Outcomes of Drug Education: Four Case Studies

Due to a need to find educational means to prevent drug abuse, drug education programs in one elementary and three secondary schools were studied. Drug education given to three different groups of secondary children could not be definitely shown to decrease illegal drug use among the students. Following two of these programs, available evidence indicates that some students experimented with illegal drugs. In a group of 70 fifth and sixth graders a drug education program given by a specially trained teacher evoked a positive change in attitude in many students who previously intended to smoke cigarettes or use illegal drugs. This program provides cautious encouragement and may indicate that drug education is more effective in grade schools than secondary schools.