Montreal psychologist launches program to reduce teen drug use

Psychologist Patricia Conrod developed the PreVenture Program, rewriting the rules on how to prevent problematic drug use in teens.

Some high schoolers struggling with feelings of hopelessness and anxiety will turn to drugs to reduce the stress.

Psychologist Patricia Conrod is hoping to change that. She developed the PreVenture Program, rewriting the rules on how to prevent problematic drug use in teens.

“We’re facing a toxic drugs crisis. It’s an extremely dangerous time to be a young substance user,” says Conrod, a psychiatry professor at the Université de Montréal and researcher at CHU Sainte-Justine.

Conrod led a five-year study, which followed more than 3,800 students at 31 Montreal high schools.

The results released today, found that one in 10 developed substance use disorder before graduation.

“Feeling frustrated, feeling extremely fearful, those experiences, those states are what make a young person more likely to use substances and use substances in a risky way,” Conrod says.

But PreVenture can reduce the risk by up to 80 per cent.

It consists of just two 90-minute workshops that focus on goal-setting and giving teens the tools to manage their feelings.

The PreVenture program is already implemented in several schools across five Canadian provinces as well as 12 U.S states, and it’s being expanded to more schools to prioritize prevention.

Experts say it’s more effective than traditional prevention programs, which some say have made teens more curious.

Justin Phillips founded Overdose Lifeline in the U.S. after her son died.

“Developmentally it’s appropriate for them to want to understand and test their boundaries and take risks and try things out,” Phillips says. “We have to help them understand that substance isn’t a solution.”

Debbie Chiodo at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is helping promote PreVenture across Ontario. She believes every young person should participate in the program.

“It’s the only one that exists of its kind,” she says. “The evidence base is so strong, the rigor in which the evaluations have been done internationally is unmatched.”

The hope is the more schools get on board, the more lives might be saved.