The Frederick County Health Department apologizes for the mis-communicated message on our billboard. The message was crafted to empower and encourage parents as a powerful prevention agent to prevent drug misuse/use and addiction and to encourage conversations between parents and children. These conversations play a key role in prevention of substance abuse but because of the many factors that contribute to addiction, it does not guarantee our children will be immune to this disease. We fully understand there are families across the nation struggling with drug use and addiction. We also understand that parents are working hard every day to prevent drug use and addiction. We understand that the most well-intentioned and best parents cannot fully protect our loved ones from all of the dangers in the world. There are many, many factors that can lead any one of us down the path of addiction. We applaud all of the parents and families across the nation who are doing everything they can to prevent drug use and addiction. The Frederick County Health Department is committed to preventing drug use and addiction as well as providing evidence-based, effective treatment and recovery services for those loved ones in need. Addiction is a disease. The Frederick County Health Department will continue to work tirelessly to reduce the stigma associated with the disease of addiction and is committed to providing evidence-based treatment and recovery approaches to address this disease. We have heard your comments and concerns regarding the billboard message and, again, apologize for any hurt it may have unintentionally caused. We are working diligently to have the message removed and expect it to be down today. For more information, please visit www.takebackmylife.org and www.drugfree.org.