaking at the Ottawa-based CCSA, said there hasn't been a "serious or significant" anti-drug campaign in almost 20 years, and one is long overdue. He said the CCSA's national prevention strategy is key to the government's plan.
"This project will reach out to young people and will provide them and their parents the plain truth on the harms of illicit drug use," said Clement. "We will discourage young people from thinking there are 'safe' amounts, or 'safe' drugs. And we will highlight the fact that, for young people, having clear and unimpaired judgment is a safety issue," the health minister said.
The CCSA's strategy will complement Health Canada's media blitz with a new consortium media corporations, marketing and advertising agencies, youth agencies and parent groups. It will reinforce many of Health Canada's messages, but on a wider platform, and with high-risk populations targeted.
According to the CCSA, the average age a Canadian tries an illegal drug for the first time is around 14 or 15, so prevention messages need to start as early as 10 years of age. Sixty per cent of illegal drug users in Canada are 15 to 24 years old, according to the national substance abuse agency, and young people are the most likely to use and abuse substances, and to experience harm as a result.
Source: Canwest News Service January 31, 2008
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=a9d26354-09a5-4fc0-a6aa-89d120ed22b1
The money is slated to go toward the Drug Prevention Strategy for Youth, a new five-year plan led by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, the government-supported national agency for substance abuse. The strategy will target youth between the ages of 10 and 24 and will have several goals: to reduce the number of youth using illegal drugs, to delay and deter the onset of drug use, to reduce the frequency of drug use, and to reduce multiple drug use among those young people who do use.
The funding comes out of the government's $64-million National Anti-Drug Strategy, launched last fall. Part of that plan includes a two-year mass media campaign by Health Canada aimed specifically at youth. Health Minister Tony Clement, speaking at the Ottawa-based CCSA, said there hasn't been a "serious or significant" anti-drug campaign in almost 20 years, and one is long overdue. He said the CCSA's national prevention strategy is key to the government's plan.
"This project will reach out to young people and will provide them and their parents the plain truth on the harms of illicit drug use," said Clement. "We will discourage young people from thinking there are 'safe' amounts, or 'safe' drugs. And we will highlight the fact that, for young people, having clear and unimpaired judgment is a safety issue," the health minister said.
The CCSA's strategy will complement Health Canada's media blitz with a new consortium media corporations, marketing and advertising agencies, youth agencies and parent groups. It will reinforce many of Health Canada's messages, but on a wider platform, and with high-risk populations targeted.
According to the CCSA, the average age a Canadian tries an illegal drug for the first time is around 14 or 15, so prevention messages need to start as early as 10 years of age. Sixty per cent of illegal drug users in Canada are 15 to 24 years old, according to the national substance abuse agency, and young people are the most likely to use and abuse substances, and to experience harm as a result.
Source: Canwest News Service January 31, 2008
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=a9d26354-09a5-4fc0-a6aa-89d120ed22b1
Beyond 2008
On January 24th and 25th, Drug Free America Foundation and Project: SUNDIAL hosted "Beyond 2008: Non-Governmental Organizations and United Nations Collaboration on Global Drug Policy," one of nine regional gatherings held around the world. More than 60 representatives from key stakeholders in the drug policy, prevention and treatment fields from the US and Canada gathered in St. Petersburg, Florida, to contribute their expertise to help shape international drug policy and develop partnerships between the UN and NGOs around the world. The findings of this and the remaining consultations will be presented to the UN at the General Assembly Special Session in 2009.
Source: DFAF Press Release Jan. 2008
Source: DFAF Press Release Jan. 2008
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