In an era of the evidence base and the overarching question of “what works?” it is vital that we accept the lesson that 30 years of drug education has taught us: you cannot expect drug education to have a high impact on drug use per se. And given this perspective, while a great deal of hot air has been generated about the best approach to drug education, another – and perhaps more fundamental – aspect of the great effectiveness debate still remains unanswered: how much of a difference does even the ‘best’ drug education make?