Drug-Free World Action Supports Atlanta During Super Bowl 53
Super Bowl 53 was historic, not only because the New England Patriots won their sixth Super Bowl ring, but because the Foundation for a Drug-Free World tackled the other, more serious game in play in Atlanta, Georgia, outside the Mercedes-Benz Stadium—drug abuse.
Aside from marijuana, methamphetamine has been the most commonly abused drug in Georgia. Additionally, opioids, led by oxycodone—a prescription painkiller—top Georgia state drug abuse lists.
As one of the most popular cities to visit in the USA, Atlanta always has a bustling and packed downtown. The city saw some half a million visitors for the week during Super Bowl 53. The fans’ activities included more than 100 Super Bowl-related parties and events and, of course, the game itself. At such a major event, visitors bring excitement, but they also bring increased risk of drug abuse and crime.
Drug-Free World was right there, with hundreds of volunteers distributing 500,000 booklets both from hand to hand and with booklet displays placed in 500 stores for customers to pick up. The booklets included DFW’s The Truth About Drugs overview booklet and The Truth About Crystal Meth as well as The Truth About Painkillers.
They also joined in on key Super Bowl-related events—the Wounded Warrior Project event for veterans, the Celebrity Super Slam basketball game and the Dr. J Celebrity Bowling Classic, to name but a few. There were seminars for youth at the Atlanta Boys and Girls Club with the help of the Harlem Globetrotters and seminars at the Marietta and the KIPP Academy Collegiate High Schools.
But to reach beyond Atlanta proper, the message of living a drug-free life was also spread through media. NFL Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk took to the airwaves—TV and radio—to send people to the drugfreeworld.org website and learn the truth about drugs. He appeared on Fox and Friends, Fox Nation, FNTSY Sports Radio Network and its Morning After Show. He was flanked by David Meltzer, CEO of Sports 1 Marketing, who traversed the Super Bowl’s Radio Row, speaking on numerous radio stations, sharing his own support of Drug-Free World’s work to teach youth the truth about drugs.
All told, the Drug-Free World message reached over 14 million people through media, two jumbotron trucks playing the DFW videos full-time, 11 events, booklet distribution or store displays.
TAKING ACTION
Bringing in Backup for Policemen
Police are sworn to protect the citizens of their cities and nations against crime. Much of that crime is driven by drug abuse. The goal of Drug-Free World is to educate people on what drugs do and stop drug abuse before it starts. That is why Drug-Free World teams up with police forces, providing them with drug education materials free of charge.
The Truth About Drugs educational materials have proven to be an effective tool for police across the globe from the Philippines to Indonesia, Germany to the Czech Republic, Canada to the United States and in Africa, Australia and Asia. Police have made use of the materials to reach kids before drugs do, thereby cutting the demand for drugs—and reducing drug-related crime in the process.
To see an example of how school resource officers in the USA are integrating the Drug-Free World curriculum into their activities, watch scientology.tv/DTessitore.
