RAND, which created Project ALERT, recently evaluated the program, which reaches an estimated 1.5 million adolescents a year. The findings show that the curriculum is effective in preventing or reducing marijuana and cigarette use among eighth-graders.

Furthermore, the report found that the program reduces use of alcohol among middle-school students and helps regular smokers reduce their cigarette use.

Using small-group discussions, activities, and question-and-answer techniques, Project ALERT uses behavioral-change theory to modify students' beliefs about drug use and its consequences.

The study focused on 4,276 students from 48 middle and high schools in rural, suburban, and urban areas in South Dakota during the 1997-98 school year.

The report, "New Inroads in Preventing Adolescent Drug Use: Results from a Large-Scale Trial of Project ALERT in Middle School," is published in the November 2003 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

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