Juanita has a BA in Political Science (International Relations) and a Minor in African Studies from Sacramento State University. She taught English as a second language in Colombia and other countries for six years and now works at the Stanford REACH Lab as the Director of Curriculum Development and DEIJ.

Background: Safety First is an innovative, comprehensive drug education and intervention for middle and high school students. It is one of the few curricula that focuses on harm reduction principles, recognizing the broad spectrum and continuum of adolescent drug use and its impacts, from promoting no use as a primary strategy to encouraging youth who use substances to take steps to minimize the potential harms of substance misuse. This study details the dissemination, reach, and initial impact of Safety First.

Methods: We utilized Google Analytics and a data dashboard to determine school usage and administered student surveys before and after the curriculum was delivered. We asked adolescents about the safest approach to drug use, their perceptions of the risks associated with cannabis use (both daily and occasional), and other factors. We used SPSS to perform descriptive and independent sample t-test analysis.

Results: Preliminary data indicate that we have reached over 95,873 young people, conducted more than 19 training sessions, and trained over 625 educators on the Safety First curriculum. Initial data show that adolescents were significantly more likely to report a better understanding of the safest approach to drug use (avoidance of all drugs; p < .001) and that occasional cannabis use is harmful to their health (p < .003).

Conclusions: A harm reduction-based curriculum such as Safety First offers a holistic approach to teaching middle and high school students about drug use in an engaging and nonjudgmental manner. Safety First provides young people with scientifically accurate information to empower them to make informed decisions about quitting and/or reducing harm if they choose to continue using substances.