What Happened?

The next anti-drug lesson Kansas teenagers hear could come from other teenagers. Students at Wichita Northwest High School will build what the White House calls the nation’s first youth-led drug prevention toolkit, with a launch planned for back-to-school season in 2027, the White House drug policy office announced Wednesday, Oct. 7. ​

Sara Carter, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, rolled out the project with Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) at roundtables in Wichita and Kansas City on Thursday, Oct. 8, according to a Legis1 report. It comes less than a month before Marshall faces voters in one of the country’s newly competitive Senate races.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

If you have a teenager in Kansas, the idea is that prevention lands better coming from a classmate than from an adult. “The students developing this toolkit know better than anyone the pressures their peers face, and how to best overcome them,” Carter said. The students are working with the federal Drug Free Communities program, which funds local anti-drug coalitions with up to $125,000 a year each, and the finished toolkit is meant to guide prevention efforts nationwide.

Marshall said the roundtables brought together students, educators, community leaders and police. “We don’t want the next generation to inherit the drug crisis we are fighting today,” he said.

Both Sides, Now

Marshall is pitching policy wins as his reelection race tightens. The Cook Political Report moved the race from Lean Republican to Toss Up on Tuesday, Oct. 6, and the Senate Leadership Fund launched a seven-figure ad buy in Kansas to help him, Mediaite reported. His opponent, megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton, is a former Republican running as a Democrat.

Marshall’s campaign has also drawn bad headlines. He settled a $678 bill for 2020 campaign treats from a Kansas bakery after the owner’s complaint went viral, The Hill reported. Two Kansas businesses say a Marshall attack ad against Hamilton used photos of their properties without permission, KCUR reported. His campaign said it corrected the images.

What Happens Next?

Kansas voters decide the race Tuesday, Nov. 3. No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate race in Kansas since 1932.

The toolkit is on a longer timeline. Wichita Northwest students and the Drug Free Communities program will develop it over the coming school year, aiming to have it ready for schools when classes start in fall 2027.

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