The West County Alcohol, Marijuana & Prescription Drug Coalition (AMPD) recently announced the winners of its 2025 Drug Prevention Art Contest, which invited grade-school children in Richmond to wield their creativity in crafting powerful messages about living drug-free.
Fourth grader Muhammed Sardar earned first place for his compelling artwork, “Peace on Earth — Say No to Drugs.” Also earning first place was 6th grader Nevaeh Shields, 12.
Both students received a $30 gift card in recognition of their contribution.
Fourth-grader Muhammed said his art piece aims to show a “world where peace wins over harmful things.”
“There is an Earth in the drawing, and inside the Earth is a peace sign,” he said. “Around it, I drew things like a crossed-out cigarette, alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs to show they don’t belong in a peaceful world. There’s also a person reaching toward the peaceful Earth, but the drugs are trying to hold them back. At the top, I wrote ‘Say No to Drugs’ to share my message. I got some inspiration from images online, but made this in my way.”
The contest ran from June 22 to July 31. All standout submissions are currently being celebrated online via AMPD’s outreach platforms.
The contest occurred ahead of Fentanyl Prevention Awareness Day on Aug. 21, a national day devoted to spotlighting the dangers of fentanyl and preventing drug-related tragedies. Through sharing young people’s heartfelt prevention messages, AMPD hopes to ignite meaningful conversations within the community—especially coinciding with this critical day of awareness.
Follow AMPD to see the winning artwork and other prevention messages:
- Instagram: @ampdcoalition
- Facebook: facebook.com/AMPDCoalition
- Website: www.beblunt.org
