Drug Education Resources

High School Curriculum

Safety First: Real Drug Education for Teens is the U.S.’s first harm reduction-based drug education curriculum for high school teachers. It adheres to research-based prevention and drug education principles while equipping teens to make safer choices about drug use.

Safety First is designed to be implemented in 9th and 10th grade classrooms by health teachers, and consists of 15 lessons that can be completed in a 45- to 50-minute class period.

Booklets and Fact Sheets

For Parents

8 Tips for Talking to Your Teen About Drugs – Help your teens make safer choices by talking to them about what they can do when alcohol and other drugs are around.

The Real Reasons Teens Use Drugs – Understand the potential reasons for teenage drug use so you can help keep your teens on track.

For Young Adults

How to Recognize a Drug Overdose – Learn the signs of what a drug overdose or medical emergency looks like for some commonly used drugs and what actions you can take to help save someone’s life.

Safer Partying Checklist – Five things to keep in mind if there is alcohol or other drugs at your party, music festival or concert.

For Educators

Beyond Zero Tolerance A Reality-Based Approach to Drug Education and School Discipline – Learn about a new type of drug education model that combines education, interaction, assistance when needed, and restorative practices.

Matters of Substance Videos

DPA's video series, Matters of Substance, breaks down important drug policy concepts in under 60 seconds. Watch and learn in just a minute. Check out our educator-friendly versions for teachers who can't use YouTube in the classroom.

Get the educator-friendly videos.

Real Drug Education