March 24, 2010

Legislator Becker and Nassau County Executive Mangano

Announce ‘‘Too Good For Drugs” Program

Legislator Francis X. Becker and County Executive Ed Mangano have announced their joint participation with the Nassau County Police Department to implement Nassau’s new “Too Good For Drugs” Program. “Too Good For Drugs” is a school-based drug prevention program for kindergarten through 12th  grade which is currently in place in over 2,500 school districts throughout all 50 states and was created in 1978 by the Mendez Foundation. 

This drug education program is designed to reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors related to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, including heroin which is becoming a dangerous problem for Long Island teens.

“Students are not always aware of the dangers they face when they experiment with drugs,” said Legislator Becker. “A program like ‘Too Good For Drugs’ is an excellent way to raise their awareness about the dangers of drugs, and enlighten them on the consequences they face.”

This initiative is the third prong of the County’s plan to combat the current heroin epidemic that is spreading across our neighborhoods.  The other two prongs of the drug education program include: 

1) The Enforcement Initiative called Operation H.A.L.T. (Heroin Abuse Location Targeting), which targets heroin users traveling in and out of the county to purchase heroin; and

2) The Awareness Initiative which includes the creation and dissemination of advertisements aimed at educating parents about the current heroin epidemic.

To learn more about the “Too Good For Drugs” program please visit http://www.mendezfoundation.org/too_good.php.