Schools "could do more" to combat drugs

Citation

(2003), "Schools "could do more" to combat drugs", Education + Training, Vol. 45 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2003.00445bab.010

Schools "could do more" to combat drugs

Schools "could do more" to combat drugs

Only eight of the 15 EU member states have comprehensive drug-prevention strategies for schools, and only Ireland, Greece and Spain evaluate their strategies, says the EU drug agency. The Lisbon-based European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction says most drug-prevention work takes place in secondary schools, but more needs to be done in primary schools and even nurseries. The agency believes that the most effective programmes involve group discussions with pupils' peers and family, rather than a teacher simply "moralising". Messages such as "Say no to drugs" have proved ineffective and could even stimulate young people's interest in drugs. The EU Council has called for more research on drug prevention and better teacher training in this area.