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our minds matter

  • Reduce the stigma around talking about substance use
  • Learn the facts about drug & alcohol use and how many high schoolers are participating in it
  • Learn harm reduction strategies if they OR their peers choose to engage in drug or alcohol use
  • Promote help-seeking and mental health resources

  • Start by asking folks to share what kind of messaging they’ve received around drugs and alcohol throughout their life from their family, media, etc.
    • If folks are quiet, consider prompting them by sharing the kind of messaging you might have received in school (for many of us, the “just say no” approach is all we got
  • After a few minutes of discussion, tell participants that you’re going to be playing a Kahoot game about teen substance use but that it won’t be like any “just say no” approaches they’ve heard before: 
  • Pull up the Kahoot game. You will be prompted to either sign in with an existing account or create a free Kahoot account in order to host the game. This should only take a minute or two!
  • Then, have everyone sign in using a phone or laptop so they can add their responses:
    • You can have folks play as individuals if you have a group of 10 or less, or play as partners/teams if you have more than ten
    • Need a low-tech option? 
      • Use the slide deck version and either display it or read it out loud 
  • Go through the Kahoot game and use the answer key and talking points to guide discussion/share facts throughout the game
  • Consider handing out prizes for the group or individuals that win!
  • Let participants know that next time, you’ll do a little more “hands-on” practice using some “safer partying” harm reduction strategies.

  • Were you surprised by anything you learned? Why?
  • When you think about the messages you’ve received around substance use and compare that to what you saw in the Kahoot game, what reactions do you have?
  • What kind of information do you think would be most helpful for teens to have about substance use so they could make safer choices?

  • Keep in mind that the goal of this activity is to break down stigma around substance use while opening up the opportunity for teens to learn how to make safer choices. 
  • Try to avoid the “just say no” approach, which has been shown to not work, and encourage open discussion so teens feel safe talking about their experiences with substance use and how folks who do choose to use substances can try to do so in a safer way.