Using Truth as a Potent Weapon in the Fight Against Drugs
- Drug use by 8th-grade students (13 years old) in the US has risen by 61% over the past five years. By the time they reach 12th grade, 46.6% of teens have tried an
illicit drug. - Cannabis use in Europe has increased. In a 2021 survey on 48,000 respondents across 30 countries, 93% said they have
used cannabis. - In 2021, the number of people starting an online Drug-Free World course increased to 150,000
starts—410 a day.
Last year, those logging in online to Drug-Free World completed over one million course lessons—an average of 2,900 every day. From educators and drug-prevention specialists to counselors and youth, people are looking for the real facts about drugs.
Thanks to the support of the IAS, the Truth About Drugs educational materials are available online to anyone, anywhere, at drugfreeworld.org. Whether it’s an individual request for a single set of booklets or a school principal requesting hundreds, the orders are provided free of charge thanks to the support of the IAS. Here are what a few individuals using the Drug-Free World booklets and materials have to say about the program:
“I have personally worked with Drug-Free World (DFW) and its campaign components for 15 years now. The kids listen. They tell their stories. The students respect one another and together begin to open up in a safe place, explaining what they fear. They question their family’s drug addictions, prison and life hardships. Since using the DFW program for drug prevention, countless lives have been saved. But not all. Sadly, I’ve attended funerals of lost students that succumbed to drugs. Their stories echo in my class. I remain in contact with many former students who tell me their experiences and the damage drugs can have on families. Because of the life-changing results, I will continue to work with Drug-Free World. Please continue to fight hard for the prevention of drug abuse. Lives are at stake.”
“Unfortunately Colombia is a country where you can find drugs everywhere, and our teenagers are consuming them at an early age. Our government is trying to fight this problem. We, as teachers, are working hard in the schools. We teach the students all the consequences drugs have, not only in their personal lives, but also with their family and social lives. All the material you have provided to us has contributed to moving our younger generation away, little by little, from this scourge. Thank you.”
“I have been using your program for about five years now and I look forward every year to presenting it to the eighth-grade classes in my school. Your program has been very generous to me, by offering pamphlets every year for free and providing information to help with my presentation. If I was offered to present this program all year round, I would do it in a heartbeat. I would love to be able to travel to different countries and use this program to help educate others on the Truth About Drugs. I can’t thank you enough for offering this program. You make all the difference!!”
“I have utilized the Truth About Drugs materials in my capacity as a teacher. We used the videos and booklets to provide education and have discussions about the long- and short-term effects of the different substances. This is done in a group setting with the youth we serve. I have found the materials to be a great asset in teaching kids the facts about drugs so they will avoid falling into the trap of drug abuse and addiction as they go through life.”
“I used the DFW materials in the Department of Defense with active-duty soldiers at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. The soldiers were enrolled in the army’s outpatient chemical dependency program. I liked all of the material because I felt it was current and very well presented. I liked the DVD because the soldiers could relate to some of the recovering addicts who were also in the military. I was so grateful to receive such a professional, informative and well-thought-out box of materials—and at no cost! I was in disbelief initially about the no cost. Thank you for that, and may God bless you for it.”
