One powerful way to prevent substance abuse is to look at the environment in which people live and work to make positive change. Key components of this change are the use of community norms and guidelines, appropriate policy initiatives and legislative action. We have listed a sampling of resources that are available on the Internet to help you make these kinds of changes.

Federal Government

• THOMAS: Legislative Information on the Internet http://thomas.loc.gov/
  THOMAS is a set of databases and a clearinghouse for government information. It is run by the Library of Congress.
• U.S. House of Representatives http://www. house.gov/
• U.S. Senate http://www.senate.gov/

Our two bodies of Congress have their own sites that contain a great deal of information about their respective organizations, including committee information and schedules.

State Government

• Legislative Update from Star of the North http://www.miph.org/lu.html
  The Star of the North staff have collected links to bills introduced in the Minnesota state legislature that pertain to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
• Minnesota State Legislature http://www.leg.state.mn.us/
  This site contains information on current legislators, comprehensive bill tracking, session and committee schedules and Minnesota statutes and laws.
• North Star, the State of Minnesota http://www.state.mn.us/

This is the starting point for information about Minnesota state government including links to all of the state government offices that have information available on the Internet.

Policy and Process Resources

• The Marin Institute http://www.marininstitute.org/
  The Marin Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol & Other Drug Problems concentrates on the environments that support and glamorize alcohol use. They have made their alcohol policy and industry database available to the public via their Web site.
• Join Together Online - Take Action http://www.jointogether.org/sa/action/
  Join Together is a national resource center for communities working to reduce substance abuse and gun violence. Their Take Action Page contains several sections: Strategy Matters, Advancing Policy, Legislative Toolbox and Tools for Action.
• OMB Watch http://www.ombwatch.org/
  OMB Watch is a nonprofit research, educational and advocacy organization that focuses on budget, regulatory, nonprofit advocacy and information policy.

Policy Documents

The following documents contain information about including policy initiatives in the activities of community organizations.

• The Role of Policy in the Prevention of ATOD Use Problems (Presented by the Minnesota Star of the North Prevention Coalition) http://www.miph.org/ft18.html
• How Do You Go from Organization at the Grassroots Level to Policy Change? http://www.miph.org/ft4.html

These resources are only a starting point for the wealth of information available on the Internet about environmental approaches to prevention.