National Drug Facts Week

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is launching National Drug Facts Week, a new national awareness week to bring together teens and scientific experts to discuss the facts about drug abuse. NIDA is a component of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"What we learned through our annual Web chat is that teens have many questions about drug use and are eager for objective, factual answers," said NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow. "So we wanted to build a series of events where teens could ask scientists their questions directly."

The week, which starts on Monday, November 8, encourages community-based question and answer events between teens and scientists. Locally Van Buren County SAFE Coalition and the JEL/YLC members are teaming up to provide information each day during the week about Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana, and Prescription Drugs. Students are being asked to submit questions anonymously the week before the event. All questions will be answered on a fact wall or by a scientist coming into the school for the event. JEL/YLC members will be interviewing the scientist and providing a question and answer session that will be aired on Channel 1 each day of the week.

"Knowledge is the most powerful tool we can provide our teens with to help them make good, healthy, responsible decisions," said ONDCP Director R. Gil Kerlikowske. "By empowering teens to think critically about drug use and its consequences, we can improve the health and safety of a generation."

The Drug Enforcement Administration will post special scientific information on its teen site, Just Think Twice. "Keeping America's teens informed about drugs is as important a mission to the DEA as is keeping drug dealers out of our communities and off the Internet," said Michele Leonhart, the DEA Acting Administrator. "Knowledge is a powerful weapon against those who would exploit our kids, and DEA enthusiastically partners with NIDA and other agencies to put on National Drug Facts Week."

The week will also include the launch of the first annual "National Drug IQ Challenge," a 20-question multiple choice quiz that teens and adults can take to test their science based knowledge about drugs. The quiz can be found on the National Drug Facts Week Web site and will also be provided to all Van Buren High School Students to win prizes during the week. High scorers on the site will be rewarded with five additional Brainiac questions that focus on the brain. The quiz and other information on National Drug Facts Week can be found at http://drugfactsweek.drugabuse.gov/ You may also follow them on Face book or Twitter for up to date information!

If you have questions about the local event you may contact the SAFE Coalition at 319-293-6412 or on the web at www.vbsafecoalition.com.