medford lakes Municipal Alliance

Medford Lakes Municipal Alliance

The Medford Lakes Municipal Alliance (MLMA) Program is a borough-wide partnership dedicated to preventing drug and alcohol abuse through a unified community effort. The Medford Lakes Police Department (MLPD), Medford Lakes School District, and the Borough of Medford Lakes Administration work collaboratively to support this mission. The program is fully grant-funded and led by Medford Lakes Municipal Alliance Coordinator/Police Chief John McGinnis.

The MLMA and Medford Lakes Police Department actively participate in community events to educate residents, raise awareness, promote healthy alternatives, and engage with the close-knit Medford Lakes and surrounding communities.

The MLMA also supports the Medford Lakes Police Department’s Law Enforcement Against Drugs (L.E.A.D.) program. L.E.A.D. was developed to elevate law enforcement’s role in drug and violence prevention. As part of this initiative, the Too Good for Drugs (TGFD) curriculum is delivered to 5th grade students. This evidence-based program promotes drug-free living through an engaging and interactive approach that emphasizes goal setting, effective communication, and responsible decision-making.

The curriculum builds students’ social-emotional skills through a structured sequence of lessons and reinforces those skills with interactive activities. It also highlights the negative effects of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use, while equipping students with peer-pressure refusal strategies to help them make positive choices.

The Medford Lakes Police Department remains committed to combating drug use, alcohol abuse, and violence, ensuring that the children of Medford Lakes grow up in a safe, healthy, and drug-free community.

Governor's Council on Substance Use Disorder (GCSUD)

The mission of the Governor's Council on Substance Use Disorder (GCSUD) is centered on preventing substance use disorder and promoting public awareness through coordinated, community-based efforts across the state.

More specifically, its mission and core purpose include:

• Prevention planning and coordination: The Council plays a lead role in organizing and guiding New Jersey’s statewide prevention strategy.

• Public awareness and education: It works to educate residents about substance use, misuse, and overdose prevention.

• Community-based prevention efforts: Through its Alliance to Prevent Substance Use Disorder, it supports local coalitions that deliver prevention programs at the municipal level.

• Collaboration and partnerships: The Council coordinates with state agencies, local governments, and community stakeholders to strengthen prevention initiatives statewide.

• Public health approach: Its work emphasizes mental health, harm reduction, stigma reduction, and evidence-based strategies.

GCSUD was established pursuant to N.J.S.A. 26:2BB from which the Council provides prevention planning, public awareness, and education, and administers the Alliance to Prevent Substance Use Disorder.

The Council is an active and collaborative participant in the planning and coordination of New Jersey's prevention efforts through its membership and the development of the GCSUD Master Plan, as well as its Alliance to Prevent Substance Use Disorder, the largest network of community-based prevention coalitions in the nation. 

During this time of significant challenge, the GCSUD is engaged in evolving and strengthening prevention programming through a public health approach.  Through collaborative efforts and strategic partnerships with state agencies and stakeholders, the GCSUD and its Alliance Program are perfectly positioned to raise awareness and provide education about substance misuse, both statewide and at the most local levels. All prevention planning is grounded through guiding values that embrace mental health, harm reduction, stigma-free communities, and the empowerment of peers.