Objectives: Drug education is delivered by a broad spectrum of multi-disciplinary practitioners within the fields of health promotion, drug prevention and treatment, social care, and community and youth work. However, drug education is often misunderstood or conflated with drug information and/or drug prevention. This ambiguity of understanding is problematic and, when coupled with drug education being delivered by practitioners who may not have formal training in drug education, can result in poor delivery, poor participant engagement and poor outcomes. This paper provides conceptual clarity for practitioners on drug education, differentiating it from other approaches to drug issues.

Methods: The paper draws from a selection of international literature on drug education best practice to simplify and make this information available for the use by practitioners.

Results: International best practice quality standards on drug education, suitable for use in community and youth settings are identified.

Conclusion: The paper offers support to health, community and youth workers by providing best practice guidance on drug education with children, young people and adults.