Rise Above the Challenge: Demand Mandatory Drug Prevention Education in School.

The recent deliberations by the Richmond City Council regarding the establishment of a drug injection site have raised significant public concern, highlighting the authorities’ failure to implement the “four pillars” drug strategy. With an overwhelming emphasis on harm reduction, the other pillars, namely, prevention, treatment, and law enforcement, have been neglected. This oversight is contributing to the worsening of the drug issue in Canada.

We firmly advocate for prevention to be the primary focus of drug policy, with education playing a pivotal role, commencing from an early age. We believe implementing comprehensive prevention education in schools is the most effective approach.

To address these concerns, we are launching a petition requesting the following actions:
1. The provincial government to mandate drug prevention education as a required subject in primary and secondary schools, with a curriculum designed to educate students on the dangers of drugs and promote a drug-free lifestyle.
2. Until the provincial government mandates drug prevention education as a policy for all schools, local school boards should introduce drug prevention education in their schools. We recommend adopting the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program facilitated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.*

We kindly seek your support for this petition. Once we have gathered sufficient signatures, we will engage with the Minister of Education, School Board Chairs and superintendents of school districts to present our findings and advocate for the implementation of drug prevention education programs.

Sponsors:
Drug Prevention Concern Group**
Chak Au
Zenbia Chan
Thomas  Wai Chi Leung
Edward Liu

* Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) is one of the most complete, effective, and evidence-based drug prevention programs for school children in Canada. It aims at preventing the use of controlled drugs, joining gangs, and engaging in violent behaviour. It has been widely implemented by many school districts in B.C. and offered to Grade 5 students in Richmond for a long time. D.A.R.E. is the foundation of the RCMP’s community-based prevention education. For more information about this program, please visit www.facebook.com/Drug3CanadFootnote 1:

** The Drug Prevention Concern Group, formerly known as Canadian Cannabis Concern Group, was formed in 2018. It has organized nationwide petitions against cannabis legalization and attended the Senate’s public hearing. As a result of the Concern Group’s efforts, Richmond passed a resolution to ban cannabis retail shops in the city. The name change in 2024 reflects the group’s expanded scope to promote comprehensive drug prevention work.