The population must make its community free from any kind of ill behavior that may lead to increased crime, and security. One way to do so is to reduce substance-related problems, especially among the idle youth, due to high rates of unemployment, and increased stress levels, as they move from one stage of life to the next. The community engages in prevention programs through associations with religious, civic, and other government organizations. As a team, they work together to boost anti-drug norms and prosocial mannerisms via the implementation of various strategies aimed at modifying key aspects of the environment. Some of these include instituting new policies like the drug-free school concept or strengthening community practices like asking for identity cards when purchasing cigarettes or alcohol (Chou, et al., 1998).
Community programs harmonize prevention measures across settings to relay information that is consistent via work, school, religious institutions, and the media. This is because research has indicated that similar messages relayed via different channels have a great impact on social norms. Some of the programs that are dependent on the community involve the development of policies and imposing regulations. In addition to this, the programs can relay information through mass-media efforts and community-wide awareness programs. Examples of community-based programs include: instituting youth curfew; imposing restrictions on advertisements; limiting the number of alcohol selling establishments in the community that is situated near youth institutions like schools; increasing the prices of cigarettes, and establishing drug-free zones within institutions (Palmgreen, Donohew, Lorch, Hoyle, & Stephenson, 2002).
Some strategies are particularly effective in reducing substance-related problems. An example is the implementation of well constructed and targeted media interventions, such as the mass media campaign targeting youth who like to be “high”, which resulted in a drop of over 25% in marijuana abuse (Palmgreen, Donohew, Lorch, Hoyle, & Stephenson, 2002).
Another group of people that are commonly forgotten is the homeless substance users. While tackling the problem may raise a few difficulties due to the need for rehabilitation, the community can help to prevent such behavior from starting in the first place. This can be achieved by emphasizing the importance of education and celebrating learning institutions as well as teachers. Increasing the knowledge base of people via education will push them towards self-reliance, and the provision of various necessities to their families, which will, in turn, give them less time to indulge in drug abuse, and more time improving themselves for either employment or entrepreneurship (Resnick, Bearman, & Blum, 1997).
References
Chou, C., Montgomery, S., Pentz, M., Rohrbach, L., Johnson, C., Flay, B., et al. (1998). Effects of a community-based prevention program in decreasing drug use in high-risk adolescents. American Journal of Public Health , 88, 944–948.
Palmgreen, P., Donohew, L., Lorch, E., Hoyle, R., & Stephenson, M. (2002). Television campaigns and sensation seeking targeting of adolescent marijuana use. A controlled time series approach. In: Hornik, R.C, ed. Public Health Communication: Evidence for Behavior Change , 35–56.
Resnick, M. D., Bearman, P. S., & Blum, R. W. (1997). Protecting Adolescents from Harm: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health. Journal of the American Medical Association , 278(10), 823-832.