Project ALERT is a two-year, 14-lesson program that focuses on the substances that adolescents are most likely to use: alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and inhalants. The project is aimed at middle school adolescents.

Project ALERT uses participatory activities and videos to help:

• Motivate adolescents against drug use.
• Teach adolescents the skills and strategies needed to resist pro-drug pressures.
• Establish non-drug-using norms.

Guided classroom discussions and small group activities stimulate peer interaction and challenge student beliefs and perceptions, while intensive role-playing activities help students learn and master resistance skills. Parent-involved homework assignments extend the learning process.

According to its web site, the project has been effective with adolescents from a variety of backgrounds, including urban, rural and suburban committees as well as Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, Asian-American and Native American youth from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds.

According to a study by RAND, students that received Project ALERT:

• Reduced initiation of marijuana use by 30%.
• Decreased current marijuana use by 60%.
• Reduced past month cigarette use by 20-25%.
• Decreased regular and heavy smoking by 33-55%
• Substantially reduced students' pro-drug attitudes and beliefs.

Source: www.projectalert.com