Cocaine, the highly addictive substance, is being used by alarming numbers of undergraduates, and many are selling it on their campuses to support their own habits. A questionnaire for students who might be in trouble with cocaine and don't know it is provided. (MLW)

Medical students performed less well on examinations about drug abuse problems and patient management than on traditional medical board examinations. The best knowledge was of pharmacology of drug abuse, Alcoholics Anonymous, and treatment of delirium tremens. Students knew less about metabolic and biochemical areas, emergency-room treatment, and…

The Safe and Drug Free School and Communities Act of 1994 authorizes funding at federal, state, and local levels for school-based drug-and violence-prevention programs. This General Accounting Office (GAO) report reviews the following: (1) accountability measures required at the federal, state, and local levels (by the act); (2) activities used by…

Establishing a British national strategy to tackle youth drug use would seem an obvious first step in solving the drug problem. Some ideas for remedying the drug problem among young people are presented in this conference report. Drug abuse among children and adolescents throws up some complex issues and the obstacles to any coordinated,…

This summary explaining the results of evaluations of programs to prevent youth violence is an attempt to fill the gap in information about what works and what does not. An effort is made to place the problem of youth violence in perspective, using information largely taken from Bureau of Justice statistics. The existing programs are divided into…

Establishing school-based drug prevention programs was the aim of the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1986 (DFSCA). The extent to which DFSCA-funded programs made a difference in helping states and localities prevent or reduce drug use and some of the effective prevention strategies and programs for use with school-aged youth are examined…

This revision of the 1996 publication is a tool for identifying promising drug prevention programs. This booklet is designed to help teachers, school principals, and concerned citizens determine how to spend scarce prevention dollars. Many parents assume that school prevention programs will protect their children from drugs; the information…

Examined the support for, and consequences of, youths' drug involvement in neighborhoods having different degrees of toughness and drug use. Surveyed junior high school students (N=1,045) about their drug use. Found an interactive relationship between neighborhood setting and supports and consequences of drug involvement. (JAC)

Describes an experiment in which acetaminophen is converted into phenacetin, that has been used at Shepherd College in an introductory chemistry course for nurses and in the organic chemistry laboratory. (BT)

Reports on the effectiveness of a drug abuse prevention intervention with a predominantly minority sample of seventh-grade students (N=721). Results indicate that this approach was effective on several behavioral measures of current drug use, including measures of polydrug use and on intention measures relevant to future drug use. (RJM)

Examines short-term outcome of "I'm Special" drug abuse prevention/education program to establish a link with what has been observed longitudinally. Administered Self-Concept Attitudinal (SCAT) Inventory to 270 third grade students before and after program. Determined program was able to generate positive changes along six SCAT attitudinal…

A half-time Student Assistance Program (SAP) was designed and implemented for two semesters in an urban high school in New Jersey. Findings indicated that proportion of students who used SAP increased with time, male participants outnumbered females, and alcohol and drug issues were most frequently cited as presenting problems for both males and…

Reports the level of participation of parents in a parent-targeted school-based drug prevention program, and the differences between students whose parents participated and those who didn't. Results indicate that parent-targeted drug prevention programs may stigmatize attending parents and may be unlikely to attract the highest risk families. (JPS)

Reports on the evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) prevention program at several sites. Findings show a very small effect on children, but as has been the case for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program (DARE), GREAT will continue because of its importance to stakeholders and political symbolism. (SLD)

Four articles are included: (1) a study that identified barriers to effective extension programing for at-risk youth; (2) Project LEAD, which is designed to prevent delinquency by positively affecting attitudes of youth at risk; (3) Illinois extension's approach to drug education; and (4) Ohio's Tobacco Risk Awareness Program. (JOW)