Safety First
Program Description
Safety First: Real Drug Education for Teens is a comprehensive, harm reduction-based curriculum designed to educate high school students about drugs and empower them to make informed decisions. Developed by the Drug Policy Alliance and managed by Stanford Medicine's Research and Education to Empower Adolescents and Young Adults to Choose Health Lab, the curriculum includes 13 lessons covering harm reduction principles, neuroscience of drug use, stress and coping, media literacy, and specific substances including stimulants, e-cigarettes/vapes, cannabis, alcohol, opioids, and hallucinogens. It provides scientifically accurate information, interactive activities, and facilitator guides to promote safety and informed decision-making among youth.
Prevention Category
Practice Level
Strategies
Practice Components
Risk and Protective Factors
Population Age
Populations of Focus
Settings
Parental/Caregiver Involvement
Substance Use Prevention Focus
Recommended Staffing
Empirical Evidence of Impact
| Substance | Substance-Related Behavior | Population Age | Evidence Strength and Study Populations of Focus |
| Alcohol | Reduced Use or Delayed Initiation | 14-15 | Promising (Urban)1 |
| Cannabis | Changes in Knowledge, Attitudes, or Beliefs | 14-15 | Promising (Urban)1 |
| Cannabis | Reduced Use or Delayed Initiation | 14-15 | Promising (Urban)1 |
| Opioids | Changes in Knowledge, Attitudes, or Beliefs | 14-15 | Promising (Urban)1 |
| Substance Use (General) | Reduced Use or Delayed Initiation | 14-15 | Promising (Urban)1 |
| References
1 Fischer, N. R. (2022). School-based harm reduction with adolescents: a pilot study. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 17(1), 79. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-022-00502-1 |
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Training and Technical Assistance
Stanford University’s Research and Education to Empower Adolescents and Young Adults to Choose Health Lab offers free online trainings, which are also archived on the project’s website. The website also provides free facilitator guides, talking points, slide charts, interactive data dashboards that can be used during curriculum delivery, and discussion guides for each lesson.
Adaptations
To our knowledge, there have not been significant adaptations to this curriculum.
Program Costs
Required training and implementation materials are available at no cost.
What California Providers Are Saying
We have not yet spoken to any California providers who have experience implementing Safety First. If you have implemented it, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us.
Labels
Universal,
Individual,
Information dissemination,
Education,
Education,
Psychoeducation,
Skills Training,
Early initiation of substance use,
Favorable attitudes towards substance abuse,
Emotional self-regulation,
Strong coping skills (e.g. problem-solving skills, ability to stand up for beliefs and values),
Substance use among peers,
Age 13-17, ages 13-17,
Age 18-20, ages 18-20,
General Population, Hispanic,
No parent/caregiver involvement,
Alcohol,
Cannabis,
Cocaine,
Fentanyl,
Heroin,
Inhalants,
Methamphetamine,
Prescription Drugs,
Synthetic Drugs,
Tobacco,
School (K-12), k-12,
Teachers/Educators, teachers educators,