EDUCATION AND HEALTH: EVALUATING THEORIES AND EVIDENCE

Drugs use affects all school communities in New Zealand. It is associated with health risks, including injury, problem behaviours, depression and other risk- taking activities, and affects students’ welfare and safety, social relationships and identities, and their ability to learn and achieve their full potential. Problems arising from drug use among young New Zealanders are primarily associated with alcohol, tobacco and cannabis. While the use of these substances is evident in all communities in New Zealand, the extent of youth drug use is often portrayed in the media in sensational terms, with the potential for popular myths to develop...