YES - Martin Barnes, chief executive, DrugScope
Yes, if the education is delivered with emphasis on the health andsafety issues that relate to drugs. At pre-school age, children will betoo young to grasp complex issues around drug use. Tragic incidents haveoccurred, but mostly when children have mistaken prescribed medicationor illicit substances for food like sweets. Up to 350,000 children haveat least one parent who is misusing drugs, so education for this agegroup could include safety advice on items that a child may discover athome.
NO - Michael Linnell, communications director, Lifeline Project
We believe everything done in drugs education should have a properevidence base behind it. I have never seen any evidence to suggest thatteaching children at a young age about the dangers of drugs will work.There is very little, if any, evidence that these kinds of anti-drugsmessages work with any age group, whether it comprises three-year-oldsor 33- year-olds. It depends on the way in which the council plans to doit, but it shouldn't be educating nursery children without an evidencebase.
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