Drug education is the planned provision of information, guidelines, resources, and skills relevant to living in a world where psychoactive substances are widely available and commonly used for a variety of both medical and non-medical purposes, some of which may lead to harms such as overdose, injury, infectious disease (such as HIV or hepatitis C), or addiction.
[2] The Australian Government Department of Health's Positive Choices portal, released in response to a National Ice Taskforce report, facilitates access to interactive evidence-based drug education resources and prevention programs for school communities.
These preventative programs aim to deliver a progressive approach that will motivate and encourage young people to make positive decisions in life.
Emphasis within these programs is also placed in focusing on deterring peer pressure as a means of empowering adolescents and promoting autonomy.
[14] The prevalence of abstinence-based programs declined throughout the early 21st-century following an uptick in substance use and the rise of the opioid epidemic.
Erowid hosts information about hundreds of psychoactive plants and substances, while Bluelight is an online forum on which users discuss harm reduction and drug use.
[24] A systematic review of abstinence-based school drug education published in 2003 found mixed results on its effectiveness.
These programs aim to engage young people by relating to them and putting them in contact with positive role models (coaches/trained youth workers).
[30] Studies on school-based programs indicated that professional training and support may be required to increase the effectiveness of teaching staff and the uniform implementation of drug curriculum.