What Kinds of Materials Are Typically Used in Promoting Drug Prevention?

The federal government produces drug prevention education material geared toward audiences ranging from families to medical practitioners. Drug prevention material is published in a wide range of media such as print publications, interactive online activities for children and adults, and multimedia presentations for use in schools and workplaces. Many government agencies such as the National Institute on Drug Abuse distribute free drug prevention literature to parents, teens and educators through their websites.

Employers

• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports that in 2005, 10 to 20 percent of workers who died on the job tested positive of illicit drugs, recommending that employers include extensive managerial and employee education in their drug-free workplace programs. OSHA offers free presentation materials on general drug prevention, drug abuse's impact on safety in the workplace and the health effects of widely abused drugs such as methamphetamine. These PowerPoint materials come with notes to help the speaker make an effective presentation to employees. The agency also provides booklets and pocket reference cards for employers to distribute to workers, as well as posters to display throughout the workplace to reinforce employers' drug-free workplace policies.

Health Care Professionals

• NIDA produces technically oriented media for health professionals and counselors covering clinical techniques for drug treatment, dissemination of anti-drug messages through wellness programs, and on creating effective drug prevention programs for communities. NIDA provides printed journals, online publications and web-based seminars to professionals, which relate the latest research and trends in drug prevention and detail specific approaches to drug prevention such as how to reach particular at-risk demographics.

Parents

• Government agencies publish a variety of drug prevention materials oriented to both parents and children such as drug prevention podcasts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Drug Enforcement Administration's online parent's guide for discussing drugs with their children.

  NIDA offers print publications for parents and older teens such as "Drugs, Brains and Behavior: The Science of Addiction," along with publications for younger readers such as the "Mind Over Matter" series, each of which discusses a specific drug's effects on brain chemistry.

Teachers

• Northeastern Illinois University suggests curriculum infusion as a means of exposing students to drug prevention material during their normal coursework and materials can be incorporated into lessons as early as elementary school. Educators can incorporate relevant drug prevention literature into social studies, business and science classes to describe the impact drugs have on society, the workplace and on the body. NIDA's prevention materials for teachers include magazines dealing with the effects of drug abuse and withstanding peer pressure, posters illustrating effects of specific drugs on the body's organs, and interactive CD-ROM presentations that include student workbooks, teacher notes and handouts for parents. NIDA publishes its educational materials in English and Spanish.