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Youth substance education in the United States has failed to prepare students to make informed choices around substances, instead teaching students to obey the rule of abstinence (“Just Say No!') or commit to being substance free (D.A.R.E.) without providing a framework of HOW to THINK about substances.
In this 2-hr interactive presentation, Dr. Brewster (aka Poppins), a Clinical Pharmacist specializing in drug safety education, addiction medicine, and psychiatric pharmacology, gives youth a model for how to think about drugs starting with the key principles of substance safety including: dose (and overdose), source (and purity), intention (why am I doing this right now? What might it bring me? What might the consequence be? Have I stopped asking myself why?), set and setting, and addiction potential. Most critically- we introduce the concept of “death drugs”, the substances we recommend nobody use, not even once, because the risks are too high.
Examples of real-world concepts from her curriculum include: legal frameworks as poor indicators of drug safety as alcohol and tobacco remain the two deadliest drugs, how to respond to a suspected overdose with naloxone, drugs most likely to kill teens, cannabis risks to youth specifically, and self-reflection questions around personal substance use which reveal high-risk behaviors and loss of control, if use does occur.
Dr. Brewster strongly believes in bodily autonomy as a basic human right. She believes providing drug education with specific tools supporting safety and self-examination supports more conscious, informed exploration (or abstinence) with less stigma and secrecy. After raising two daughters, she recognizes that youth have autonomy of choice informed by less developed brains- meaning teens require both education and boundaries. She teaches young people to think critically, practice intellectual honesty, and explore the natural world safely, a holistic approach to helping kids navigate the real world. Dr. Poppins does not condone nor condemn substance use of any kind.
Dr. Brewster continually updates curriculum with current evidence and data, but admits she cannot keep up with Gen Alpha vocabulary. She has taught hundreds of middle and high school students about drug safety since 2013.
Youth substance education in the United States has failed to prepare students to make informed choices around substances, instead teaching students to obey the rule of abstinence (“Just Say No!') or commit to being substance free (D.A.R.E.) without providing a framework of HOW to THINK about substances.
In this 2-hr interactive presentation, Dr. Brewster (aka Poppins), a Clinical Pharmacist specializing in drug safety education, addiction medicine, and psychiatric pharmacology, gives youth a model for how to think about drugs starting with the key principles of substance safety including: dose (and overdose), source (and purity), intention (why am I doing this right now? What might it bring me? What might the consequence be? Have I stopped asking myself why?), set and setting, and addiction potential. Most critically- we introduce the concept of “death drugs”, the substances we recommend nobody use, not even once, because the risks are too high.
Examples of real-world concepts from her curriculum include: legal frameworks as poor indicators of drug safety as alcohol and tobacco remain the two deadliest drugs, how to respond to a suspected overdose with naloxone, drugs most likely to kill teens, cannabis risks to youth specifically, and self-reflection questions around personal substance use which reveal high-risk behaviors and loss of control, if use does occur.
Dr. Brewster strongly believes in bodily autonomy as a basic human right. She believes providing drug education with specific tools supporting safety and self-examination supports more conscious, informed exploration (or abstinence) with less stigma and secrecy. After raising two daughters, she recognizes that youth have autonomy of choice informed by less developed brains- meaning teens require both education and boundaries. She teaches young people to think critically, practice intellectual honesty, and explore the natural world safely, a holistic approach to helping kids navigate the real world. Dr. Poppins does not condone nor condemn substance use of any kind.
Dr. Brewster continually updates curriculum with current evidence and data, but admits she cannot keep up with Gen Alpha vocabulary. She has taught hundreds of middle and high school students about drug safety since 2013.