Drug education and prevention: Has progress been made?

Abstract

Ten years after publication of the UK Government's strategy for drug misuse in 1995, Tackling Drugs Together, the impact of drug education and prevention programmes remains less than desired. The 1995 strategy envisaged a new emphasis on education and prevention and there have been developments since then in drug education, especially with universal programmes delivered in schools. This paper considers the extent to which progress has been made in drug education and prevention since the 1995 strategic focus on young people and prevention of drug misuse was set out by government.