Kids on drugs as young as 6 Cases of prescription medication misuse by school children include substances such as ADD drug Ritalin, antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication. STUDENTS as young as six have been suspended from WA schools for misusing drugs. Figures obtained by The Sunday Times reveal 368 suspensions were handed out in the public school system last year for substance misuse including alcohol, prescription medication and cigarettes. It was a 10 per cent rise in suspensions from the previous year and included six students in years 1-5, including a pupil in year 1. The bulk of the suspensions were handed out to students in years 8 and 9. An Education Department spokesman said the suspensions did not necessarily mean the students were caught taking the drugs. They may have been found in possession of the substance or been caught trying to push it. Cases of prescription medication misuse included substances such as ADD drug Ritalin, antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication. He said students should not be in possession of these drugs because they should be given to a teacher to store away in a locked cabinet. Education Department acting statewide services executive director Eirlys Ingram said while schools could educate young people about drug and alcohol use, parents also needed to shoulder the responsibility. "Rather than a 'one-size-fits-all' approach, schools are best placed to determine the needs of their particular students and to ensure that the drug and alcohol education provided is suitable for the age and circumstances of their students," she said. While schools can contribute to preventing or reducing drug and alcohol use in young people, these efforts can only be successful if they are supported by parents, caregivers and friends re-enforcing the messages outside school hours. Opposition education spokeswoman Sue Ellery said the figures were "alarming" and indicated a bigger investment was needed in drug and alcohol education in schools and the wider community. "I'm certainly aware from my conversations with parents more generally that there's a trade in prescription drugs among some students and that's of concern," she said. We know that drug and alcohol abuse are the major contributors later on to anti-social behaviour, family violence and criminal activity, so we want to make sure we invest very early on to make sure kids know about alcohol and drugs. WA Council of State School Organisations president Kylie Catto said the thought of students as young as six misusing drugs was tragic. "These problems aren't created in schools, though obviously students have the potential to be exposed to other behaviours there, these problems start outside in community and it has to be a whole-of-community response to fixing it," she said.