6. The Role for Science Education

What is the role for formal and public education in raising awareness about the need for responsible uses of substances such as the extracts of the Ephedra plant? In raising awareness about the multiple uses of chemicals such as isopropyl alcohol used both in health care and in the synthesis of Sarin, or thiodiglycol used both in fabric dyes and to create mustard gas? One can envision several different levels at which educators might meaningfully engage students and the general public about their responsibility to stewardly use multi-use chemicals. But many of the questions are difficult, including the following:
Access to Information.  If teachers introduce examples like pseudoephedrine and Crystal Meth to young students, is there a danger that people who didn’t know about this drug of abuse will not only find out about a new drug of abuse, but easily obtain formulas for making it? Likewise, should nations restrict information about the precursors, reactions and materials needed for toxic chemical synthesis, so the public won’t learn how to produce chemical weapons?
Diversion of Readily Available Materials.  On the other hand, if students and the general public become aware of the combination of store-bought materials that are needed to produce a drug of abuse like Crystal Meth or a toxic chemical like Sarin, can that information empower them to play a meaningful role in preventing misuse by others? It is interesting to note that police and other protectors of public safety now publish a great deal of information on the Internet about how Crystal Meth is made, including pictures of equipment, so parents and others can recognize clandestine labs when they see them.
Whose Responsibility? Where does the responsibility lie to monitor the diversion of supplies and materials for purposes such as making drugs of abuse? Whose responsibility should it be to monitor precursors and materials needed to make chemical weapons? Do students and teachers have ethical responsibilities that result from their scientific knowledge about the potential for use and misuse of everyday chemical substances? If you don’t know anyone who abuses Crystal Meth or produces chemical weapons, does this lessen your ethical responsibilities?
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