NIDA has launched a number of public education efforts to help parents and concerned adults present clear and consistent messages to young people about the dangers of drug use.
Most recently, the Institute developed print and video materials containing the latest scientific information about marijuana and answers to some questions parents and teenagers frequently ask about marijuana. "These and other NIDA public education efforts will help parents and other concerned adults to knowledgeably discuss the negative health consequences of cigarette smoking and illicit drug use with young people," says NIDA Director Dr. Alan I. Leshner.
The materials, which were distributed to 16,000 U.S. school districts last fall, were developed as part of the Marijuana Use Prevention Initiative that Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Donna E. Shalala launched last year to respond to the resurgence in marijuana use. (See "NIDA Takes a Lead Role in National Marijuana Initiative," NIDA NOTES, July/August 1995)