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When Ginger Katz lost her son Ian to a heroin overdose in 1996, she realized that being a parent doesn't end, even when your child is no longer with you. She made a vow to Ian that she would do everything in her power to prevent this tragedy from happening to other families by telling his story and educating students and parents about prevention. She, along with her husband Larry, Ian's step-father, founded The Courage to Speak Foundation in 1996, now in its tenth year of saving lives by empowering youth to be drug free and giving them the tools they need to do it. Ginger has educated thousands of students, parents and law enforcement professionals with over 600 riveting and thought-provoking prevention presentations and The Courage To Speak's innovative drug prevention curriculums for parents and for elementary, middle and high schools. These programs enable students to make good on their pledge to live drug-free lives and help parents support their children to make healthy choices. Nationally recognized as a pioneer in the modern-day parent movement, The Courage To Speak regularly advises the media and policy makers on substance abuse issues.
www.couragetospeak.org
Click Here to read Ginger's interview on the DEA website. |
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Francine Haight lost her son, Ryan, to prescription drugs that he easily purchased on the Internet. A medical doctor on the Internet who he never saw prescribed them, and an Internet pharmacy mailed them to his home. Since his death, Francine has been dedicated to educating and providing information for parents, families and our communities on issues concerning the Internet and Drug Abuse. She has given her testimony to the United States Senate with the hope of passing "The Ryan Haight Act" that would help regulate controlled substances sold on the Internet. She has shared her story with numerous local and national news stations, television programs, newspapers, and magazines to raise awareness of this growing problem and hopes to prevent other families from suffering such a devastating loss.
www.ryanscause.org
Click Here to read Francine's interview on the DEA website. |
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Photo by Brad Loper and
Dallas Morning News |
The Taylor Hooton Foundation for Fighting Steroid Abuse was formed in 2004 in memory of Taylor E. Hooton, a 17-year old high school athlete from Plano, TX. Taylor took his own life as a result of the abuse of anabolic steroids. This foundation was founded by the parents, family and friends of Taylor when the founders became aware of the magnitude of a growing problem among high school athletes across the country - the illegal use and abuse of anabolic steroids as a performance enhancement drug. Don Hooton, Taylor’s father, has spoken about this issue to groups across the country and has addressed the Congress on three different occasions. Working in partnership with the DEA and others, he and the foundation are building programs designed to raise awareness and educate the public on this important topic.
www.taylorhooton.org
Click Here to read Donald Hooton's interview on the DEA website. |
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Marissa and Kim Manlove are parents who share the story of their son David’s struggle with adolescent substance abuse and addiction. Following David's death in June 2001 from inhaling the propellant from a can of computer duster, the Manloves have dedicated themselves to sharing their experience in the hope that others will learn from their tragedy. The Manloves have made presentations to thousands of middle and high school students and their parents in central Indiana on the topic of adolescent substance abuse prevention and treatment. Their story has also been shared through numerous local, state and national media venues.
www.drugfree.org/Portal/Memorials/David_Manlove |
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Kate Patton, Kelley McEnery Baker’s mother, has been instrumental in the passage of "Kelley's Law" which toughens the penalties of Ecstasy and other "Club Drugs" in Illinois, and is the toughest law of its kind in the country. She is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Partnership for a Drug Free America and serves as a member of Congressman Mark S. Kirk's Drug Task Force. Kate has reached out to many hundreds of parents and students to share "Kelley's Story" with them with the hope that they will learn from Kelley's deadly mistakes. In 2004, she was invited to speak to representatives of twenty-eight nations at the first International Synthetic Drug Conference held in the Hague, Netherlands.
www.kelleymcenerybaker.org |
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David Pease is a self-appointed activist,
mentoring proponent and prevention advocate focused on
helping parents get a grip on the cloak of denial, and
on helping teens break free from the bondage of
underage drinking and substance abuse. He is the
founder of the Amistad 53 Mentoring Program -
currently being pilot tested in Stamford, Connecticut
in partnership with Liberation Programs of Connecticut
- and the Get a G.R.I.P. Foundation, working to
inspire 'Greater Responsibility In Parenthood' by
conducting workshops across the State.
Mr. Pease lost his oldest
son Dave to a heroin overdose at age 23 in 1997, and
his middle son Casey in 2001, on his 24th birthday, to
a car accident where alcohol played a role."
www.drugfree.org/Portal/Stories/My_Son_Brian |
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| Imelda Perez, Irma's older sister, has dedicated herself to telling Irma's story. She says "I want to change the way we think of drugs. I want to tell my story to everyone. My sister's memory will stay alive because I will keep it like that." Imelda has spoken to school students, community organizations and the media to educate everyone about the dangers of Ecstasy and drugs in general. She has also worked closely with the DEA office in San Francisco to tell Irma's story to the widest audiences possible.
www.dea.gov/pubs/states/newsrel/perez_letter.html |
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Linda Surks began working in the substance abuse prevention field when Jason was six years old. Over the years, educating her kids as she got educated about the many risks of substance abuse, she never dreamed that in thirteen years, her precious son would die of an overdose of prescription medications. With the full force, and support, of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) of Middlesex County, Inc., she works to prevent other families from suffering the pain of a devastating loss. Through her work as founder and coordinator of the Middlesex County Substance Abuse Coalition, a recipient of a Drug Free Communities Support Program grant funded by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Linda works to strengthen the community through education, collaboration, and advocacy.
www.ncadd-middlesex.com/pdfs/resctr_brochure.pdf
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 CADCA's mission is to build and strengthen the capacity of community coalitions to create safe, healthy and drug-free communities. The organization supports its members with technical assistance and training, public policy, media strategies and marketing programs, conferences and special events. With more than 5,000 community coalition members from across the country, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) is working with these coalitions to realize its vision of: An Organization of Excellence Building Drug-Free Communities. Community coalitions-more than any other entity-are poised to connect multiple sectors of the community, including businesses, parents, media, law enforcement, schools, faith organizations, health providers, social service agencies, and the government. By acting in concert through the coalition, all of the partners gain a more complete understanding of the community's problems. Together, the partners organize and develop plans and programs to coordinate their anti-drug efforts. The result is a comprehensive, community-wide approach to substance abuse and its related problems.
www.cadca.org |
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The mission of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is to enforce the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States and bring to the criminal and civil justice system of the United States, or any other competent jurisdiction, those organizations and principal members of organizations, involved in the growing, manufacture, or distribution of controlled substances appearing in or destined for illicit traffic in the United States; and to recommend and support non-enforcement programs aimed at reducing the availability of illicit controlled substances on the domestic and international markets.
Karen Tandy is the Administrator of DEA. On July 31, 2003, she was confirmed by unanimous consent in the U.S. Senate as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Prior to becoming DEA Administrator, Ms. Tandy was Associate Deputy Attorney General and Director of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). In her capacity as Associate Deputy Attorney General, she was responsible for oversight of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the National Drug Intelligence Center, as well as responsible for developing national drug enforcement policy and strategies.
www.dea.gov
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Joyce Nalepka has been a national leader in the parents anti-drug movement since her first introduction to this tragic problem through a drug-using baby-sitter in 1977. She is co-founder and former president of Nancy Reagan’s drug prevention organization, the National Federation of Parents. She continues her nationwide drug prevention leadership today as President of Drug-Free Kids: America’s Challenge.
www.ourdrugfreekids.org |
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Established in 1974, NIDA's mission is to lead the Nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction. NIDA supports over 85 percent of the world's research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. NIDA supported science addresses the most fundamental and essential questions about drug abuse, ranging from the molecule to managed care, and from DNA to community outreach research. The scientific knowledge that is generated through NIDA research is a critical element to improving the overall health of the Nation. Our goal is to ensure that science, not ideology or anecdote, forms the foundation for all of our Nation's drug abuse reduction efforts. NIDA is not only seizing upon unprecedented opportunities and technologies to further the understanding of how drugs of abuse affect the brain and behavior, but also working to ensure the rapid and effective transfer of scientific data to policy makers, drug abuse practitioners, other health care practitioners, and the general public.
Dr. Nora Volkow is the Director of NIDA. Before assuming this position on May 1, 2003, Dr. Volkow was Associate Director for Life Sciences at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Director of Nuclear Medicine at BNL and Director of the NIDA-Department of Energy Regional Neuroimaging Center at BNL. She was also Professor at the Department of Psychiatry, State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook and Associate Dean for the Medical School at SUNY-Stony Brook. Dr. Volkow received her M.D. in 1981 from the National University of Mexico, in Mexico City, Mexico, and performed her residency in psychiatry at New York University.
www.nida.nih.gov
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 The Partnership for a Drug-Free America is a nonprofit coalition of communication, health, medical and educational professionals working to reduce illicit drug use and help people live healthy, drug-free lives. The Partnership’s research-based, educational campaigns are disseminated through all forms of media, including TV, radio and print advertisements and over the Internet. In our 18-year history, we have utilized the pro-bono work of the country’s best advertising, PR and interactive agencies, and the donated time and space of major media, to create the largest public service campaign in the nation’s history.
www.drugfree.org |
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