Drug-Free South Turning the Tide of Drug Abuse Across Tennessee

“Prescription drug misuse and abuse continues to be a major problem in the state of Tennessee,” according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations. This is why the Foundation for a Drug-Free World is making plans to spread its education initiatives even further in the coming months.

Anne Vallieres coordinates the local chapter, “It is important to reach youth before drug dealers do,” she says, “and that can only be accomplished by being proactive—going to the schools and teaching them the truth about drugs.”

The Foundation for a Drug-Free South (DFS) has been educating students in and around Tennessee since 2009. So far, the group has enlightened over 15,000 students across 30 counties in the state. And Vallieres has no intention of putting on the brakes. “Students who receive these seminars and learn the real truth about drugs are inclined to look and think for themselves, and they decide not to take drugs. That is the true benefit to this program.”

The Foundation for a Drug-Free World is a nonprofit public benefit corporation that empowers youth and adults with factual information about drugs so they can make informed decisions and live drug-free. According to drugfreeworld.org, “No one, especially a young person, likes to be lectured about what he or she can or cannot do. Thus, we provide the facts that empower youth to choose not to take drugs in the first place.”

DFS provides a “Truth About Drugs” booklet, an informational pamphlet that details short- and long-term effects of drugs, common street names and myths that a drug dealer might use to make a sale.  The Foundation offers educational materials free of charge to educators and anyone who wants to learn more about drugs.

For more information, visit www.drugfreesouth.org.