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U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) announced this week that Louisiana would receive $875,000 from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to reduce substance abuse among youths across the state.

Grants of $125,000 were awarded to ADAPT in Bogalusa, as well as agencies in Baton Rouge, Kenner, Arcadia, Hammond, Farmerville and New Orleans. The director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Jim Carroll, visited Louisiana twice this year, to address the state’s opioid crisis.

“Drug Czar Carroll understands the problem we’re fighting in Louisiana. Our kids are abusing opioids, alcohol, tobacco and marijuana. Their lives are lost to addiction while they’re still battling acne,” Kennedy said. “The solution is to prevent them from getting addicted in the first place. We’ve got to educate our kids that they’re playing with fire when it comes to substance abuse.”

“In order to create safe and healthy places for the next generation to grow up, we must break through to our children now and educate them about the dangers of substance use,” Carroll said. “The Drug-Free Communities, administered by our office across the United States, are proven prevention programs tailored to do just that by meeting the local prevention needs in each community.

The Trump administration will continue expanding the number of community-based coalitions dedicated to the critical mission of stopping substance use among our youth before it starts.”