Free Back to School Anti-Drug Resources for Community Coalitions to Help Reach Parents and Teens

Middle school and high school can be a difficult, stressful, and fun rollercoaster for many adolescent teens. Unfortunately, coping with school stress is one of the major reasons teens turn to drugs according to a 2008 Partnership for a Drug-Free America Survey.

Teens are less likely to use drugs or alcohol if their parents teach them about the risks and if they believe their parents disapprove, indicates research in a 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. To help parents prepare their children for a successful school year, the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign is offering unlimited copies of resources that provide parents with information, ideas, and examples of skills to use when talking with teens about drugs and alcohol.

Materials include three short brochures on keeping teens drug-free for all audiences, or specifically African American or Hispanic audiences.  Two other resources provide information on parenting skills and how to raise healthy teens. A free brochure on the abuse of prescription and over-the-counter-drugs by teens is also available.

The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign urges community coalitions to reach out to parents and teens with these back-to-school resources and to offer guidance for use of the materials.  Some ways organizations can make the resources available is by providing them at back-to-school nights, parent-teacher meetings or by posting the availability of materials on your organization's Web site.

To order materials call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Health Information Network at 1-800-788-2800 and order by number and title:

PHD1114. Keeping Your Teens Drug-Free: A Family Guide
PHD1115. Keeping Your Teens Drug-Free: A Guide for Hispanic Families
PHD1116. Keeping Your Teens Drug-Free: A Guide for African American Parents and Caregivers
PHD1127. Navigating the Teen Years: A Parent's Handbook for Raising Healthy Teens
AVD228:  The Teen Years: A Road Map for Parents CD-ROM
POTC-08. The Abuse of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs
ONDCP09-FCINSERT. House Tour Print Insert: Where Are Drugs in Your House?

The Media Campaign also has free unlimited copies of posters and postcards for teens that remind them to be above the influence.  Materials include: 

ATI-1PCS08 ATI Landfill poster
ATI-2P0S08 ATI Respect Myself poster
ATI-3POS08 ATI Martin poster
ATI-4POS08 ATI Pressure poster
ATI-2PC08 ATI Prom postcard  

To view and/or download parent materials click here.

To view and/or download the House Tour Print Insert click here.