Review: All About Drugs and Young People

Drugs education that pulls no punches

Julian Cohen distils the knowledge and experience of a long career in drug education in his latest publication. Glib explanations, innovative approaches and simple solutions are not on offer here: rather the reader is taken through a process inviting thought, reflection, and sense making: what would amount to, if using the exercises provided, a drug education course in a book.

Dispelling many common myths, this accessible guide invites readers to understand drug use in the round, in the context of the lived experience of young people and their families. The author, a tobacconist's son, shares some of his own family drug history - set within the historical and cultural contexts of the times - and in doing so, offers a disarming challenge to readers who may not have previously thought of drug use as being a consistent and generally unremarkable facet of human existence. One response to a "drug incident" advocated here includes open discussion and negotiation around the substance use of all members of the family. While offering a measured and grounded approach, Cohen pulls no punches.

Drug use, then, is not presented as a sinister "other" experience to be demonised and eliminated. Instead, tried and tested approaches are advocated, springing from a realistic and health-based approach rather than one founded on moral judgment. This means that in order to avoid drug harms, drugs should not be used. If they are used, however (and change can take time) different patterns of substance use can be envisaged as lying along a spectrum which encompasses a range of potential harm. What works in this context is good quality drug education and a harm reduction approach in which good communication is a necessary component. Cohen invites the reader to take a holistic view that emphasises the importance of relationship with the self, with others and the world, for these comprise the "set" and "setting" of drug use. At the same time, his approach is not woolly or laissez-faire. There's clear and current factual information in abundance, alongside acknowledgement that some of the behaviours accompanying drug use can evoke emotions of distress, horror and anger in family members.

One senses that the author has made every effort to rein in his impatience with poor drug education, counter-productive legislation and the like, in order to ensure a measured tone that does not seek to impose on his readership. The guidance is accessible without over-simplification and represents a practical resource for parent, carer and practitioner alike, referencing a range of further resources.

Reviewed by Chris Simpson, senior lecturer youth & community at Marjon University, Plymouth

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