Office of National Drug Control Policy

Prevention and the National Drug Control Strategy

The National Drug Control Strategy contains 18 actions related to drug prevention, organized under 5 overarching principles:

1.     A National Prevention System Must Be Grounded at the Community Level

  • Develop Prevention-Prepared Communities
  • Collaborate with States to Support Communities
  • Spread Prevention to the Workplace

2.    Prevention Efforts Must Encompass the Range of Settings in Which Young People Grow Up

  • Strengthen the Drug Free Communities Program
  • Revamp and Reenergize the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign
  • Support Mentoring Initiatives, Especially Among At-Risk Youth
  • Mobilize Parents To Educate Youth to Reject Drug Use

3.    Develop and Disseminate Information on Youth Drug, Alcohol, and Tobacco Use

  • Support Substance Abuse Prevention on College Campuses
  • Expand Research on Understudied Substances
  • Prepare a Report on Health Risks of Youth Substance Use

4.    Criminal Justice Agencies and Prevention Organizations Must Collaborate

  • Provide Information on Effective Prevention Strategies to Law Enforcement
  • Enable Law Enforcement to Participate in Community Prevention Programs in Schools, Community Coalitions, Civic Organizations, and Faith-Based Organizations
  • Strengthen Prevention Efforts along the Southwest Border

5.    Preventing Drugged Driving Must Become a National Priority on Par with Preventing Drunk Driving

  • Encourage States to Adopt Per Se Drug Impairment Laws
  • Collect Further Data on Drugged Driving
  • Enhance Prevention of Drugged Driving by Educating Communities and Professionals
  • Provide Increased Training to Law Enforcement on Identifying Drugged Drivers
  • Develop Standard Screening Methodologies