WASHINGTON – As National Youth Substance Use Prevention Month comes to a close, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) joined officials from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), Education Department and community leaders to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Drug Free Communities (DFC) program. The DFC Program provides local partners with grants to empower grassroots, community-based efforts to prevent substance use among teens and young adults. Grassley, who serves as co-chair of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, shepherded the Drug Free Communities Act through Congress in 1997 and has continued to lead efforts to reauthorize the program in the years since its 1998 passage.
“I’m proud to mark 25 years since the start of the Drug Free Communities (DFC) program,” Grassley said. “Thanks to the partnership of local advocates, DFC has helped prevent countless individuals from falling into drug use and restored the lives of many more who have suffered from drug addiction. Yet as we recognize the progress made, we must also acknowledge the crisis we are currently in. Over the past year, 112,000 Americans have died from drug overdose, many as a result of deadly fentanyl. I’m more motivated than ever to continue my work in Congress to fight the tide of drugs poisoning our country and protect our communities.”
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