During National Youth Substance Use Prevention Month, we rededicate ourselves to transforming the lives of America’s youth through prevention.  We commit to building and supporting communities where young Americans can live healthy and fulfilling lives, free from the dangers of substance use, laying the groundwork for strong future generations.

    

Our country has been battered by twin crises in recent years:  an overdose epidemic and COVID-19.  Last year, a record 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses, ripping a hole in families across every community in the Nation.  More than a thousand of those who died were teenagers — sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, and friends who still... Read More

“Which prevention programs and policies are truly worthy of being considered “evidence-based”? I’ve been thinking about the answer to this challenging question for decades.  The difference between what can – and what should not – be called “evidence-based” is often critical, if we are  to avoid wasting the limited available resources we can expend on prevention.  But that difference is often difficult to discern, and as evidence accumulates  over time the status of a given program and policy may well change.  Sifting through the evidence on a continuing basis, and making recommendations as to what should and should not be implemented, is the job of the entire community involved in the application of prevention science.”

​

Chris Ringwalt, DrPH