Drug Education News

Children Now has picked up on what Eric Carlin, the vice-chair of the Drug Education Forum, had to say about random drug testing. The story runs:
Drug charities have condemned a proposal by education secretary Ruth Kelly to introduce random drug testing in schools.
Kelly last week told teaching union NASUWT’s annual conference that a trial [...]

Community Care report on a debate from the House of Lords:
A leading neuroscientist yesterday told the House of Lords that there had been an “alarming increase” in the prescribing of Ritalin to enhance concentration amongst children.
Baroness Susan Greenfield, a leading neuroscientist, said that she had concerns about the widespread use of Ritalin and other drugs [...]

The BBC on a survey from Frank the government’s website about drugs aimed at young people:

Many parents could not recognise signs of drugs use. One in four parents say they do not know enough about recreational drugs to talk to their children about them, a survey suggests.
However half of parents have spoken to their [...]

icCheshireOnline carries a report about drug treatment of young people in the Mersyside and Cheshire area:
MORE than 900 children in Merseyside and Cheshire received treatment for drug and alcohol addictions last year.
The disturbing statistic includes a 14-year-old girl with a heroin habit and a 10-year-old boy abusing alcohol and cannabis.
One 12-year-old binge drinker is currently [...]

A new resource for Key Stage 3 teachers - Drugs Information Pack for Schools (KS3) - will be available from the end of June to help promote awareness and understanding of drugs.
The pack will support the Government’s drive to ensure all young people understand the risks associated with cannabis and include information and guidance for [...]

Suffolk’s Evening Star reports the falling number of drug incidents the police are dealing with in Suffolk schools:
DRUG-related incidents in Suffolk’s schools have dramatically decreased over the last three years, police figures have today revealed.
An investigation by the Evening Star has revealed police were called to the county’s schools nine times in 2003 to deal [...]

The Times reports Ruth Kelly’s speech to the NASUWT conference where she said:

“Drugs is another issue which is not going away in schools. I was looking at the evidence from the Abbey School in Kent the other day, where they have tried random drug testing and (have) found that a hugely effective way of creating [...]

Jenny McWhirter, Head of Programme Development, Education and Prevention for DrugScope (and Chair of the Drug Education Forum), has a paper on the evidence for the drug testing in schools as an effective measure in drug prevention for young people and contrasts this with the growing evidence base for effective universal drug education.
Jenny argues:
There [...]

The Beckley Foundation have a report out looking at the links between cannabis and mental health. The report presents an overview of the evidence for an association between cannabis use and mental health, particularly in young people. The paper also discusses strategies for reducing the harm which cannabis can [...]

The Times report on the reaction to a magazine aimed at 10 year olds in Portsmouth:
A magazine aimed at telling primary schoolchildren about health issues has been shelved because it is too explicit for ten-year-olds.
Explode, which uses cartoons to get its message across, was due to be handed out in schools in Portsmouth this month. [...]