Schools in Canada need a reset when it comes to reducing substance use harms in students, according to a new report from Wellstream, a multidisciplinary child and youth mental health and substance use research group.
The report is based on a survey of 204 school principals and vice principals overseeing grades K-12 that found over 40 per cent were spending more time managing student substance use issues over the past 12 months. Of that group, almost 66 per cent said it was related to an uptick in student substance use.
Study co-author Abbotsford School Supt. Nathan Ngieng said one in five survey respondents reported spending six hours a week on the problem.
“The report is really critical to an important issue that’s happening in our schools,” said Ngieng. “We know that this continues to be something that is taking up a lot of the time of our administrators.”
Cannabis was cited as the most common substance used by students on school property, followed by tobacco/nicotine products, caffeine/energy drinks and alcohol.
Student vaping was reported as the most significant substance use challenge facing school administrators at 64 per cent.
“Heavy marketing of certain products like vapes and cannabis … in a way that makes it appealing sets the education system up with having to deal with an issue that’s not theirs alone,” said study lead author Emily Jenkins of the University of British Columbia’s School of Nursing.
“We haven’t really adapted our approaches in decades, so the programming that’s in place in the ’90s is largely what is informing the types of approaches today.”
Ngieng said punitive, zero-tolerance policies used at many schools are not “evidence-informed” and might actually do more harm than good.
“And so this tension around trying to ensure a safe school environment, but also supporting young people and their families grappling with these issues, it’s a fine balance,” he said.
He said the report is a step toward developing national standards from a health and well-being perspective that recognizes the significant impact schools have on students’ lives.
“The role of education, yes, it’s about reading and literacy and numeracy,” he said.
“It’s also about health and well-being. So this does play into it in terms of helping young people make positive decisions — helping them to understand what healthy relationships look like, how to deal with stress and all those things that might contribute to someone engaging in substance use.”