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Drugs awareness
In my spare time, I'm an Adult Instructor in one of the Uniformed Youth Organisations, and this weekend myself and my colleagues all attended a Drugs Awareness workshop which was run out county council's youth team.
I learned alot from it and it was really enjoyable.
Instead of lecturing at us about the dangers of drugs and their illegality, they spoke to us as adults (as we are, some of my colleagues are in their 60s lol) and they told us what they knew about drugs and drug taking.
This is so we can spot drugs abuse in the young people we work with and help them get past it etc, but still, as general knowledge I was amazed at how many different ways there are to take them!
So the question of this thread is: How should Drug Awareness best be taught in secondary school?
It seems to me that at school, kids are bombarded with 'don't do this, don't do that', instead of having the risks actively explained to them - afterall from the age of 11 up, young people are capable of having things explained to them, lets not insult their intelligence by not explaining things to them. If people are sent the same message over and over again, are they more likely to rebel to find out otherwise? I don't know, but I'm guessing they do.. but that s also up for debate...
Some of the thinking points that got me was that sniffing coke once or twice may not leave you addicted even if its done 'socially' but very rarely over a few years but it could be the 5th hit before your body wants it... so you could do 5 lines on sunday and be addicted by monday morning... wow, that's scary!
The second thing that threw me was to do with Es... in the early 90s they cost between £35-£50 on average EACH... now people can pick them up for 50p each... that has to say something about the quality of them, if young people were aware of this and knew that their pill probably had paracetamol in it instead of the active ingredient that made the pills of the early 90s so popular... there is no guarantee where they have come from, therefore how safe they are... especially if you're allergic to paracetamol for example.
But please discuss, as I for one, thinks that the current education on drugs needs to be reformed and we need to treat young people as young people, instead of sppon feeding them stuff they may well want to find out for themselves...
In case you're wondering, I'm not advocating the use of drugs, my body is temple!
I only have to look at Pete Doherty to see exactly why I don't want to take them!
I learned alot from it and it was really enjoyable.
Instead of lecturing at us about the dangers of drugs and their illegality, they spoke to us as adults (as we are, some of my colleagues are in their 60s lol) and they told us what they knew about drugs and drug taking.
This is so we can spot drugs abuse in the young people we work with and help them get past it etc, but still, as general knowledge I was amazed at how many different ways there are to take them!
So the question of this thread is: How should Drug Awareness best be taught in secondary school?
It seems to me that at school, kids are bombarded with 'don't do this, don't do that', instead of having the risks actively explained to them - afterall from the age of 11 up, young people are capable of having things explained to them, lets not insult their intelligence by not explaining things to them. If people are sent the same message over and over again, are they more likely to rebel to find out otherwise? I don't know, but I'm guessing they do.. but that s also up for debate...
Some of the thinking points that got me was that sniffing coke once or twice may not leave you addicted even if its done 'socially' but very rarely over a few years but it could be the 5th hit before your body wants it... so you could do 5 lines on sunday and be addicted by monday morning... wow, that's scary!
The second thing that threw me was to do with Es... in the early 90s they cost between £35-£50 on average EACH... now people can pick them up for 50p each... that has to say something about the quality of them, if young people were aware of this and knew that their pill probably had paracetamol in it instead of the active ingredient that made the pills of the early 90s so popular... there is no guarantee where they have come from, therefore how safe they are... especially if you're allergic to paracetamol for example.
But please discuss, as I for one, thinks that the current education on drugs needs to be reformed and we need to treat young people as young people, instead of sppon feeding them stuff they may well want to find out for themselves...
In case you're wondering, I'm not advocating the use of drugs, my body is temple!
I only have to look at Pete Doherty to see exactly why I don't want to take them!Scroll to see replies
Hmm. People should stop saying that all recreational drug use leads to addiction - because it doesn't - and that (for example) light low-class drug use leads every oerson who does it into being a fully fledged crack junkie. It's simply not true, teenagers know this, and being told it just makes them all the more skeptical that ANYTHING they're being told is true.
I think that ecstacy has still got the same ammount of MDMA in it that it always has had, even back in the 90's there were deaths from taking it because people had a mess around with the ingriedients. Back in the ninetys they still cost the supplier 10p to make but their profit margins were probably far higher and gradularly they got cheaper and cheaper. Take for instance TV's they have dropped in price and gone up in quality, i believe that ecstacy has dropped in price but the quality has stayed the same.
I think that people get taught from a young age that ALL drugs are bad and can kill you, which when they try cannabis and find out that they havn't become addicted or died makes them move onto harder and harder drugs to get their hit without the fear that they previously had attached to drugs.
I think that people get taught from a young age that ALL drugs are bad and can kill you, which when they try cannabis and find out that they havn't become addicted or died makes them move onto harder and harder drugs to get their hit without the fear that they previously had attached to drugs.
esx77
youngsters should be taught and shown the harsh consequences of drug usage such as that picture of the dead woman bent down with a needle in her hand about to inject herioin
No, that feels like bullying, "Don't do it OR ELSE!!! *Dun-dun-duuuur*". It just makes kids even more likely to want to rebel and try it.
Yeah I agree with that totally... the story of Leah Betts is tragic but out-dated and the young people at school may not take head to a story that's nearly 10 years old. I think the dangers of cannabis need amplifying too. People say there aren't any dangers and some people even think its legal, but its not.
4 people died as a result of cannabis abuse last year... Their death certificate said 'cannabis related death', though they died of secondary causes which is made. One stroy for example was of a teenage lad who lad made a bong out of an old tin bath in the back garden with his mates andthey used large bottles of some sort to collect the smoke, however when they left, the onelad was left and just could not physically move he was so stoned (I'm suprised he didn't through a whitey) but he fell forward into the shallow water at the bottom and could not physically remove himself from the water and drowned. Its an isolated case, but it happens...
4 people died as a result of cannabis abuse last year... Their death certificate said 'cannabis related death', though they died of secondary causes which is made. One stroy for example was of a teenage lad who lad made a bong out of an old tin bath in the back garden with his mates andthey used large bottles of some sort to collect the smoke, however when they left, the onelad was left and just could not physically move he was so stoned (I'm suprised he didn't through a whitey) but he fell forward into the shallow water at the bottom and could not physically remove himself from the water and drowned. Its an isolated case, but it happens...
Elipsis
I think that people get taught from a young age that ALL drugs are bad and can kill you, which when they try cannabis and find out that they havn't become addicted or died move onto harder and harder drugs to get their hit.
I think that people get taught from a young age that ALL drugs are bad and can kill you, which when they try cannabis and find out that they havn't become addicted or died move onto harder and harder drugs to get their hit.
Exactly, they're told that all drugs are bad, try light drugs and find that they have enjoyable effects with few dangers, realise that what they were told wasn't true and assume that maybe it's not true for hard drugs either.
My only completely solid rules are: No ecstacy (the russian roulette of drugs), and nothing intravenous.
Today we had drug & alcohol awareness at college. Despite it not being useful in the slightest. Since i no longer do any drugs or drink. i think kids shoudl be thoughts in primary school(before high school) because i know my brother started when he was only in primary school and then i think it's up to them.
SpudMuffin
Yeah I agree with that totally... the story of Leah Betts is tragic but out-dated and the young people at school may not take head to a story that's nearly 10 years old. I think the dangers of cannabis need amplifying too. People say there aren't any dangers and some people even think its legal, but its not.
4 people died as a result of cannabis abuse last year... Their death certificate said 'cannabis related death', though they died of secondary causes which is made. One stroy for example was of a teenage lad who lad made a bong out of an old tin bath in the back garden with his mates andthey used large bottles of some sort to collect the smoke, however when they left, the onelad was left and just could not physically move he was so stoned (I'm suprised he didn't through a whitey) but he fell forward into the shallow water at the bottom and could not physically remove himself from the water and drowned. Its an isolated case, but it happens...
4 people died as a result of cannabis abuse last year... Their death certificate said 'cannabis related death', though they died of secondary causes which is made. One stroy for example was of a teenage lad who lad made a bong out of an old tin bath in the back garden with his mates andthey used large bottles of some sort to collect the smoke, however when they left, the onelad was left and just could not physically move he was so stoned (I'm suprised he didn't through a whitey) but he fell forward into the shallow water at the bottom and could not physically remove himself from the water and drowned. Its an isolated case, but it happens...
People slip in the bath and drown **** happens, at the end of the day 4 deaths out of millions of users world wide isn't bad at all.
SpudMuffin
Yeah I agree with that totally... the story of Leah Betts is tragic but out-dated and the young people at school may not take head to a story that's nearly 10 years old. I think the dangers of cannabis need amplifying too. People say there aren't any dangers and some people even think its legal, but its not.
4 people died as a result of cannabis abuse last year... Their death certificate said 'cannabis related death', though they died of secondary causes which is made. One stroy for example was of a teenage lad who lad made a bong out of an old tin bath in the back garden with his mates andthey used large bottles of some sort to collect the smoke, however when they left, the onelad was left and just could not physically move he was so stoned (I'm suprised he didn't through a whitey) but he fell forward into the shallow water at the bottom and could not physically remove himself from the water and drowned. Its an isolated case, but it happens...
4 people died as a result of cannabis abuse last year... Their death certificate said 'cannabis related death', though they died of secondary causes which is made. One stroy for example was of a teenage lad who lad made a bong out of an old tin bath in the back garden with his mates andthey used large bottles of some sort to collect the smoke, however when they left, the onelad was left and just could not physically move he was so stoned (I'm suprised he didn't through a whitey) but he fell forward into the shallow water at the bottom and could not physically remove himself from the water and drowned. Its an isolated case, but it happens...
There's a difference between cannabis use and cannabis ABuse though, just like with alcohol. What you described could just as easily have happened to a drunk person. How many "alcohol related deaths" do you think there were last year? A hell of a lot more than 4.
In my school we personally was taught about the effects of drugs instead of just the do's and dont's.
I feel its not about treating them like adults or anything, you just got to get straight to the point.
Show them videos/documentaries/stories, about the effects of drug taking so they can really see what it does.
Plus they need to be taught the reasons why people start taking drugs in the first place, and therefore tell them better ways to get around such problems,or avoid them.
I feel its not about treating them like adults or anything, you just got to get straight to the point.
Show them videos/documentaries/stories, about the effects of drug taking so they can really see what it does.
Plus they need to be taught the reasons why people start taking drugs in the first place, and therefore tell them better ways to get around such problems,or avoid them.
Toy Soldier
My only completely solid rules are: No ecstacy (the russian roulette of drugs), and nothing intravenous.
My only completely solid rules are: No ecstacy (the russian roulette of drugs), and nothing intravenous.
Russian roulette is 6 to 1, ecstacy is 58million to 1. I don't take it because ive heard the come down ruins the next few days and you can never have a good night out again.
What's also being ignored is the fact that most young people aren't deterred by "the risks". In fact, the dangers and risks are what make it APPEALING to a lot of kids. A lot of people who abuse drugs are perfectly aware of what might happen, and don't care.
i take cocaine on nights out and have a great time. I never ever crave it unless I go to a rave so its not easy to get addicted if your strong inside
I want to add something about cannabis. I know lots of peole that are complacent about it, but I hate it. The difference being that I have been brought up around weed all my life. My parents are addicted, they have to have a few spliffs a day otherwise they get agitated and moody. They claim it 'relaxes them' which I don't deny but its an excuse to get get relaxed. All my life I have never been alble to have a proper convo with them, my step-mum in particular gets nasty when she's not had a spliff... both of their short term memories are completely f***ed and their logic for reasoning is out-of-this world and irrational. I don't know my parents because of it.
Its a miracle I'm not on it, having been around it all my life, but my step-brother on the other hand has sunk low into the world of drugs and my parents are oblivious to their input into it. He started doing weed, moving on to stronger stuff like skunk. at 17 he needed it as soon as he woke up and all through the day til he went to bed. He started popping Es too and my rents caught him doing a line of snow. He is only 20 now and already has started to experience mental health issues like schizophrenia he thinks that he can hear chainsaws in his head coming for him and it terrifies him.
Drug abuse may seem like a short-term answer to a problem, i.e., to help relax someone, but it can lead to further problems when it becomes addictive.
Its a miracle I'm not on it, having been around it all my life, but my step-brother on the other hand has sunk low into the world of drugs and my parents are oblivious to their input into it. He started doing weed, moving on to stronger stuff like skunk. at 17 he needed it as soon as he woke up and all through the day til he went to bed. He started popping Es too and my rents caught him doing a line of snow. He is only 20 now and already has started to experience mental health issues like schizophrenia he thinks that he can hear chainsaws in his head coming for him and it terrifies him.
Drug abuse may seem like a short-term answer to a problem, i.e., to help relax someone, but it can lead to further problems when it becomes addictive.
Elipsis
People slip in the bath and drown **** happens, at the end of the day 4 deaths out of millions of users world wide isn't bad at all.
I completely understand where you're coming from lol, but as I said, they were isolated incidents.
As a separate point... doesanyone know how many RTAs are caused by drug-driving in the UK each year? I think its a hugely un-accounted for stat which would be interesting. The amount of people I know who drive after a few spliffs, or even a few lines of coke really scares me...
SpudMuffin
As a separate point... doesanyone know how many RTAs are caused by drug-driving in the UK each year? I think its a hugely un-accounted for stat which would be interesting. The amount of people I know who drive after a few spliffs, or even a few lines of coke really scares me...
Thats again due to lack of information on the risks, as most drivers will think that a few spliffs aint going to hurt.
Anonymous
I want to add something about cannabis. I know lots of peole that are complacent about it, but I hate it. The difference being that I have been brought up around weed all my life. My parents are addicted, they have to have a few spliffs a day otherwise they get agitated and moody. They claim it 'relaxes them' which I don't deny but its an excuse to get get relaxed. All my life I have never been alble to have a proper convo with them, my step-mum in particular gets nasty when she's not had a spliff... both of their short term memories are completely f***ed and their logic for reasoning is out-of-this world and irrational. I don't know my parents because of it.
Its a miracle I'm not on it, having been around it all my life, but my step-brother on the other hand has sunk low into the world of drugs and my parents are oblivious to their input into it. He started doing weed, moving on to stronger stuff like skunk. at 17 he needed it as soon as he woke up and all through the day til he went to bed. He started popping Es too and my rents caught him doing a line of snow. He is only 20 now and already has started to experience mental health issues like schizophrenia he thinks that he can hear chainsaws in his head coming for him and it terrifies him.
Drug abuse may seem like a short-term answer to a problem, i.e., to help relax someone, but it can lead to further problems when it becomes addictive.
Its a miracle I'm not on it, having been around it all my life, but my step-brother on the other hand has sunk low into the world of drugs and my parents are oblivious to their input into it. He started doing weed, moving on to stronger stuff like skunk. at 17 he needed it as soon as he woke up and all through the day til he went to bed. He started popping Es too and my rents caught him doing a line of snow. He is only 20 now and already has started to experience mental health issues like schizophrenia he thinks that he can hear chainsaws in his head coming for him and it terrifies him.
Drug abuse may seem like a short-term answer to a problem, i.e., to help relax someone, but it can lead to further problems when it becomes addictive.
That's intense. I'm so sorry.
On the subject of how to teach drug awareness, I think that this goes very much along the same lines as sex education. People have to make their own mistakes, and so teaching things like "All drugs are bad ALWAYS" to young people (or, like in Mean Girls, "Don't have sex! You WILL get pregnant and die!") just isn't that effective.
My school has a pretty good system I think, except loads of people do drugs (because around here, everybody's wealthy and mommy and daddy are always gone), so I'm not actually sure how effective the drug education is. We have some general education (usually about alcohol) in elementary school - my 10-year-old brother was in fact explaining the difference in alcohol content in wine, beer, and shots to me the other day. Then in middle school and again in high school we have a mandatory class on drugs - but we have pretty liberal teachers who are all about teaching us the facts less than telling us we will die if we experiment.
I'm in a very liberal area though, in most of the US it's all about abstinence. You know, "just say no" and all that jazz.
dede
My school has a pretty good system I think, except loads of people do drugs (because around here, everybody's wealthy and mommy and daddy are always gone)
But thats a problem people need to tackle, the fact there wealthy is no reason to take drugs,
you have to find out why they started in the first place then tackle that problem, even thoe everyone will say "Oh i was curious" but sometimes its Peer pressure, but of course noone would admit that.
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