Drug Abuse Update
From 1982 to 2000, NFIA published a quarterly newsletter called Drug Abuse Update. The newsletter published information about the science of addictive drug effects, treatment, and prevention. It also tracked the early marijuana legalization movement and the national Parent Movement that worked to prevent normalizing the use of a drug that can harm children.
Straight Talk on Drugs
Throughout the 1980s, NFIAs president and CEO, Sue Rusche, wrote a twice-weekly column that was circulated by King Features to more than 100 newspapers across the nation.
Club HERO Quick Start Kit
Club HERO (Helping Everyone Reach Out) was an after-school program that emphasized academic achievement, student/parent involvement, and community and school bonding. Along with a science-based, drug-education curriculum, this creative program encouraged and rewarded students to stay motivated, achieve personal goals, and remain drug-free. The kit enabled schools to implement the program with a minimum of effort.
False Messengers: How Addictive Drugs Change the Brain
NFIAs president and CEO, Sue Rusche and NFIAs then-Science Advisor, David Freidman, wrote this book to educate the public about how the brain works and how addictive drugs change it. Harwood Academic Books. 1999, 234 pages.
A Guide to the Drug Legalization Movement
This book covers the early days of the drug legalization movement from the 1970s to the mid-1990s, when California and Arizona passed the first state laws legalizing marijuana for medical use (Arizonas law was later overturned by the legislature, giving rise to a years-long battle between advocates who floated ballot initiatives and legislators, who tried but failed to undo them). Little science supports using marijuana medically. On the other hand, some specific marijuana components may be useful medicines.
You Have the Right to Know Series
As part of its work in implementing Inner City Families in Action, and in concert with NFIAs then-Science Advisor, David Friedman, NFIA developed a series of books, including You Have the Right to Know about Cocaine, You Have the Right to Know about Alcohol, and You Have the Right to Know about Tobacco. These books were aimed at parents. They taught the basics about neurotransmission and how addictive drugs exert their effects on the brain.
You Have the Right to Know about Drugs
The final book in this series was developed for sixth-grade students as part of NFIAs Club HERO program. It taught children how their brains work and gave them buttons that asked, Have you hugged your brain today?” An exercise enabled them to dissect a rat brain and provided a second set of buttons that proclaimed, I dissected a rat brain today! Once students understand how important their brains are, they then learn how drugs can change their brains structure and the way they function.