RELATED: Teens going to class high
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TASMANIAN schools lack effective drug and alcohol education and support programs.
As part of the Tasmanian curriculum, high school students receive drug and alcohol education in grades 7-10. However, this education is clinical not practical and fails to address issues that the majority of students will face.
Most grade 11 and 12 students do not receive compulsory drug or alcohol education.
This is of concern as this is the time when students are most likely to encounter drugs and alcohol and possibly face their negative effects.
This means that a year 11 or 12 student with a drug habit or alcohol problem is denied the opportunity to learn about and discuss their experiences in a classroom.
Students seeking help regarding drugs are referred to external organisations such as Headspace.
Schools seem to be a place where drugs are not openly spoken about.
Drugs are constantly in the media: articles on the ice epidemic, rising rates of drug-driving, party drug deaths and columnists debating on how Australia should be tackling the "drug war".
What many fail to see is that for a lot of the people who make up the statistics in those articles, their drug problem starts with a teenage cannabis habit.
Why are schools disregarding procedure and potentially adding to these statistics?
While the government is spending millions on rehabilitation, schools are failing in early prevention, even when many students are willingly seeking help.
In order for Tasmania's year 11 and 12 retention rates to go up, teenage drug habits need to go down.
The conversation between schools and students must begin now.