Researchers: Schools Should Counsel, Not Suspend, Pot Smoking Adolescents
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iStock/Thinkstock(SEATTLE) — The war on drugs is becoming less punitive and more supportive, at least at some schools in Washington state and Victoria, Australia.
Richard Catalano, a professor of social work at the University of Washington, says a study of 3,200 adolescents has shown that handing out suspensions to seventh and ninth graders who got caught smoking marijuana didn’t do much to deter future use.
In fact, these kids were twice as likely to smoke pot during the following year in contrast to schools where no suspensions were meted out.
Meanwhile, schools that adopted policies whereby students who used marijuana were referred to counselors saw that these same youngsters were 50 percent less likely to smoke grass in the next year.
Catalano, who co-authored the study, says “We need to ensure that schools are using drug policies that respond to policy violations by educating or counseling students, not just penalizing them.”
The study also found that other methods of deterring drug use, such as reporting the students to police or expelling them, has no discernible effect on their marijuana smoking.
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