DOCUMENT RESUME ED 110 868 CG 009 292 TITLE Students Speak on Drugs; The High School Student Project. INSTITUTION Drug Abuse Council, Inc., Washington, D.C. REPORT NO H S -3 PUB DATE Jun 74 NOTE 293p.; Some pages in the individual reportsmay reproduce poorly AVAILABLE FROM The Drug Abuse Council, Inc., 1828 L Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 (HC $2.25, $1.50 in quantities of 10 or more) EDRS PRICE MF-$0.76 Plus Postage. HC Not Available from EDRS. DESCRIPTORS *Drug Abuse; *Drug Education; Field Interviews; High School Students; *Program Evaluation; *Student Attitudes; *Student Research; Surveys ABSTRACT This report represents the findings obtained from investigations conducted by nine student researchgroups based in high school s in each geographical region of the UnitedStates. Each research group conducted three-month studies of the drug education programs and formulated recommendations for program modifications and new approaches. Major issues for fact finding included:(1) the incidence of drug abuse among high school students; (2) student attitudes on drug use and abuse;(3) the nature of existing drug education programs; (4) the effectiveness of those programs; and (5) students' perceptions of their drug education needs. The groups' research findings indicate widespread usage and availability of illicit drugs, failure of existing drug educationprograms to affect student drug usage, and the need for involvement of the community-at-large. The students repeatedly criticized the prevalence of a subject-matter orientation to school drugprograms, instead suggesting the need for a personal-problemsor social-problems orientation. Included in the report isa discussion of the limitations and weaknesses of this student project. (Author/SJL) *********************************************************************** * Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished * * materials not available from other sources. ERIC makesevery effort * * to obtain the best copy available. nevertheless, items of marginal * * reproducibility are often encountered and this affects the quality * * of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions EPIC makes available * * via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). EDRS is not * * responsible for the quality of the original document. Reproductions * * supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original. * *********************************************************************** c Ear 6 66 I 6 6 6 66 .6 A,RuC*0 FICHE ,6 66. , .4 44 N4.4 t4, tO 6, 6E RV6 6 U S DEPARTMENT OF PolEAL'H EDUCATION WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF E0I/CATt0A61 THIS 6MENT HAS PEEN REPRO DuCED E %A( Ly AS RECE66,ED cROM THE PE RSDN OR DRGANIZAI,DN ORIGIN ATING IT PCINTS OE VIEW Of OPINIONS STATED De, NCI NECF_SSARiLY REPRE SENT OF AILiA_ NAI*NAL INS TI-D/ TE OF EDUCA T6ON PCst ION OR POL .CY STUDENTS SPEAR ON DRUGS The Drug Abuse Council, Inc. JUNE 1914 HS-3 S__DEI I wS SPIN( ON DRUGS the high school student uncil, Inc. HS-3 project U 5, Copyright 01974 by THE DRUG ABUSE COUNCIL, INC. 1828 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted in any form or by any ,neans without prior written permission from the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Number: 74.14190 Printed in the United States of America Preface CONTENTS 1 1Introduction:Boston, Massachusetts: Looking BackThe The NeedHigh forSchool Drug Student Education Project on Drug Abuse , 3 432 ifMadison,Hollywood, St. Louis, Wisconsin: Missouri:Florida: AWhatEvaluating Rejection Kind ofDrug of Drug Drug Education Education? Education 49332511 765 Washington,Brooklyn,El Paso, Texas:New DC: York: DrugDrug Drug EducationAbuse Education News by the IsPeople for People 1036185 AppendicesConcluding8 San Francisco and Beginning and Dayton .,,, 139111 ACB StudentTheStudent Pennsylvania PressInformation Release State Center (following University Brochure February Drug Education 1973 conference) Evaluation ScalesHigh School Form 150147143 The Drug Abuse Council,Inc.,isa private, tax-exempt foundation established in February 1972 to serve on a national level as an independent source of needed research, public policy evaluation and program guidance in the areas of drug use and misuse. It is supported by the Ford Foundation, Commonwealth Fund, Carnegie Corporation, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S. ' Throughitspublications and other activities, the Council provides non partisan,objectivz information and analysis and Preface serves as a resource for those organizations and individuals searching for new, more effective approaches to nonmedical drug use in our society. For a complete publications list, please refer to the back of this report. As drug use among the nation's youth increased during the past decade and became commonplace inallsocial and economic settings, a national concern for drug education increased accord- ingly. Educators, school administrators, drug abuse researchers, social welfare workers, public health officials, and legislators' all pursuedsolutionstothe growing problem. With so many professionals looking for ways to halt drug abuse among young people, it is curious that virtually no one asked the young people themselves for advice. Adults in the various professions conceived educational programs geared, it was thought, to the needs and interests of youth, but prepared an I presented without youth input. Earlier prognns tended to moralize and to rely more on fear than on fact, whereas more recent programs attempted to provide factual information and to avoid value judgments. In either case, however, the goal was the same: to decrease drug abuse among young people. They have not succeeded in that goal. It was for this reason that the Drug Abuse Council, Inc. (DAC), an independent source of funds for drug abuse researchand policy analysis, began to concern itself with the lack of youth input into drug education programs. It had become sufficiently clear that efforts to prevent youthful drug abuse were not going to succeed unless young people themselves were permitted and encouraged to participate actively in those efforts. With this awareness came the idea for the High School Student Project on Drug Abuse (HSSP). STUDENTS SPEAK ON DRUGS 1 C ACKNOWLEDGMENTS time, care, and competence to the organizational an details so necessary to any project of this nature. Our gratitude is also due Mary Wilson, Pat Wilson and The Drug Abuse Council wishes to thank the many people who of the staff of the Student Information Center, James Dy contributed to the project. The project would not have been Carnegie Corporation who brought the Council and th done at all without Dr. Frederick P. Thieme of the University of together, and Sheila Doctors for writing this final report. Colorado, who suggested it to the Council in the first place, Jane Finally, very special thanks are due to the studen Silver, Project Officer for the HSSP, and John DeLuca of the participating sc cools who undertook the project with en Council staff. Jean Johnson, also of the Council, devoted much and skill. ,t, 2 THE DRUG ABUSE COUNCIL . WLEDGMENTS time, care, and competence to the organizationaland clerical details so necessary to any project of thisnature. Our gratitude is also due Mary Wilson, Pat Wilson andthe rest ishes to thank the many people who Gf the staff of the Student Information Center, JamesDyer of the The project would not have been Carnegie Corporation who brought the Council and theCenter erick P. Thieme of the University of together, and Sheila Doctors for writing this finalreport. o the Council in the first place, Jane Finally, very special thanks are due to the studentsin the he HSSP, and John DeLuca of the participating schools who undertook the project withenthusiasm also of the Council, devoted much and skill. RATIONALE In retrospect, it seems most unfortunate drug education was so lacking. As predon drug culture, young people represent ar practical drug knowledge. High school stud than their teachers to be familiar with the illegal drugs, or to know the extent of d peers. Iii Furthermore, young people constit0 susceptible populations of illicit drug u consumers of drug education.It seems requisite to drug curriculum design woul input from young people regarding their drug educations. However, the belief of m know a priori what is beet for their stud educators to assume student drug needs a seek student input directly. DAC felt th looking Deck why so many drug education programs h s, even irrelevant to student needs. DAC' youth input into drug education and to The MO School Student Project existing drug programs. No doubt there were a number of appr on Drug abuse served this purpose. But from the outset, an approach which would permit youth- least so far as was legally and practically f thispointtodistinguishbetween "y "youth-control." Youthinvolvement is education today, andis actually muc educational theory and practice. For the would have meant that although youn adult-professionals could actually have a the project. Although student attitudes a sought for all aspects of the drug scene relied ultimately on adult decision-makin Youth-control, on the other hand, wo totally as possible by young people. No research the attitudes and opinions of y 1 STUDEN 10 i 1 RATIONALE In retrospect, it seems most unfclunate that youth input into drug education was so lacking. As predominant members of the drug culture, young people represent an invaluable source of practical