Day Against Drug Abuse Workshop to Keep Youth Off Drugs

Drug-Free Tennessee observed International Day Against Drug Abuse with a training workshop about keeping young people away from drugs.

Keeping youth off drugs has long been the message of Drug-Free Tennessee (DFT). The group has promoted a drug-free life with education and prevention materials for young people for the better part of the last decade, and according to drugfreetn.org, it has reached more than 18,000 people across Tennessee in the last five years. But now DFT is going full throttle ahead and wants to get this message out to the masses.

In observance of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which occurs each year on June 26, the group held a special training workshop titled “How to Keep Our Youth Off Drugs,” welcoming community leaders and guests to learn how they can use free educational materials to steer young people away from a life of addiction.

The International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was created by the UN General Assembly in December 1987 to encourage all sectors of society to work together to tackle drug abuse and addiction.

Workshop attendees included government leaders, educators, police and parents. They were given free informational materials that they can use in working with children to keep them healthy, as well as drug-free. Rev. Brian Fesler, regional coordinator of Drug-Free Tennessee, said, “This will create a ripple effect throughout the county for the future generation—it’s all about helping our young people for a better tomorrow.”

DFT is the local chapter for the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, an international non-profit, public benefit corporation that empowers youth and adults with factual information about drugs so they can make informed decisions to be drug-free. From its headquarters in Los Angeles, California, the Foundation provides educational materials, advice, and coordination for its international drug prevention network. It works with youth, parents, educators, volunteer organizations and government agencies — anyone with an interest in helping people lead lives free from drug abuse.