New Jersey high school students are invited to participate in the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey Shout Down Drugs competition by creating and performing original substance abuse prevention music and songs. The Shout Down Drugs competition gives New Jersey teens the opportunity to promote drug use prevention using their own lyrics and music. All musical genres, from hip hop to gospel to rock and roll, as well as everything in between, can be submitted to the competition.

Finalists from each New Jersey county will be chosen by peer judges and will perform their entries at the Annual Statewide Prevention Concert to be held on May 25, 2016 at Rutgers University's Nicholas Music Center in New Brunswick. First, second and third place winners will receive music contracts worth $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000 respectively to perform their winning songs at different events throughout the state during the year.

The Shout Down Drugs entry deadline is February 1, 2016. Contest rules, entry forms and FAQs can be found here.

According to its Web site, the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey serves in a leadership role for the prevention, treatment, and medical communities of New Jersey and provides workshops and symposium to doctors, parents, caregivers, educators, and municipal alliances. In the schools, the Partnership provides opportunities for students in grades 3-12 to participate in substance abuse prevention activities and contests.

The entries of past contestants and winners can be found here.