Safe and Drug Free Schools

Illegal drug use is a recurrent problem across the nation, but at particular risk are the nation's youth. Studies have shown that among children, drug use begins with the abuse of legal substances (ie tobacco and alcohol) before graduating to illegal drugs, with marijuana generally the first. Along with drug abuse, violence is another danger the nation's young people must face, be it drug motivated or the result of other behavioural problems. Schools are considered prime places to head off these two threats through education about abstaining from drugs and controlling violent tendencies. In 1996, the Department of Education began overseeing the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, which funds both state and national drug and violence prevention programs. Unfortunately, follow-up studies have revealed mixed results to the national program. The Education Department, though, is considering steps to strengthen and improve this critical program. This book examines and evaluates the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act and its programs, placing the measure in a background context and looking at its financial and administrative structures. Given the major problems of drug abuse and violence threatening to overwhelm children, these studies make for a timely analysis of an important issue.