THE DRUG TESTS DON'T WORK

Eton's Approach To Drugs Exemplifies How Schools And Teachers Get It
Wrong, And Fail To Give Young People The Informed Advice They Want.

Drugs have again hit the headlines with a vengeance. But Prince
Harry's case simply brings into the public domain the reality that
more and more young people are trying drugs.

According to the most recent and comprehensive survey of drug use in
Britain, 44% of males in Harry's age group (16-19) have tried an
illegal drug, rising to 63% for men aged 20-24. So Harry's experiment
with cannabis should come as no surprise. And young people seem to
have hardly batted an eyelid, in sharp contract to the reaction from
certain parts of the media.

This disconnection between the reality observed by today's young
people - where trying drugs at least once is the norm - and that
believed in by many parents and much of the media causes many
problems. While Prince Charles' handling of the issue has been widely
praised, to many young people the treatment of the issue ignored
obvious realities.

Firstly, despite what many commentators and politicians suggest, young
people know that cannabis does not inevitably lead them to crack and
heroin dependency and winding up in a clinic. They have many friends
who have regularly smoked cannabis and have never progressed onto
other more harmful drugs.

Secondly young people realise that the greater concern should really
be with binge drinking rather than with occasional cannabis use. Yet
many of their advisers - who are more likely to drink than smoke
cannabis - casually disregard the scientific evidence that alcohol,
particularly binge drinking, is much more harmful than cannabis use.

Knowledge of drug issues and the reality of drug taking is often much
higher among young people. That is why scare-mongering and a 'just say
no approach' does not work and is more likely to do harm than good. Of
course, drug use is worrying for many parents. But the evidence is
that young people actively want their parents to talk to them about
drugs.

If parents want to have the biggest impact on young people's choices,
parents should first equip themselves with the facts, not the media
myths and popular hyperbole, but the facts about the real risks
involved. They should then take the time to listen to their children
and answer their questions as honestly and openly as they can. Only if
parents do this will children listen to their parents and base their
choices on the risks involved. A 'just say no approach' which fails to
connect with young peoples' reality, will simply make the child seek
information sources elsewhere and perhaps become more likely to
experiment with drugs as a result.

Children also want information from their teachers. The approach
signalled by Eton of testing their pupils for drug use and expelling
any pupil testing positive is seriously misguided. Quite apart from
the civil liberties angle, there is no evidence that drug testing is
an effective intervention in stopping drug use. It certainly does not
distinguish between someone who tries cannabis once and someone with a
real drug problem.

Drug testing, which is often inaccurate, demonstrates a lack of trust
that will undermine any drug education program at the school.
Expelling pupils is likely to worsen any drug problem they may have
and can also lead the child into a downward spiral of social
exclusion. Where a drug misuse problem is found there should be help
and support for the individuals involved, and not simply expulsion
that can exacerbate any problem that does exist. The evidence shows
that exclusion further increases the chance that young people will use
drugs. 63% of excluded children have been offered cannabis compared
with 25% of children in school; 29% of excluded children have tried a
class A drug compared with only 5% of children in school and 61% of
excluded pupils have taken a class B drug, compared with only 15% of
children in school.

Young people need their parents and teachers to be equipped with the
facts and able to respond to their questions and concerns. If they
are, then parents and teachers will be more confident and better
equipped to talk to young people about drugs. And young people will be
more likely to listen.