Help Youth Learn the Facts About Drugs, Alcohol, and Addiction
01/24/2017
National Drug & Alcohol Facts Week is January 23-29
While there are many questions around alcohol and drug use and addiction, it's not always easy to find factual answers. Information from the internet, social media, TV, movies, and music isn't accurate. For young people, friends can also be a source of misinformation.
From January 23-29, National Drug & Alcohol Facts Week provides the facts about drugs, alcohol, and addiction. This week-long health observance is an opportunity to hear directly from scientists and other experts through educational events, Drugs & Alcohol Chat Day, and partnerships. While the week primarily targets high school students across America, the resources and information from these events can be used by any organization as a part of their prevention strategy.
An especially unique activity during this week is Drugs & Alcohol Chat Day, held on Thursday, January 26. This day offers high school students a chance to virtually ask scientists questions they most want answers to about drugs and alcohol. Questions can cover any topic that teens have questions about - drug effects, consequences of using drugs or alcohol, even the effects that drugs and alcohol have on relationships. You can read transcripts from previous Chat Days to see all of the questions that have been asked, and the answers from the scientists and experts.
Even if you're not a high school student, you can view the questions and answers coming in on January 26 and share that information with your community and help everyone learn the real facts about drugs, alcohol, and addiction. The National Drug & Alcohol Facts Week web site also contains many resources that prevention partners can use in other prevention efforts and events, such as an Alcohol Event Toolkit and free materials that present key scientific facts about drugs, alcohol, and addiction.
Don't forget that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration's Communities Talk web site also offers many tips and resources specifically about underage drinking and prevention strategies to reduce underage drinking in your community. There are also resources for elementary and middle school aged youth, such as AlcoholFX and Talk. They Hear You., respectively. These resources are available year-round, and combined with other federal resources, can support your community's underage drinking prevention efforts.
If you have time, consider hosting a mini-Communities Talk event involving NIDA's Drugs & Alcohol Chat Day to keep the momentum around prevention in your community. Ask a local school if they want to co-host a Chat Day event, and work with your local partners to get youth involved.