Popular kids will be trained to stop their friends doing drugs, in a new UK government-funded programme.
'Influential' students will be voted into the roles by their peers, the Telegraph reports, and given two days' training about the potential harms.
The Frank Friends programme will run across 48 schools, and involve 5600 students between the ages of 13 and 14.
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Researchers from Cardiff University will monitor the three-year programme's effectiveness.
"There is limited evidence that drug prevention interventions are effective," James White from the Centre for Trials Research at Cardiff University told the Telegraph.
"Schools provide a systemic and efficient way of reaching a large number of people every year. This randomised controlled trial is the best way to determine if the Frank Friends intervention prevents drug use amongst young people."
More than a third of UK 15-year-olds have tried illegal drugs, the Telegraph reports.
Newshub.
