A young person with strong social and emotional health skills is likely to have a strong sense of personal well‐being and healthy relationships. These qualities reduce negative health behaviors. With decision making and problem‐solving skills, students are better able to make healthy decisions about drug use, including opioids. They are less likely to want to harm themselves and more likely to want to prevent others from harmful actions.  

Opioid misuse prevention is integrated into social and emotional health by using examples of prescription drug use as students practice decision making or as they determine situations that need adult assistance. As students examine the relationship between positive and negative friendships and dangerous activities, they explore how opioid misuse is dangerous and how to think ahead to avoid unwanted situations.

Students with knowledge of safety issues are prepared to identify and respond to unsafe situations and appropriately report unsafe situations to an adult. They will recognize emergencies and know how to get help. They are advocates for a safe environment and safe behaviors at school, at home, and in the community.

Opioid misuse prevention is integrated into safety lessons by discussing medicines as potentially dangerous objects, or poisons, that need to be handled carefully. For young children, this involves following rules for using medicine safely. Older students need to understand the severity of opioids and other medicine misuse. Safety rules for being home alone or in public places should include avoidance of medicine misuse. Students learn when it is essential to get help from an adult or medical professional, for themselves and others. At the high school level, students learn the dangers of driving or riding in a car with someone under the influence of drugs or alcohol. They use assertive communication and refusal skills to stay safe and design projects to promote safety among their peers.

Students learn information about the various drugs and their impact on the human body in the kindergarten through twelfth-grade units. They add to that knowledge by how they are influenced to try or avoid drugs and the skills to achieve a drug‐free lifestyle. They also learn where to find help for themselves or others when needed.

The Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Unit is the logical location for integration of opioid misuse prevention knowledge and skills. Many lessons exist across the curriculum that already address medicine and prescription drug misuse. For example, kindergarten students learn a rule for safe medicine use: Only take medicine if it is given to you by a doctor, parent, or trusted adult. As students progress through the grades, they learn not to take medicine meant for someone else. Older students may face situations where they need to act to stay safe. They learn how to use communication and decision‐making skills to avoid possible drug situations, including opioid misuse. These lessons were enhanced and extended to emphasize the dangers of opioid use. At upper-grade levels, students are asked to use their influence to motivate their peers to avoid drug use and their skills to obtain help in dangerous situations.