Abstinence Only

This is from Australia, but one could easily imagine this same scenario playing out here:

A New South Wales Government-funded drug education booklet for teenagers has been scrapped after sparking community outrage for its "twisted" message.

The controversial teaching resource aimed at students in years 9 and 10 was produced by the Sydney West Area Health Service and distributed to western Sydney high schools.

The booklet - Choosing To Use ... But Wanna Keep Your Head Together? - suggests young people should not experiment with drugs until they are over 18, know their family medical history and "use only small amounts and not too often".

"The best way to keep your head together, is not to use drugs at all," the booklet says.

"But, if you choose to experiment ... remember some people will react badly and become seriously unwell after using only a small amount of a drug."

News of the booklet's content sparked outrage from many areas of the community, from welfare groups and the state opposition to Sydney talkback radio callers.

Health Minister Reba Meagher said copies of the booklet, which has been used since 2006, would be removed from distribution and pulped. She also said all other drug education material for young people would be reviewed.

"Much of the information contained in this brochure is focused on encouraging young people not to use drugs," she said. "But the reference to what young people should choose to do if they ignore anti-drug advice or information is simply not acceptable."

There's a clear parallel here to the debate over abstinence only sex-ed. Well-informed people here will know that abstinence-only education doesn't work as well as educational programs that accept the reality of teen sex, but I wonder if the parallel argument concerning drug use is as well understood. Much of the education in this country concerning drugs often does mimic abstinence-only education in that it basically uses scare tactics to keep kids from doing something that many of them are going to do anyway, while keeping them in the dark as to what the drugs actually do. And it has predictable results.