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Washington Drug & Alcohol Commission, Inc. (WDAC) is responsible for the development, oversight, and management of substance abuse prevention services throughout Washington County. WDAC strives to increase the implementation of prevention programs, age-appropriate strategies, polices and practices that are based on research proving effectiveness and/or best practices within the county. The focus is to reduce risk factors associated with substance use and promote the development of healthy lifestyles that positively impact individuals across the lifespan, in their communities, families and schools.
WDAC Prevention Department is able to provide the following free programs at the middle school level.
Too Good for Drugs is an evidence based program that builds a healthy foundation for students as they develop social emotional skills through engaging songs and activities. Students learn goal-setting, responsible decision making, emotion management, effective communication, and bonding and relationship skills to lay the groundwork for a drug-free and violence-free life.
Too Good For Drugs (TGFD) prepares students for the increasing challenges young teens face by fostering their ability to set and reach more complex goals. TGFD defines a sequential set of core components. Students learn goal-setting, responsible decision making, emotion management, effective communication, and bond relationship skills to lay the groundwork for a drug-free and violence-free life.
This program explores in great depth the negative effects of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use on the brain and body. Drug awareness lessons cover tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, prescription and over the counter medications and street drugs, including various stimulants and depressants. Students’ social emotional skill set are reinforced and applied as they practice peer-pressure refusal strategies and explore and understand peer influence on their decision making.
Learn more about the Too Good For Drugs Program.
Operation Prevention Program is a program that was developed by the DEA and Discovery Education to combat a growing epidemic of prescription opioid misuse and heroin use nationwide. Operation Prevention’s mission is to educate students about the true impacts of opioids and kick-start lifesaving conversations in the home and classroom. At the middle school level this program focuses on the Brain and Body (1)What are opioids (2)What are the effects on the body (3)The nervous system and neurons (4)Endorphins and natural mood boosters (5)Withdrawal and (6)Social Media Campaigns.
These presentations can cover a variety of topics and are conducted with individual classrooms or groups identified from the Student Assistance Program.
This curriculum is proven effective in changing youth gambling behaviors. By teaching youth to approach life as smart risk-takers and weighing the pros and cons of their actions youth will be better equipped to determine the odds of achieving positive results. The six interactive lessons focus on the history of gambling; the true odds and the “house edge”; gambling fallacies; the signs, risk factors, and causes of problem gambling; and skills for good decision-making and problem-solving. The goals of this program are designed to teach young people the facts about gambling and related risks, encourage responsible decision making and prevent young people from becoming problem gamblers.
