National Drugs Commission's survey of adult substance use.

It pointed out that it was ironic that the report was made public on the same day as a story about students at Sandys Secondary Middle School being suspended for drinking at school and within a week of a story reporting that one Mount Saint Agnes Academy student had been punished for using drugs on a school trip and others had been punished for drinking.

The NDC performs an important role in measuring substance abuse, in raising public awareness about its dangers and in treating those who fall prey to it.

But the courts and the schools also play a role in determining what punishments and treatments are appropriate when people -- whether they are adults or minors -- are caught abusing alcohol or drugs.

In the case of Sandys Secondary, there has been some criticism that the 32 students involved received too heavy a punishment when they were suspended for a week and made to attend alcohol counselling.

Because only one bottle was consumed and only three students were actually drunk, it has been argued that too many students were punished and requiring them to attend counselling would stigmatise them as alcoholics.

The parents in this case are wrong. Educators should send out a message that alcohol abuse on school grounds will not be tolerated.

The decision to send the "tweenagers'', mainly aged 12 and 13, to alcohol counselling, far from stigmatising them, could be enlightening if they learn about the dangers of alcohol.

In the Mount St. Agnes case, the school has been criticised for not being severe enough. The students received several punishments, including community service and an essay assignment. In addition, they must undergo a second drug test before graduation.

On the face of it, the students were treated more lightly than those at Sandys. But, as principal Sister Judith Rollo pointed out, some of the students were old enough to drink legally in Bermuda, if not in Boston where the incident occurred.

Nonetheless, it does appear that the one student who tested positive for cannabis should have been punished more severely -- assuming he or she received the same punishment as the other students -- and counselling would have been in order as well.

Schools need to use punishment and understanding in equal measure in dealing with substance abuse; there should be enough punishment to deter students from breaking the law and enough counselling to help the students understand why what they are doing is dangerous, both to themselves and to others.

QUIZ SHOW EDT Quiz show On Saturday night, students from six schools competed for the title of Schools Quiz Champions.

Hours of work went into preparing for the quiz and two preliminary competitions narrowed the field. Warwick Academy won the event, and deservedly so, but all the students were winners.

Runners-up CedarBridge Academy deserves special credit. The school had a difficult start in which it hit the headlines more often for discipline problems and low rates of literacy than for academic excellence.

But five students did the school proud on Saturday night and showed that under the leadership of principal Kalmar Richards and a dedicated teaching staff, CedarBridge can fulfil its potential as a light on the hill for Bermuda education.