Prevention does work

A promising study shows the effectiveness of community-based, substance abuse prevention interventions begun during middle school years.

Middle school students from small towns and rural communities who received any of three community-based prevention programs were less likely to abuse prescription medications in late adolescence and young adulthood. The research, published today in the American Journal of Public Health, was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), theNational Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Institute of Mental Health, all components of the National Institutes of Health.

•  See the article on DrugAbuse.org.
• The study can be found at: ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/0/0.
• For information on prescription drug abuse, go to:http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/prescription-over-counter-medications.