By VOICE & VIEWPOINT NEWSWIRE
Law enforcement leaders, school officials and the California National Guard announced the release of a new report outlining recommendations for drug prevention education and anti-overdose efforts in schools.
Nearly two dozen schools across San Diego County are already adopting and implementing recommendations from the working group that produced the report which includes five drug abuse prevention and three drug overdose prevention programs.
School-based Interventions for Substance Use and Overdose Prevention lays a foundation for programs in a school setting that can deter or delay the onset of substance use, slow or stop the progression of use and development of substance use disorders and minimize the adverse impact of substance use on students, their families and community, and the economy.
One such program: Rugged Outdoor Physical Experience System (R.O.P.E.S.) is a drug prevention program that focuses on communication and team building to help young people determine when to ask for help and how to receive it.
In October 2022, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a proposal backed by the County Office of Education to support fentanyl education in county schools, as well as the distribution of naloxone to parents and students and training on its use. The DA assembled a working group of experts that included representatives from the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE), San Diego and Imperial Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), and California National Guard Counterdrug Task Force.
The goal of the working group was to study and make recommendations regarding the most effective and proven modalities and programs for building long-term resilience in students to live healthy lives free of the negative, and at times, fatal impact of drugs including fentanyl.
The report found that preventing youth substance use is multifaceted and requires a comprehensive community prevention strategy comprised of synthesized programs, practices, and policies grounded in the best available evidence for greatest impact within individuals, families, schools, and communities. When individuals initiate alcohol and drug use during adolescence, they are much more likely to develop a substance use disorder as a young adult and beyond. Evidence has shown that youth who begin drinking before age 15, for example, experience four to six times the rate of lifetime alcohol dependence than those who remain abstinent from alcohol use until age 21.
After careful review of the evidence listed in a variety of registry databases of available programs, and consultation with experts in curriculum analysis and prevention science, five effective drug abuse prevention programs were identified for elementary, middle, and high school populations: Positive Action, Project Towards No Drug Abuse, LifeSkills Training, DARE’s Keepin’ It Real, and Project Alert.
