Drug awareness training is a course that is designed to educate participants in the basic issues involving the misuse of drugs and alcohol in various settings, usually in the school or workplace. Read on to know what goes into these trainings and who can benefit from them.

What is involved in drug awareness training?

Aside from the basics of drug regulation and policy, awareness training includes who is responsible for the enforcement of drug policies and regulations, how these regulations should be enforced and how to respond to drug abuse scenarios.

Courses start off with the basics such as an introduction to common drugs and their effects, the risks that drugs and alcohol pose to safety, how to spot drug abuse and dependency, and how to respond to these cases.

Participants may be trained on how to recognize the signs and symptoms of abuse, how to implement proper reporting protocols and even proper chain of custody procedures when activity is involved.

What is drug/substance abuse?

Substance abuse is the misuse of a substance for something other than its intended purpose. Substance abuse covers the abuse of substances that are used for social or medical purposes, as well as those that are non-regulated, regulated, and prohibited by law.

Drug abuse can easily lead to dependency and addiction which can result in mental and physical damage. It often results in strains in interpersonal relationships and may lead to a financial dependency that can progress to criminality in some cases.

Drug awareness training is not only relevant from a law enforcement standpoint. Drug abuse costs employers millions of dollars annually in lost productivity and increased liabilities such as workplace accidents and injuries caused by human error.

Who should take drug awareness training courses?

Drug awareness courses are designed for staff and personnel of institutions where these drug regulations are enforced. This includes management and supervisory staff, union and working group representatives. Law enforcement personnel are among those that are mandated by laws in all states to undergo some type of drug awareness program as part of their training.

What to expect during a drug awareness training session?

Drug awareness training sessions may involve seminars and lectures where participants are introduced to basic policies. This may be followed by group discussions and interactive workshops where attendees may be required to role-play various drug abuse scenarios and apply the appropriate actions in line with company policies. These workshops are often guided by accredited facilitators who direct the flow of the activity and evaluate the sessions to ensure that the learning objectives were achieved.