Note
"Coordinated by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse for the Office of Canada’s Drug Strategy Health Canada."
"Canada"s Drug Strategy."
Issued also in French under title: Prévention des problèmes attribuables à la consommation d’alcool et d’autres drogues chez les jeunes : un compendium des meilleures pratiques.
This publication may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for educational and non-commercial purposes, without permission provided the source is fully acknowledged. ©All Rights Reserved. Preventing substance use problems among young people : a compendium of best practices. Health Canada, 2001. Reproduced with permission from the Minister of Health, 2014.
Summary
The compendium gives attention to prevention issues, principles and programs pertaining to all
youth, ranging from mainstream to out-of-the-mainstream, and considers a variety of settings,
from schools to street level. While some early childhood initiatives have shown strong
preventive effect, they were considered beyond the scope of the investigation. Also, neither
tobacco nor performance-enhancing drug use prevention programs were considered unless they
reported other substance use results. Finally, policy-focused initiatives were considered only
when linked to programming, but were discussed as an important underpinning to the direct
service programs presented in this compendium.
Detailed discussion of current drug use patterns of Canadian youth is presented because it is
crucial to base program decisions on accurate data. A number of programs that have either
shown evidence of effectiveness or show promise are described in detail. To the greatest extent
possible, relevant information has been collected from researchers and program sponsors,
including aims, intended outcomes, prevention principles emphasized and, whenever possible,
cost information. Complete contact information is included for each program.