The document summarizes the "Above the Influence" social marketing campaign started over 3 years ago in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. The campaign aims to lower risk factors for youth such as underage drinking, drugs, bullying, and violence. It has over 330 partners including schools, community centers, and businesses. The campaign uses evidence-based strategies and builds on an existing national campaign to encourage youth to pledge to stay "Above the Influence" of alcohol, drugs, bullying, and violence.

1. 1
BE “ABOVE THE INFLUENCE” NEWS
Issue 1 – January 2017
The Campaign:
With the full support and resources of the Bernalillo County Department of Substance Abuse Programs1
,
we started a little over 3 years ago with the idea of getting out a unifying community wide compelling
message that would contribute to lowering multiple existing risk factors in Bernalillo County such as;
underage drinking, drugs, DWI, bullying, violence, juvenile delinquency, poor grades, and many other
prevailing risk factors that hinder and challenge the wellbeing of our youth, parents, schools, and our
community.
We wanted to develop and implement a social marketing campaign using best practices with proven
results. We well-thought-out SAMHSA2
and CDC3
guiding principles along with an existing national
campaign from the Office of the National Drug Control Policy4
(ONDCP) and the White House. The Above
the Influence ONDCP campaign has been very successful in reducing risk factors among the nation’s
youth and has been implemented for the past seven years. We added the “BE” to make the message
action oriented and went to work.
We currently have over 330 partners onboard, including all APS, Private, Charter, and Catholic schools in
Bernalillo County. Our partners also include the UNM Lobos, the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council, ABC
Community School Partnership, the ABQ International Sunport, Domino’s Pizza 20 locations, ABQ SOL
FC, U.S. Air Force Reserve Command, all 30 City/County Community Centers, all 18 City/County Libraries,
Unser Racing Museum, YMCA Of Central New Mexico, BC Sheriff’s Department and many more.
If you would like more information on the campaign or becoming an ATI Partner contact Frank Magourilos at
preventionworks@msn.com
IN THIS ISSUE:
The Campaign
Parents
Youth
The Pledge:
I pledge to BE “ABOVE THE INFLUENCE” of alcohol and drugs, bullying and violence.
I pledge to be a role model for my peers, my family, my school, my community,
I pledge to BE “ABOVE THE INFLUENCE”

2. 2
For Parents:

3. 3
For Youth:
LIVING ABOVE
There might come a point when you ask yourself, who am I really? Am I being real? Am I still the kid my
parents think I am? And more importantly, who do I want to be?
The truth is, you’re a lot of things to a lot of people – you’re interesting like that. You can be one
thing online and still be kind of different in person. You can be someone to look up to, and know what it
feels like to get rejected. You can be righteous in your decisions and still slip up and make mistakes.
But, with so many versions of yourself, it’s easy to forget the one thing that keeps you real – the pure-
grade, original first edition of yourself.
The point is, when you reach the moment where you have to ask yourself, who am I really? Press pause.
Hit reset. And remember, you’re Above the Influence.
http://abovetheinfluence.com/living-above/
FAQ’s
What happens to your brain if you keep taking drugs?
For the brain, the difference between normal rewards and drug rewards can be described as the
difference between someone whispering into your ear and someone shouting into a microphone. Just as
we turn down the volume on a radio that is too loud, the brain adjusts to the overwhelming surges in
dopamine (and other neurotransmitters) by producing less dopamine or by reducing the number of
receptors that can receive signals. As a result, dopamine’s impact on the reward circuit of the brain of
someone who abuses drugs can become abnormally low, and that person’s ability to experience any
pleasure is reduced.
This is why a person who abuses drugs eventually feels flat, lifeless, depressed, and is unable to enjoy
things that were previously pleasurable. Now, the person needs to keep taking drugs again and again
just to try and bring his or her dopamine function back up to normal—which only makes the problem
worse, like a vicious cycle. Also, the person will often need to take larger amounts of the drug to
produce the familiar dopamine high—an effect known as tolerance.
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drugs-brain
1. www.bernco.gov/substance-abuse-programs 2. www.samhsa.gov/ 3. www.cdc.gov/ 4. www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp