NCJ Number
118415
Journal
School Safety Issue: 3 Dated: (Spring 1986) Pages: 22-23
Date Published
1986
Length
2 pages
Annotation
Local communities, school districts, and organizations across the United States have devised their own methods for dealing with drug and alcohol abuse in schools.
Abstract
Student participation and staff training are part of a comprehensive substance abuse program in a New Jersey school district. Students at an Alabama high school have formed the Teen Connection, a peer support group for boys and girls who do not smoke, drink, or use drugs. School board members in one Ohio town have adopted a policy stipulating that local high school students must forego part of their extracurricular activities if they are caught drinking or using drugs. Students at an Oregon high school held a week-long program of activities aimed at proving they can get high on life without using drugs or alcohol. A McDonald's restaurant in New Hampshire offers teenagers food for thought with its "Get It Straight" drug abuse prevention program. A local narcotics squad in Georgia uses a trained black labrador retriever worth $6,500 to sniff out drugs in schools. In Honolulu, fifth and sixth graders participate in a program featuring weekly sessions that focus on feelings, decisionmaking, group communication skills, and working together as a team. The Youth Connection Project in a California town is working to prevent drug problems with the help of parent volunteers. In New York City, a $3.5-million drug abuse prevention program is being operated jointly by the Police Department and the Board of Education. Local students in a Utah city have launched an antidrug campaign that includes public forums and the sale of educational booklets. A peer support network has been established for teenagers in a Washington city, and several high schools in Iowa are using alcohol breath testers on students at school functions who are suspected of drinking.