Primary Drug Prevention: Developments in Germany Since the 1970's

• NCJ Number: 200777
• Journal: Journal of Drug Issues Volume: 32 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 2002 Pages: 491-502
• Author(s): Peter Franzkowiak
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 12 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Special Issue: Confronting the Prohibition Model: German Drug Policy in the 21st Century, see NCJ-200770-776, and NCJ-200778-786

Annotation

This article discusses the various phases of primary drug prevention that have occurred in Germany since the 1970’s.

Abstract

Noting that the primary prevention of drug addiction in Germany is in a state of transition, this article details the various phases in Germany’s drug prevention programming. According to the author, from the end of the 1960’s to the mid 1970’s drug addiction prevention in Germany comprised two phases, drug deterrence and drug education. After the 1970’s, phase three of Germany’s drug prevention program focused on drug prevention through alternatives to risk-taking and strengthening of personal resources. During phase four, begun in the early 1990’s, primary drug prevention in Germany was adopted to the World Health Organization’s philosophy of health promotion, focusing on primary drug prevention through a strengthening of personal and social resources, promotion of resistance, and the development of life skills. The current phase of drug prevention in Germany, primary drug prevention through strengthening personal and social resources, promotion of resistance and life skills, and the promotion of risk-taking competence and harm reduction, is an integrative concept currently favored in contemporary discussions and practice.