Past efforts in the area of drug education in schools are based on the assumption that knowledge results in behaviour change hence, if adolescents were only aware of the negative effects of drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, they would decide to not use such substances. Unfortunately the picture in relation to drugs, licit and illicit, is not so simple. This paper explores past and present school based drug education programs and there accompanying philosophies, the role and extent of community based drug education and the use mass media communications and asks the question - Can we expect drug education to work, and if not, where do we go from here?