Students reflect on the Memorial Wall at National Drug Facts Day 2013.

On January 30th, about 160 DC-area students came to the House of Sweden for the National Drug Facts Day 2013 event. The students entered by a Memorial Wall, with photos and family stories of young people who had passed away from drug use. The day continued with speakers, with Dr. Lonise Bias providing the keynote. She is the mother of NFL draft pick Len Bias, a victim of drugs. Afterwards, the students broke into groups led by members of the DC Youth Poetry Slam Team, and were encouraged to give their stories a voice through poetry. Some students presented their poems on stage. At the very end, the winners of the H&M Drug Free Slogan contest got their prizes. The winning slogan will be used on a t-shirt sold in DC-area stores. 

When the kids first started with the poetry sessions, they were skeptical. Once the slam guys told them spoken word is essentially poetry, the kids understood better, and it was very neat to hear their final stories and poems.  Full gallery.

David Mineta, Deputy Director of Demand Reduction for the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The students were divided into smaller groups so that they, together with the DC Youth Poetry Slam Team, could get the chance to compose their own poems regarding substance abuse. A&E Network filmed the day's event.

A student performs her poem on stage in the Poetry Slam session.

Winners in the H&M Drug Free T-shirt Slogan Contest.

Left: Donnie Weiss, second place; You Can't Lose If You Don't Lose.

Center: Fredy Cardenas, third place; #TeamDrugFree.

Right: Betsy Somanji, first place; Drug Free Works For Me.

Jermaine Crawford from the HBO Series The Wire spoke to the students about substance abuse.