Use, You Lose
Use, You Lose - the consequences of substance use
If your child attends Chesterfield County Public Schools, they have been exposed to SAFE’s Use, You Lose campaign. Use, You Lose is designed to
- increase student and parent awareness of Chesterfield County Public School's alcohol and drug standards for student conduct and consequences for violating those standards.
- increase awareness of consequences for violating laws regarding underage drinking and illegal drug use.
- foster a strong community norm against underage drinking and other drug use.
Components include Use, You Lose:
- signs inside school buses
- T-shirts for fifth-grade students
- book covers for seventh-grade students
- posters for middle schools
- student parking permit hangers
- brochures for parents
How Can Parents Build on the Use, You Lose Initiative?
All Ages
Every year your child will come home from the first day of school with Chesterfield County Public Schools’ Standards for Student Conduct. You’re required to sign that you’ve reviewed it with your child. Take this opportunity to point out to your child the consequences for substance abuse offenses. Especially note that he or she can be expelled for possession of a drug and suspended for being under the influence of a drug or for possessing or using alcohol or tobacco. If not expelled, they also lose the right to participate in after-school or school-sponsored activities for 45 days, such as sports or field trips.
Elementary School
When your fifth grader comes home wearing a Use, You Lose T-shirt, he or she will also have a brochure for you called “Use, You Lose at Home.” It contains suggestions for talking to your child about alcohol and other drug issues. On the back of the brochure is a contract about family rules for you and your child to sign along with a Use, You Lose magnet to post the contract. Ask your child what he or she has been learning at school from his child safety officer about smoking, drinking and other drug use. Talk about your expectations and family rules. Sign the contract and post it on your refrigerator.
Middle School
All seventh graders receive a Use, You Lose book cover. Read what is on it together. The book cover emphasizes that most Chesterfield middle school students are choosing not to smoke, drink or use drugs and highlights the positive activities they’re choosing to do instead.
High School
Starting high school and receiving a driver’s license are key transitional points in your child’s life. SAFE distributes a brochure called Use, You Lose: Information for Parents to parents at ninth-grade orientations and at juvenile driver’s license ceremonies to help you engage your child in conversations about substance use and consequences.
Risk increases during these adolescent years, and you need to be vigilant. Use these transition times to reaffirm your expectations, rules and consequences for substance use, and remind your child of the increased responsibilities and legal penalties as they become teen drivers.
For students who drive to school, a Use, You Lose logo on their school parking permit reminds them that, if they violate school alcohol or drug policies, they will lose their right to park on school property for one year and forfeit their parking fees.
There are many consequences for substance use in addition to school or legal penalties. Use teachable moments to talk with your child about what you can lose when you use, such as your health, your parents’ trust, your friends, your self-respect, your freedom and even your life.