Drug-Free Tennessee Works with Community Leaders to Spread Hope

Community leaders, police and clergy sat down together just before International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking to talk not just the facts, but solutions.

A member of the Metro Vice Unit was present to give statistics about the current “drugs of choice,” and information related to prescription drug abuse, one of the major fads of today. Clergy and community leaders led discussions of how to reach youth before dealers, and Drug-Free Tennessee shared its many educational materials that can be used by anyone to help young people.

Drug-Free Tennessee is a chapter of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, which provides booklets, videos, brochures, and even an educational curriculum for students designed to give all of the basic facts of how drugs affect the body and mind, common street names and more. The Foundation holds events each year that tie into the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1987.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime is leading the global campaign to raise awareness about the major challenge that illicit drugs represent to society as a whole, and especially to the young. The goal of the campaign is to mobilize support and inspire people to act against drug use, according to unodc.org.

Rev. Brian Fesler who coordinates Drug-Free Tennessee said, “We are committed to bringing the truth about drugs to everyone.  When youth know what they are really getting into, they have a chance to avoid a lot of pain and suffering.” Fesler says it can’t be done in a day and his organization is committed to working continuously to curb the drug epidemic. “We will go to anyone, anywhere in the region to spread the Truth About Drugs message,” he says, referring to the educational component of the program.

To learn more, order booklets or schedule a visit to your school, group or congregation, visit drugfreetn.org.