Just Say Know Drug Education

Just Say Know Drug Education

Students for Sensible Drug Policy believes that students should be an overall part of any campus and community prevention and intervention strategy.

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Questions? Comments? Email Luis at luis@ssdp.org.

SSDP Peer Education Program

Our SSDP Peer Education program seeks to empower students in our network to analyze the relationship between drug policy and drug use by providing evidence-based drug information, teaching students to recognize and address dangerous behaviors and unhealthy attitudes, and promoting prosocial and harm reduction oriented behaviors and attitudes.

SSDP is in a uniquely qualified position to do so because:

Students turn to their peers first when they encounter and experiment with drug use. SSDP can meet students where they are.
SSDP does not condone nor condemn drug use, but seeks to reduce drug-related harms both personally and in their campus communities.
SSDP complements existing campus health and wellness programs, and fills in important gaps when it comes to open and honest discussion of drug policy. SSDP peer educators are able to challenge and critique campus policy and culture in ways that campus administration often cannot. While campus programs seek to change individual behavior, SSDP can change campus culture.
SSDP students have a unique perspective on the relationship between campus drug policy and campus drug use culture. Sensible drug education must acknowledge how drug policy and culture shapes attitudes and behaviors.

Federal cannabis prohibition is at its end, but sensible drug policy is more relevant than ever. The United States has just ended a significant portion of the War on Drugs with the increasing approval and enactment of cannabis legalization. However, we as a society need to take time to recover – mentally, emotionally and physically – from our failed drug policies, relearn why we started this fight in the first place, and reflect on what values we should hold about drug policy and drug use culture as we move forward. SSDP peer education will further the mission, vision, and values of the organization by promoting education, not incarceration!

Goals for SSDP Peer Education Program

To promote open and honest dialogue around drug use, drug policy and drug culture
To reduce drug-related harms through a lens of love, rather than stigma or punishment
Convey factual information about drugs, including how to access further resources
Convey factual information about drug policy, including how to access further resources

SSDP Peer Educators achieve this goal through three primary activities

Facilitating small-group educational programs in residence halls, in fraternities and sororities, for other student groups and high schools, and during Orientation Week
Providing students with informal support and professional referrals
Planning campus-wide events in collaboration with other student groups, academic departments or community organizations
Soliciting feedback and communicating to National staff to ensure that the program continually meets students’ needs

See the Peer Education Program 101 Powerpoint here

SSDP Peer Education was launched at the SSDP 2016 International Conference with a presentation by former Pacific Region Outreach Coordinator, Frances Fu, ’11, and former SSDP Director of Drug Education, Vilmarie Narloch, PsyD ’09. At that time, the Training Curriculum went live, providing access to 12 lessons and accompanying resources. Since then, over 80 SSDPers have engaged in the training, and their feedback has helped us to develop the current 3rd Edition.

To become an SSDP certified Peer Educator, members complete each lesson by reading, watching, and reviewing the resources available, and complete a set of reflection and feedback questions for each of the lessons.  Along the way, SSDP Staff or a certified peer educator will provide support, answer questions, and keep track of their progress.

Additionally, for students who prefer a more interactive audio/visual format, webinars for each of the lessons will be made available on a regular basis. Members can also contact Luis at luis@ssdp.org to schedule webinars for their chapter!

Once one has completed all mandatory training curriculum lessons, SSDP Staff will confirm completion of the program, and they will receive an official completion certificate in the mail. Once one is an SSDP certified Peer Educator, they can present our Just Say Know drug education and harm reduction modules!

If you are interested in creating a module, contact Luis, who can help you through the process!

Peer Education Training Curriculum

Peer Education on Campus

Integration on Campus and Community

SSDP Peer Educators strive to promote harm reduction on campuses and in college communities where treatment and resources are not always harm-reduction based. SSDP Peer Educators will be encouraged to work with existing campus and community resources, and learn how to navigate different philosophical conflicts surrounding drug use behaviors, treatment, and recovery.
On Campus Staff Support: SSDP Peer Educators are encouraged to work closely with a health and wellness administrator on campus. Staff can connect students with administrators, and university or community specific committees that they may otherwise not have had access to.
If campus support does not exist: If the SSDP Peer Educator is on a campus that doesn’t have a robust health services program, they are encouraged to collaborate with community members and organizations (ex. health/social work) and put on these trainings as educational events. SSDP Peer Educators are not meant to serve as experts on substance use, but as facilitators in connecting students with facts and resources.
Encouraging campus and community training opportunities: SSDP Peer Educators will be encouraged to undergo existing health and wellness training opportunities that already exist on campus or in the local community. In addition, SSDP Peer Educators will be encouraged to work with their campus’ health services program to deliver these trainings as key stakeholders in their own health and wellness and that of their campus communities.

SSDP Peer Education and CAT Points

SSDP Peer Education objectives will be viewable under the “Training and Education” category. Below are some examples of actions your chapter will be able to take:

Create a new Just Say Know drug education module

Just Say Know Drug Education Lessons

SSDP Peer Educators will be able to present and create educational modules, starting with Just Say Know.

Just Say Know

Just Say Know is a series of drug education modules aimed at promoting open and honest dialogue around commonly used substances. The program aims to equip young people with harm reduction tools and skills as it relates to the specific substance, but can be applied to substance use generally.

Before you dive into the presentations, please review Just Say Know: A Guide to Presenting for an overview of how to best utilize these resources.

MDMA / Ecstasy / Molly – PowerPoint TemplateFacilitator’s Guide
Synthetic Cannabinoids – Powerpoint TemplateFacilitator’s Guide

Get Involved Today

Questions? Comments? Email Luis at luis@ssdp.org.

Additional Resources

Unity (Netherlands)
TRIP! Project (Toronto, Canada)
Karmik (Vancouver, Canada)
GRIP Montreal (Montreal, Canada)
Safety First

Know Your Rights

Working Group Contributors

Vilmarie Fraguada Narloch, PsyD., Director of Drug Education, SSDP
Frances Fu, DOPE Project Manager, National Harm Reduction Coalition
Sheila Vakharia, Assistant Professor, School of Health Professions
Sarah Merrigan, Host, This Week in Drugs
Jerry Otero, Cre8tive YouTh*ink
Kathie Kane Willis, Director of Policy and Advocacy, Chicago Urban League
Eddie Einbinder, Center for Optimal Living
Kenneth Tupper, Adjunct Professor at the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia
Dan Reist, Center for Addictions Research of BC, University of Victoria
Evan Nison, Ithaca College
Devon Tackels, Virginia Commonwealth University
Matthew Scott Kuehlhorn, THRIVE
James Kowalsky, Outreach Coordinator, Heartland Alliance
Benito Guijarro, UC Berkeley
Amanda Reiman, Scientific Advisor, High Sobriety Treatment
Craig Reinarman, UC Santa Cruz Faculty
Rhana Hashemi, UC Berkeley
Tomas Robles, UC Berkeley
Kevin Garcia, Board Member, SSDP; SSDP certified Peer Educator, Florida International University
Robert Hofman, Board Member, SSDP; SSDP certified Peer Educator, SUNY New Paltz
Rebecca Dayan, SSDP certified Peer Educator, Sarah Lawrence College
Zane Bader, Board Member, SSDP; SSDP certified Peer Educator, University of Georgia
James Gould ’15, former Just Say Know intern, SSDP Certified Peer Educator, Website Administrator, Students for Sensible Drug Policy

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