Leave the drugs war to cartoons and cops
The Times Higher Education Supplement has a piece by Richard Ives, of educari and a member of our sister organisation The Drug Practitioners Forum, about drug education. The THES website is a subscription only affair, but I’ve been sent the text and hope they won’t mind if I quote bits of what Richard has said:
Richard’s main argument is that children and young people get their information about drugs from a variety of sources, including television (which is where the cartoons come in). He goes on to say:
Providing accurate information is important, and the Government’s Frank campaign provides general facts to anyone who wants it. Schools have a role in educating children about some aspects of drugs. But when it comes to individual decisions about drug use, classrooms are not the place to communicate complex messages that should be tailored for individual circumstances. For me, the most significant part of the ACMD report, and the bit that got the whole-hearted endorsement of the profession’s “trade association”, the Drug Education Forum, is the call for more drug education out of school.
And concludes:
So let’s focus resources on these areas and accept that schools can’t prevent drug use. Let them stick to what they do best: just education - such as the history of drugs, the role of drugs in society and drugs advertising. And let’s give schools time to address the personal, social and health curriculum without the distraction of having to demonstrate drug-related outcomes.
