Programs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and in Charlotte use modern slang to communicate a timeless message: Drugs can kill.
Students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill now have access to free kits that revive someone suffering an opioid overdose and test strips to see what the drugs they are about to take contain.
These steps, which assume students are using drugs, are designed to save lives, but prompt the question: Will the tactics work for today’s students?
Riley Sullivan, the group’s cofounder and director, believes the kits will actually help reduce drug use on campus. He said the group has handed out about 900 naloxone kits and 500 fentanyl test strips this semester alone.
In Charlotte, a public awareness campaign called “Street Pills Kill” uses the slang of youth to convey the same message. The phrases are the new generation of “just say no” or “above the influence.”
“No cap, those pills are sus.”
Young people use the words “no cap” to say they are telling the truth or they aren’t lying. To use the word “cap” would mean someone is lying.
“Sus” is short for suspicious.
Another sign says: “you plus street pills equals … we don’t ship.”
“Ship” means you want two people to date or enter a romantic relationship.
The language is how kids speak nowadays, but will they listen to the kind of messaging?
Remember McGruff the Crime Dog or the “this is your brain on drugs” ad of a man cracking an egg on a skillet?
You might also remember other campaigns like “truth”and “DARE” to name a few.
Continue reading “Do youth anti-drug campaigns actually work?”