We are the Coalition
for Youth
Drug Abuse Prevention

Our Mission

Our mission is to get our message to our children before the drug dealers do. Our message is that there is no such thing as safe drug use beyond what a doctor or parent gives to a child.

Sometimes a child or young adult can take a drug thinking it is safe. Sometimes, a child or young adult can take a drug for other reasons—it is all Russian roulette, and no use is safe use.

FOLLOW OUR CAMPAIGN

Our Goal

Simply put, we care about and love your children. We want to save lives and prevent violence. We want to reduce crime. We want to reduce homelessness. We want to reduce dropouts and educational failure. We want to get your child to the age of 21 without your child experimenting with, trying, or using drugs that can lead to an immediate ending of a life or a chronic series of problems that are caused by addiction.

If we can educate our children to never start—as we have before; that prevention is the only answer, we win. Help us reach our goals. Help the Stop Start Now—donate below.

DONATE

Who We Are

Our coalition is comprised of some of the most accomplished and outspoken experts in prevention and addiction in the country. We believe the prevention message has been neglected, and we intend to re-establish and promote it once again.

STEVE MOAK JR.

STEVE MOAK JR.

@mrmoak

Steve is a go-to expert and podcaster on issues of behavioral health, specifically helping those who are struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. Steve’s passion for helping those struggling with addiction came out of his own battle with addiction and recovery that started in high school.

  • While still in recovery, Steve began recognizing that the addictions and behavioral health field had huge gaps in the treatment continuum that compromised effective outcomes.
  • In graduate school, Steve began to develop the ideas that now form the basis of Sharetek.
  • Steve’s path included undergraduate training at Arizona State in Business and Communications.
  • Graduate study in Professional Counseling at Grand Canyon University. His awareness of the challenges faced by addicts great out of his own long-term struggles with alcohol and drugs. His knowledge of the addiction recovery field was honed both as a client and a service provider at multiple treatment centers.
  • Steve is an active member of the recovery community and was a founding part of notMYkid, an Arizona nonprofit that provides an array of youth and family service programs.
  • Now, host of the podcast, “The Unlicensed Counselor,” focusing on the behavioral health industry.

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SETH LEIBSOHN

SETH LEIBSOHN

Seth is a drug policy expert, author, and radio talk show host. A senior fellow at Claremont Institute, he currently hosts the Seth Leibsohn Show on KKNT/960 AM.

  • Former vice president of two of the nation’s premier think tanks, Empower American and the Claremont Institute.
  • Former Executive Director of Americans for Victory Over Terrorism
  • Co-author of “American Greatness: How Conservatism Missed the 2016 Election and What the DC Establishment Needs to Learn” and “The Fight of Our Lives: American Culture and the War on Terrorism,” among other titles. 
  • Founding chairman of the anti-legalization advocacy group Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, which was credited as being the primary force in defeating an attempt to make marijuana legal in Arizona in 2016.
  • Former Chief of Staff to William Bennett, Jack Kemp, and Jeane Kirkpatrick

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HUGH HALLMAN

HUGH HALLMAN

An educator, economist, attorney, and public servant, Hugh is also a longtime community activist and volunteer.

  • Former two-term Mayor of the City of Tempe and a former city councilman. 
  • Attorney at the law firm of Berry Riddell.
  • Former Headmaster of Tempe Preparatory and Tempe Preparatory Junior Academies.
  • Presidential Advisor and a Professor of Business and Law Economics at Kazakh-American Free University.
  • Lecturer for the School of Agribusiness, Center for Agribusiness Policy Studies at Arizona State University.

Awards, Accolades, & Recognition

  • Recipient of the Sandra Day O’Connor Award for Civic Service.
  • School Leader of the Year from the Arizona Charter Schools Association.
  • Alzheimer’s Association Leadership Award.
  • League of United Latin American Citizens Citizenship Award.
  • JAG National “Above and Beyond the Call” Service Award.
  • American Legion Americanism Award.
  • Listed in the Best Lawyers in America.

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JEFF TAYLOR

JEFF TAYLOR

Jeff is one of the most respected, quoted, and cited speakers in Arizona, from the State Capitol to civic organizations to major media on issues of drug abuse, prevention, and the homeless crisis.

  • Chairman of the Western Region Territory of the Salvation Army and Adult Rehabilitation Centers
  • Former member of the Arizona Governor’s Task Force on Drug Abuse
  • Advisory Board Member to the Salvation Army of Metro Phoenix
  • Longtime advocate and activist for prisoners’ rights and criminal justice, the homeless, and drug abuse treatment and prevention

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STEVE TWIST

STEVE TWIST

Steve Twist is an attorney and a former Chief Assistant Attorney General for the State of Arizona. He is also a nationally-recognized expert on, and champion for criminal victims’ rights.

  • Author of the Arizona Victims Bill of Rights, which has served as a model for many states.
  • Former Chair and board member of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
  • Adjunct professor of law at Arizona State University.
  • Co-Author of the leading textbook on victims’ rights and law, Victims in Criminal Procedure.

Awards

  • Recipient of the Victim Rights Legend Award conveyed from the US Department of Justice.

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ASHLEY RAGAN

ASHLEY RAGAN

Ashley Ragan is a community and business outreach and networking, political management, and government relations expert—working for and with candidates for congressional offices, non-profit education advocacy groups, and Phoenix-area community businesses.  She is the founder and CEO of InCompliance, LLC—a political and non-profit consulting firm.

Ashley has long-been recognized as a community leader who combines her professional career with community service. She serves on the Board for the Steele Children’s Research Center (PANDA) and The Board of Visitors.  Ashley was educated at Xavier College Preparatory School; and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona where she majored in Political Science and Business.

Ashley and her husband, John, are the proud parents of three children.

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Anesthetizing Ourselves To Death

The Washington Times
Author: Seth Leibsohn

It came and went without any headlines, and they should have been everywhere. In a better time, or perhaps with a different administration, this would have been a massive story. It is a huge story, hugely consequential, hugely devastating.

READ THE FULL STORY

The U.S. Worked Tirelessly to Fight AIDS and COVID. Why Not Fentanyl?

News Week
Author: Seth Leibsohn

From turmoil in the Middle East to heightened tensions with Moscow to a laggard economy to a seemingly out-of-touch president, political, social, and cultural comparisons to 1979 are rife. Still, there is one more—and it is lethal: dangerous and illegal drug use and death.

READ THE FULL STORY

Did You Know?

If you care about reducing drug poisoning deaths, suicides, fatal car crashes, violent crime, homelessness, workplace accidents, and lower academic achievements and drop-outs, join us in our prevention effort—dangerous and illegal drug use is the root of all of those pathologies.

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What is the leading cause of death for Americans age 18-45?

Drug poisoning is the leading cause of death.

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What percentage of children died from drug poisoning?

Nationally, nearly 100 percent more children died from drug poisoning than from Covid-19.

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Was there ever an effective prevention campaign before?

Yes, a concerted prevention campaign in the 80s and 90s reduced drug use by nearly 60 percent by 1992.

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What was the worst year ever for drug use?

In 2021, we beat the 1979 high-water mark of drug use.

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Since 1992, how much has drug deaths increased?

Since 1992, drug deaths increased by nearly 2,000 percent, while our population has increased by thirty percent.

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How many Americans died last year from drug poisoning?

According to the CDC, we lost 110,000 Americans from drug poisonings in 2022. This does not include suicides, fatal car crashes, or other accidents.

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How many Vietnam Memorial Walls could we build every year with our yearly drug poisoning death toll?

We could build more than two memorial walls a year.

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How many stadiums of people do we lose a year to drugs?

Each year, we lose more than the seating capacity of the largest football stadium in the Western Hemisphere to drug poisonings.

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How many airplane crashes full of people do we lose per day?

We lose the equivalent of two major airline crashes per day from drug poisonings.

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What is the chief contributor to and cause of violent crime?

Drug use

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What is the chief contributor to and cause of homelessness?

Drug use

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What is the chief contributor to and cause of education deficits and drop outs?

Drug use

There are more drug treatment programs, outpatient, sober living, and detoxes in the United States today than at any point in our country’s history. We can keep building more and more programs and beds, but at our current rate, they will just keep filling up as the number of addicts and drug poisoning deaths continue to grow.

What if there was a 100% effective treatment for all addictions in this country? There is, and it has proven time and time again to work when implemented every time it’s been tried. It’s called prevention.

SUPPORT PREVENTION