Drug education: a review of British Government policy and evidence on effectiveness

British Government policy on drugs primary prevention is outlined and princ ipal recommendations are identified. The review is organized under the four main providers: police, teachers, peers and parents. Current methods are r eviewed within a British policy framework with a focus on British programme s which have been evaluated. Most programmes use a combination of informati on, resistance or life skills training and normative education. Evaluative research suggests these methods are generally most effective, The police ha ve achieved a community-wide approach, teachers have managed to integrate d rug education into the National Curriculum, peer approaches have considered the needs of their target audience and parent approaches have recruited in fluential educators. However, more evaluative research is required before w e can identify which particular programmes are most effective in reducing d rug use.