This year’s UN International Day Against Drug Abuse is the 20th anniversary of a campaign to ensure Czech youth know the truth about drugs 

“Drug manufacturers, drug pushers, and drug distributors are becoming more sophisticated,” says Lukáš Bechyně, executive director of the Say No to Drug—Say Yes to Life Association, an affiliate of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World. He and his team of drug prevention activists have just finished their 12-day Drug-Free Czech Cyclo-Run, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The team cycles and runs throughout the Czech Republic with the Foundation’s Truth About Drugs campaign to reach youngsters before they begin to experiment with toxic substances.

This year, the UN International Day Against Drug Abuse theme is “The evidence is clear: Invest in prevention,” a motto the Drug-Free Czech Cyclo-Run volunteers are deeply committed to. They invest their time, energy, and passion into reaching youth with the Truth About Drugs fact-based drug education initiative. In each town, they introduce mayors, educators, and community leaders to the campaign. They then deliver drug education to the local youth, who run with the cyclists as they take off for the next stop in their nationwide campaign.

Bechyně says the need for drug education and prevention has never been more urgent. “There are more and more drugs on the market, and they have become accessible to younger and younger children,” he says. “We used to give lectures to sixth and seventh graders, but today we begin two years earlier. We are finding some start using drugs as early as age ten.” He and Vlastimil Špalek, Cyclo-Run founder and chairman of Drug-Free World Czech Republic, are committed to reaching all the youth in the country with the campaign.

According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, “Prevention strategies based on scientific evidence working with families, schools, and communities can ensure that children and youth, especially the most marginalized and poor, grow and stay healthy and safe into adulthood and old age. For every dollar spent on prevention, at least ten can be saved in future health, social and crime costs.” 

The Drug-Free Czech Cyclo-Run volunteers are optimistic. They know the Truth About Drugs initiative works. Each year, people they have introduced the campaign to on earlier Cyclo-Runs share their success in using their drug education curriculum. As an ever-increasing number of towns adopt the program, they know they are on track to achieving their goal: a Drug-Free Czech Republic.