The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is actively involved in drug prevention and education efforts designed to reduce the demand for drugs in this country. These efforts are coordinated through DEA's Demand Reduction Program, which was formally created in 1986. The Program was created in response to the realization that in order to mount a comprehensive attack against the drug problem, efforts must be undertaken to reduce the demand for drugs and to prevent drug abuse before it occurs. To that end, the mission of DEA's Demand Reduction Program is to provide leadership in coordinating and facilitating the involvement of law enforcement and the community in drug prevention and education activities.

The DEA's Demand Reduction Program is operated mainly by DEA Special Agents, who are known as Demand Reduction Coordinators (DRCs), located in each of the agency's 22 field divisions. The DRCs role is to provide leadership and support to local agencies and organizations as they develop drug education and prevention programs designed to meet their specific needs. As Special Agents, the DRCs bring a unique perspective to the drug prevention arena. They have a clear understanding of the overall drug situation, and a broad range of experience in working with other law enforcement agencies, as well as civic and business organizations. The DRCs share this knowledge and expertise with groups which want guidance and direction on how to start and operate drug prevention programs.

With input from the DRCs, the Demand Reduction Section at DEA Headquarters designates priority areas in which to concentrate drug prevention and education activities. The current national priority areas are Anti-Legalization Education, Law Enforcement Training, Youth Programs, Drugs in the Workplace, Sports Drug Awareness, and Coalition Building.

Anti-Legalization Education: Although polls indicate that the public strongly opposes any move to legalize drugs, legalization continues to be advocated by some and widely discussed among others. As a result, the DEA has become actively involved as opponents in the legalization debate to heighten public awareness about the issues surrounding the misconceptions about legalizing drugs. To provide a better understanding of these issues, DEA has developed a publication called Speaking Out Against Drug Legalization, which is a how-to guide that assists law enforcement officials and community leaders in framing arguments against legalization.

DEA provides anti-legalization training and workshops to law enforcement groups and community organizations to help them prepare for discussing the legalization issue in a public forum.

Law Enforcement Training: DEA has taken a leadership role in providing drug demand reduction training to law enforcement organizations. Through this effort, the DEA seeks to show law enforcement officers how they can impact the drug problem outside of the enforcement arena by assisting their local communities in developing drug prevention and education strategies. To that end, the DRCs serve as instructors in state and local law enforcement academies and schools and at training programs for Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) Officers. They also provide assistance to state demand reduction coordinators and conduct training at state and national conferences for organizations such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriffs' Association, and the National Crime Prevention Council.

Youth Programs: The DEA strongly supports well-designed youth programs that help children to stay drug-free. According to the 1994 report of the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future Study, drug use among our youth has been on the rise for the past three years, following a number of years of decline. With this disturbing trend in mind, DEA's emphasis is to provide children with the tools that they need to resist the pressure to use drugs. The DEA supports the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program, for example, as a well-organized effort to reach youth with effective prevention messages and to heighten their awareness of the risks of drug use. In addition, the DEA's Network 3 program provides minority and high-risk youth in inner city schools in Camden, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C., with a variety of positive activities as alternatives to drugs. As an active partner of the Law Enforcement Explorer Program of the Boy Scouts of America, DEA also provides structure and direction for youth with an interest in law enforcement careers. The DRCs also participate in school adoption and mentoring programs, as well as programs that recognize the positive accomplishments of young people who remain drug-free.

Drugs in the Workplace: Drug abuse costs business and industry billions of dollars each year in lost productivity, accidents on the job, and absenteeism. To help employers understand and identify drug use on the job, as well as develop drug prevention programs for the workplace, the DRCs, in cooperation with local organizations like the Chamber of Commerce, provide "drugs in the workplace" training conferences and seminars to companies throughout the country. Through this effort, employers can make the workplace safer and more productive by detecting drug abuse and working to resolve it through anti-drug programs in the workplace.

Sports Drug Awareness: The DEA's Demand Reduction Program began through this initiative, which utilizes the positive influence of coaches -- from youth leagues to professional -- on athletes as a tool to combat drug abuse. Through this effort, the DEA provides training for high school coaches to help them develop drug prevention programs for their school athletic programs, and works with high profile sports figures on anti-drug initiatives. In addition, the Demand Reduction Section works closely with the National High School Athletic Coaches Association, the National Federation of State High School Associations, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association in training coaches for prevention leadership roles in their schools.

Coalitions: The DEA works closely with communities interested in establishing community coalitions to address the drug problems that plague their neighborhoods. In the development of these coalitions, the DEA stresses the need for the involvement of all segments of the community -- law enforcement, schools, government, business and industry, churches, and the media -- in order to mount a coordinated response to local drug-related issues. To support local coalitions, the DEA provides guidance in establishing them, and was a major participant in founding coalitions in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Richmond, Virginia. The DEA also provides training on strategy development and resource identification to members of community-based coalitions.