How can the problem of substance abuse be addressed?
Most experts agree a successful strategy for dealing with drug abuse contains four approaches – awareness, treatment, enforcement, and prevention . NMFC believes prevention is the most critical of the four. Prevention is, hands down, the most important component of a successful solution. Awareness efforts inform and educate the public. Treatment programs provide assistance to those already addicted. Enforcement activities curb the supplies and penalize the suppliers. But these latter three only treat the results of substance abuse problems. Prevention stops use and abuse before it can get started. It interrupts the addictive cycle which may have gone on for generations in a family. Another important plus – prevention programs can be implemented for a fraction of the cost of treatment, enforcement or even publicity programs.
