Talking Points

• Colleges have a responsibility to make sure that students have access to adequate reality-based drug information and education. We all know that scare tactics like those used in the DARE program don’t work. Students have a right to know what the real effects of drugs and potential risks of drug abuse are. Exaggerating the harms of drugs only leads to mistrust and puts students at greater risk.
• Drug education programs need to recognize that college students do use drugs and should have the primary goal of reducing the harm associated with such use. Abstinence-only education is unrealistic and just doesn’t work.
• All students who want or need drug treatment and counseling have a right to receive quality services. Drug treatment has been proven to be much more effective than punishing people for drug use. Colleges’ limited drug policy resources should be invested in making sure that adequate treatment and counseling services are available to all students who need or want to take advantage of them.
• Treatment should be made available for all students seeking it, but students should never be forced to take treatment they don’t need as punishment for drug policy infractions.

Campaign Materials (please download these templates and edit as you see fit)

• letter-to-the-editor
• petition
• press release
• phone script
• student government resolution
• Campus Change Campaign Grassroots Guide (HTML) (PDF)