Teaching Early Prevention of Substance Abuse

There has been an increase in youth substance abuse in the US. Research shows that substance abuse leads to consequences such as lower education, lower opportunities to succeed, and overdoses (Freeman et al., 2018). Use of alcohol, marijuana and prescription drugs can also lead to use of heavier drugs like heroin, cocaine, and methenamine that have higher addiction rates (Freeman et al., 2018). One solution is to create early prevention programs that target children before they are heavily exposed to alcohol and drugs. For my capstone project, I presented a workshop to parents in South Monterey County on how they can communicate with their school-age children about alcohol and drugs and prevent them from using or abusing substances in the future. The workshop was designed for parents who work in agriculture and have low socioeconomic status. It was conducted through the non-profit organization, Sun Street Centers, in Gonzales, California.