Primary prevention aims to prevent drug use from occurring at all or to delay the onset of use. Strategies include education, information, community education through media campaigns and sponsorships, community development initiatives, and legislation. Secondary prevention aims to prevent drug problems by identifying and modifying potentially harmful drug use. Information and campaigns promoting safer levels of alcohol consumption are examples of secondary prevention strategies. Intervention may involve working with individuals, families, schools, youth groups, or peer networks.
Brief intervention is a secondary prevention strategy.
Tertiary prevention aims to prevent problems caused by drug use from getting any worse and causing further harm. These strategies usually target people with an identifiable drug dependency. Tertiary prevention is often called drug treatment and rehabilitation. Goals of treatment are likely to be the reduction or termination of drug use. There is general community concern that young people who use drugs will become dependent.