Drug Education to Date: A Review

A comprehensive review is presented of Drug Education programs for school students from 1967 to date, with an eye toward eking out whatever guidance can be obtained for future efforts. Programs are organized into categories beginning with those lacking in any meaningful evaluation to those which reported more elegant designs using appropriate control groups, long term follow up of effect, and some attempt at the collection of behavioral evidence.

In general it was found that the great bulk of Drug Education programs reported in the literature were lacking in any meaningful evaluation that would provide data for guidance in the design of future programs. Discussion of the shortcomings revolves around evaluation methodology, measurement, assumptions, and objectives. It is pointed out that given some reasonable assumptions about society, e.g. that drugs will always be available for use, and that ultimately use or non use will be a personal decision, new and more clearly defined objectives for drug education seem to be prescribed. Possible examples of these objectives are given.