Main | Legislative Guide | Talking Points | Grassroots Guide | Position Paper
Objective
This is a
grassroots guide to educating your chapter, community and legislators about the
harms caused by abstinence-only drug education and the need for alternative drug
education programs. There are two grassroots guides, one for High School
Chapters and one for College Chapters. Both guides range from simple to more
difficult, with the actions building off one another. Please consider this as a
reference and plausible strategy for your chapter, not a fast-and-true guide.
Contact the National Staff if you have any questions relating to the
strategy or resources found in the grassroots guides.
Action Plan for College Chapters
- Devote one chapter meeting to educate chapter members on the impact
of Drug Education and Counseling.
Knowing what kind of drug
education and counseling programs your school offers, along with an
understanding of the federal legislation on drug education, will help your
chapter develop a sensible action plan for your campus.
Steps to a successful meeting:
Conduct Research. What is your school's drug policy,
what type of information does your school offer? Add this information to the
Drug Education and Counseling PowerPoint presentation.
Brainstorm. Allow enough time for chapter members to
talk about issue and to decide what direction your chapter wants to go. Consider
forming a committee to spearhead efforts.
Further
Information. Pass out copies of the SSDP materials on this issue,
including the Legislative Guide, Talking Points, Grassroots Guide, and Position
Paper
- Understand the Media and Write a Letter To the Editor (LTE) about
the Failures of D.A.R.E.
One of the easiest ways to get press
is to write a Letter To the Editor (LTE). The Media Awareness Project is a
clearing house for LTE?s about the Drug War. It is user-friendly, Offers tips on
how to write a LTE.
Link to MAP Inc http://www.mapinc.org
Tips to Getting Published:
Make it
Local. Relate it to an article recently published in the source.
Find an Angle. Is your school thinking about
implementing D.A.R.E.? Did you find some startling news through your research?
Hook your readers.
Make it Timely. News is now. Respond
to a published article within a day or two.
Follow
Directions. Different newspapers have different deadlines and word
requirements.
Simple is Best. Make one argument. Third
grade reading level is standard.
Use your Resources.
Check Map Inc and the resources page on this site for sample LTE?s on D.A.R.E.
Contact SSDP?s Media Director if you have any questions.
Spread
the Word. When your lte is published, be sure to post it to SSDPTalk
and News Hawk it through MAP Inc.
Make media a cornerstone of your
chapter?s actions. Think about it every time your chapter does
anything. The Media Survival Guide, located in SSDP Chapter Start-up kits,
breaks down different types of media tools. Contact SSDP?s Media Director for
press lists and talking points.
Additional Resources:
Tips to Writing a LTE
More
Tips
A Sample
LTE
- Invite an Expert to your campus
If your chapter
plans on passing a student government resolution or lobbying the university
administration on this issue, build support and awareness on campus by inviting
a speaker to your campus.
Steps to a successful event:
Find a
Good Speaker. Good speakers convey enthusiasm, build a sense of
community, and impart important information. As a general rule, don?t pay for an
honorarium unless your student government funds it. Enough drug policy experts
are stoked for the opportunity. Check out the resources page for a list of
speakers, or ask for recommendations on SSDPTalk. The National Office can
connect you to good speakers and help you book them.
Book the
event. Two or three people should organize the event. The core
organizer should nail down a date that works for chapter members, the speaker,
and the university. Check your school?s calendar to make sure your event won?t
have to compete with the same audience. Allow at least one month to
plan for the event.
Pack the House. Find a few TA?s to
offer extra credit for students attending the event. Blast chapter lists,
personal lists, and SSDPTalk. Advertise in the school newspaper, flier, and
chalk the sidewalks/classroom boards. Make announcements in related classes.
Invite the SGA, professors and key administrators.
Press. Designate one person as the media spokesperson,
fax out a media advisory, and follow-up. See the media guide for details and
contact SSDP?s Media Director for press lists and talking points.
Advance Work. Call and confirm your invited speaker?s
arrival time, equipment needs, and lodging. Arrive early at the airport to pick
them up. Have a back-up plan: what will you do if the speaker is late? What if
the room has no chairs?
Bang for your Buck. Collect
name, email address and phone from attendees. Unless they opt-out, add them to
your chapter list. Promote your organization before the event, table, and stick
around for questions.
Follow-up. Be sure to send the
speaker a thank-you note, and add attendees to your chapter list.
- Persuade Student Government and Faculty Government to Support
Reality Based Drug Education Programs or to end Zero-Tolerance Policies on
Campus.
More than 110 student governments have passed
resolutions calling for the repeal of the Higher Education Act Drug Provision.
Those resolutions continue to be a powerful way to exemplify student support for
repeal to community members, media and legislators. SSDP plans to replicate this
strategy to address the lack of reality-based drug education programs or to
reform campus drug policies. The resolutions will be helpful when SSDP members
meet with community members, university administration or the media.
How to Lobby your Student Government and Faculty
Government:
Find a Champion. Do your research,
and find a student government representative that will help you pass the
resolution. Contact the person and e-mail them the Legislative Paper and request
a meeting.
Know the Process. Ask your champion what you
need to do to get the resolution passed. It will probably involve presenting
your argument at a meeting and educating other members.
Garner
Media. This is a great time to write an opinion-editorial about why it
is important for the student government to pass the resolution. Positive press
will help. Notify the press when you pass the resolution.
Use
your Resources. Keep the national office updated on your progress. The
Outreach Coordinator, Media Director and Legislative Director are here to help
you with logistics, talking points and legislative questions. SSDPTalk is
another great resource.
Additional
Resources:
A Sample
Resolution
Schools with Resolutions
Verify a School?s Support
- Lobby University Administration to Improve University Drug Policy or
Drug Education and Counseling Programs
SSDP chapters are
working to improve drug education and counseling programs in three different
ways. Some SSDP chapters are working to improve university drug policies. Other
SSDP chapters start drug resource centers on campus. A growing number of
activists are working to utilize academia by coordinating large-scale studies on
drug education or drug use behavior. SSDP?s Outreach Coordinator can connect you
to chapters and members with experience on these actions.
- Lobby University Administration to Change University Drug
Policy.
Many universities have draconian policies dealing with drug
use on residence halls and/or campus. For example, if University of Iowa
students suspected of drug use are routinely arrested, kicked out of the dorms,
and forced into drug treatment. University of Iowa SSDP is working to reform
this counter-productive policy.
Several SSDP and NORML chapters have
affected university drug policies. Several years ago, Ohio University SSDP
prevented university administration from implementing zero-tolerance marijuana
policy. NORML Alumni and Dancesafe.org Executive Director, Marc Brandl, used the
media to embarrass American University administration for enforcing
zero-tolerance policies.
- Start a Drug Resource Center on Campus.
Scarlett
Swerdlow, now SSDP?s Executive Director, worked with UC Berkeley SSDP to procure
funding and start a drug resource center on campus. The drug resource center
provides free, factual, science-based drug education information to students.
The center frequently educates fraternities and sororities about ways to drink
responsibly.
SSDP member Micah Daigle is working to start a drug
resource center at the University of Rhode Island. [Micah is sending me a
summary of his goals- insert here]
- Work with a graduate department head to coordinate a large-scale
drug education related study.
As students, we can utilize academia
to fill the huge gap in drug education research. Credible, un-biased research
from universities will help us to create sound, sensible drug policies. Some
grant foundations, like the Robert Wood Foundation, is interested in funding
large scale drug education related studies.
Contact SSDP's Outreach
Coordinator for contact information for further information and contact
information for experts in this area.
Action Plan for High School SSDP
Chapters
As a High School student, you have a powerful
opportunity to raise awareness about the ineffectiveness of D.A.R.E. and other
abstinence-only drug education programs. The following actions are for High
School SSDP chapters trying to replace D.A.R.E.-like programs with
science-based, factual drug education and counseling programs.
- Devote one chapter meeting to educate chapter members on
ineffectiveness of D.A.R.E. programs and the need to improve drug education and
counseling programs in High Schools.
Knowing what kind of drug
education and counseling programs your school offers, along with an
understanding of the federal legislation on drug education, will help your
chapter develop a sensible action plan to improve your school?s drug education
and counseling programs.
Steps to a successful meeting:
PowerPoint. SSDP National prepared a brief PowerPoint
presentation on the ineffectiveness of D.A.R.E. programs and the legislative
history of federal drug education and counseling legislation. SSDP encourages
you to conduct your own research into your school?s drug education and
counseling programs, and to add it to the PowerPoint presentation.
Conduct Research. A few questions to answer:
- Is there a center or room in your school with information about drugs and
their effects?
- If so, is the information accurate and up-to-date?
- Does your school offer a full-time drug education counselor?
- Is there D.A.R.E. in your high school or middle
school?
Logistics. Set a meeting and
advertise. Make sure you have the proper equipment to show PowerPoint. Go
through the presentation a couple of times before the meeting.
Brainstorm. Allow enough time for chapter members to
talk about issue and to decide what direction your chapter wants to go. Consider
forming a committee to spearhead efforts.
Further
Information. Pass out copies of the SSDP materials on this issue,
including the Legislative Guide, Talking Points, Grassroots Guide, and Position
Paper
- Understand the Media and Write a Letter To the Editor (LTE) about
the Failures of D.A.R.E.
One of the easiest ways to get press
is to write a Letter To the Editor (LTE). The Media Awareness Project is a
clearing house for LTE?s about the Drug War. It is user-friendly, Offers tips on
how to write a LTE.
Link to MAP Inc: http://www.mapinc.org
Tips to Getting Published
Make it
Local. Relate it to an article recently published in the
source
Find an Angle. Is your school thinking about
implementing D.A.R.E.? Did you find some startling news through your research?
Hook your readers.
Make it Timely. News is now. Respond
to a published article within a day or two.
Follow
Directions. Different newspapers have different deadlines and word
requirements
Simple is Best. Make one argument. Third
grade reading level is standard.
Use your Resources: Check Map Inc and
the resources page on this site for sample LTE?s on D.A.R.E. Contact SSDP?s
Media Director if you have any questions.
Spread the
Word. When your LTE is published, be sure to post it to SSDPTalk and
NewsHawk it through MapInc.
Make media a cornerstone of
your chapter?s actions. Think about it every time your chapter does anything.
The Media Survival Guide, located below and in SSDP Chapter Start-up kits,
breaks down different types of media tools. Contact SSDP?s Media Director for
press lists and talking points.
- Circulate a survey to evaluate your school?s drug education and
counseling programs
Ask your peers to evaluate your school?s
drug education programs. The results will help gauge what is right about your
school?s drug education programs, and what types of reforms are needed.
Develop a survey. Brainstorm with your chapter members
about the issues facing your school. Develop a set of questions to address these
concerns. Use language that is objective as possible.
Sample questions: 1. Do you feel that your school
offers accurate and up-to-date information on drugs?
2. Did you go through a
D.A.R.E. program?
3. If so, rate the program?s effectiveness on a scale of
1-5
4. Do you think that drug use and violence go hand-in-hand?
5. Do you
feel comfortable asking your drug education counselor about drugs?
6. What
could your school do to improve drug education and counseling programs?
Links to surveys on drug use:
http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/HSYouthtrends.html
http://www.nida.nih.gov/DrugPages/MTF.html
Collect
information. Set a goal date and a goal for the number or percentage of
participants. Allow students to answer anonymously.
- Give a presentation about alternatives to D.A.R.E. education to
principal or Board of Education
Open and rational communication
about drug education and counseling programs is essential to improving your
school?s programs. Educate your principal or Board of Education about
alternatives to D.A.R.E. or D.A.R.E.-like education programs. If you are not
comfortable meeting with the Board of Education, meet with your school?s
principal.
Set the Meeting. Request time with your
school principal or board of education.
Prepare.
Consider using part of the Power Point presentation. Have two or three members
of your chapter go to the meeting. Contact SSDP?s legislative director to help
develop an agenda for the meeting.
Information. Give
your school principal a copy of the legislative guide titled: Reforms needed in
Drug Education and Counseling and a copy of the monitoring the future study
concluding that D.A.R.E. is ineffective. Also give your principal a copy of
Safety First: A Reality-Based Approach to Teens, Drugs, and Drug Education,
found at: http://www.safety1st.org/
Follow-Up.
Send your principal a brief thank-you note for his/her time, and offer to help
answer any questions he/she may have.
- Lobby school officials to remove D.A.R.E. from high school or middle
school curriculum
If your High School or middle school offers
D.A.R.E. programs, you can spearhead an effort to remove the program. Contact
SSDP?s Legislative Director if you are interested in this action.
Contact information for SSDP
Staff
SSDP Address
1623 Connecticut Ave NW Suite
300
Washington, D.C. 20009
P: 202.293-4414
F:
202.293-8344
Resources for
Chapters
Other Organizations that work on Drug
Education and Counseling Programs
D.A.R.E. http://www.dare.com/home/default.asp
D.A.R.E.
(Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is a collaborative program in which local law
enforcement and local schools join together to educate students about the
personal and social consequences of substance abuse and violence. The D.A.R.E.
curricula is designed to be delivered sequentially from grades K-12. First
developed in 1983, D.A.R.E. has undergone multiple revisions as research
findings increased knowledge of effective substance abuse prevention among
school-aged youth.
D.A.R.E.'s primary mission is to provide children with
the information and skills they need to live drug-and-violence-free lives.
Additionally, it establishes positive relationships between students and law
enforcement, teachers, parents, and other community leaders.
Safety First http://www.safety1st.org/
To improve outreach
to parents, the Drug Policy Alliance created the Safety First project in 2002.
Safety First is dedicated to providing parents of adolescents with honest,
science-based information about drugs and drug education. In 1999, Dr. Marsha
Rosenbaum wrote Safety First: A Reality-Based Approach to Teens, Drugs, and Drug
Education to provide parents with the tools needed to evaluate and discuss
strategies for protecting their teens from drug abuse. Since the original
publication of the booklet, more than 100,000 copies have been distributed
worldwide. Staff for other organizations who work on the topic:
Marsha Rosenbaum
Marsha Rosenbaum is the mother
of an 20-year-old son, a 26-year-old daughter and two adult stepdaughters. She
currently directs the Safety First Project of the Drug Policy Alliance. In 1979,
she earned her PhD in medical sociology at University of California, San
Francisco and was a National Institute on Drug Abuse grantee for eighteen years;
completing studies of heroin addiction, crack cocaine, Ecstasy, and drug
treatment.
She authored Pursuit of Ecstasy: The MDMA Experience (with
Jerome Beck); Pregnant Women on Drugs: Combining Stereotypes and Stigma (with
Sheigla Murphy); Women on Heroin; Safety First: A Reality-Based Approach to
Teens, Drugs and Drug Education and numerous scholarly articles about drug use,
drug abuse, drug treatment and drug policy.
In addition, the San
Francisco Chronicle, the Oakland Tribune, the San Diego Tribune, the Chicago
Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Detroit News, and Newsday have
published her drug-related opinion pieces.
Literature
Safety
First
A Reality-Based Approach to Teens, Drugs, and Drug
Education From Chocolate to Morphine: Everything You Need to Know About
Mind-Altering Drugs by Andrew Weil, M.D. (best-selling natural health author)
and Winifred Rosen, 1998. Websites about Drug Education and Counseling:
Monitoring the Future http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/
Monitoring the Future is an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes,
and values of American secondary school students, college students, and young
adults
American Council for Drug Education http://www.acde.org
The American Council for Drug Education is a substance abuse prevention
and education agency that develops programs and materials based on the most
current scientific research on drug use and its impact on society.
The Robert Wood Foundation http://www.rwjf.org/index.jsp
The Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation seeks to improve the health and health care of all Americans.
One of their funding priorities is to
?To reduce the personal, social and
economic harm caused by substance abuse ? tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs.
Tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs inflict an enormous toll on Americans,
especially among our youth.?
Misc:
Link to
Micah's posts'from'DARE'conference
All SSDP
SSDPedia