Education is the best prevention. The influx of drug overdoses and addictions in our society is indicative of a flawed drug education system. It is time to reimagine what effective drug education looks like.

Our current system is built on the idea that drugs are bad. We demonize drugs and their users. But as a society, we recognize the value of drugs. New advancements in drug technology save millions of lives. This inconsistent narrative promotes distrust. 

As our children grow up to see these inconsistencies they start to question if their education can be trusted. Unsure if the information they have been given is reliable, they begin to seek out the truth on their own. This leads to reckless drug experimentation, which later develops into destructive relationships with drugs. 

We have attempted to protect our children by shielding them from the truth. In doing so, we have promoted the very thing we sought to prevent. 

The war on drugs has made it abundantly clear that misinformation and propaganda do not make for effective education. It is time to try honesty.

We are urging the Vermont Department of Health to discard the old ineffective system and develop a new drug education system built on truth.