Once again, we got distracted for a few minutes/months and now find summer so close we can almost taste the watermelon and potato salad.  We hope it’s been a stellar year for our Project ALERT partners.  We have so many teachers, school guidance counselors and resource officers, community health personnel, principals, members of law enforcement, district superintendents, and Young Marines leaders to thank for keeping Project ALERT one of the most widely-used substance use prevention education programs in the country.  Hats off to all of you!  Now…clock out and enjoy your summer break!

What substances are kids combining these days?  Hint: it’s not iced tea and lemonade.  Some of these newest elixirs are mass-marketed, ready-to-consume infusions; others are simply born out of the culture; and both pose more health risks than an Arnold Palmer.  We seem to be in the midst of a commingling revolution, and even coffee is joining the uprising! So, grab a cup, preferably THC-free, and find out what’s been brewing.

Welcome, Newbies!

We want to welcome some of our newest partners in Seattle, WA, Mesquite, TX, Shepherd, MT, and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  Happy to have you on board!

 

Lesson on Prescription Painkillers and Heroin to Join Project ALERT Curriculum

Educator staff have spent the last year-and-a-half drafting and pilot-testing a new lesson that’s relevant for the times and relatable to youth, with plenty of collaboration and groupwork for today’s activity-centric teens.  It’s slated to drop this coming fall.  Feel like doing some early-on legwork?  Check out our teacher supplemental guide (a shortened student-oriented version will be available soon), and take in one of the following videos: 

 

• CNN video, “This Is Your Brain on Heroin”
• NIDA video, “Choose Your Path” 
• FBI/DEA film, “Chasing the Dragon: The Life of An Opiate Addict”

 

Hit Me, Baby…One More Time

Once again, millions of Americans in at least 9 states will be casting their votes on recreational and medical marijuana legalization this fall.  Find out how 24 initiatives (so far) may impact drug policy in your state. 

 

Southern Summer Comfort 

Taking a detour from our usual custom for the year-end issue of the Educator--leaving you with excerpts from several classic writings about summer--we thought we’d give you a full Monty, a bona fide gem called A Boy’s Summer Song by Paul Laurence Dunbar, one of America’s first modern black poets. This one almost makes us long to be in Houston in the dead of August (well, maybe if we were sitting behind home plate at an Astros game).  So, put away the cell phone, pour yourself a glass of sweet tea, grab a hammock, and enjoy.

 

          ‘Tis fine to play                                      With line and hook
          In the fragrant hay                                 By a babbling brook
          And romp on the golden load                  The fisherman's sport we ply
          To ride old Jack                                      And list the song
          To the barn and back                              Of the feathered throng
          Or tramp by a shady road                       That flit in the branches nigh
          To pause and drink                                 At last we strip
          At a mossy brink                                     For a quiet dip
          Ah, that is the best of joy                      Ah, that is the best of joy
          And so I say                                           For this I say
          On a summer’s day                                On a summer's day
          What’s so fine as being a boy?                What's so fine as being a boy?  
          Ha, Ha!                                                 Ha, Ha! 

 

We're Here to Help!

Can’t remember your password?  Can’t find your certificate?  Need a suggestion for combining lessons?  As a reminder, we’re always here to help with questions you may have about program implementation and web site issues.  Feel free to contact us via email or at 1-800-ALERT-10.  We’ll lay down our fishin' poles and get back to you as soon as possible.