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UK - The problem with drugs - through the eyes of a mother

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edgarshade

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Vicky Unwin
27 Apr 2011

With reader comments

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle/article-23944853-the-problem-with-drugs-through-the-eyes-of-a-mother.do

The shocking news of Isobel Reilly's needless drug-related death last weekend brought back the memories of my beloved daughter, Louise, who died on March 2, having taken ketamine.

She was 21, and had a life ahead of her: she had just applied to Chelsea College of Art, she had spent almost two years working in fashion to orient herself for the future, and had recently returned from the trip of a lifetime to Australia.

She had everything to live for.

There are those who criticise the prominence of such stories. They emphasise how alcohol or the mere driving of a car is much more dangerous than taking drugs. Professor David Nutt, the former drug czar, even said taking ecstasy was safer than riding a horse. Well, that depends on how good a rider you are, or how much you know about the drug you are taking and how it might affect your body.
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My energies will now be directed towards trying to make both teenagers and adults more aware of the dangers of occasional drug use, and which drugs are potentially the most dangerous. We will be making a short film using Louise's life as a backdrop, include discussions with her friends, combined with some stark facts, and release it virally, on YouTube and Facebook, as well as throughout the school drug education system, with the help of Louise's former headmistress.

And finally, I intend to rekindle the discussion about the reclassification of ketamine from class C to B, to highlight the harm it can cause. Debating this will give both young people and parents a heightened awareness of the drug.

Yesterday I had "Louise" tattooed on my inner arm, in the same spot where she had "Mum" - a Mother's Day gift to me three years ago. I was so flattered then; now I am thrilled to reciprocate the honour.

If you would like more information or to help in any way, please contact me on [email protected]; the tribute site for Louise is louisecattell.com
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How might someone die from ketamine? I can only assume Louise died through grievous bodily harm or drowning due to being heavily intoxicated.

I agree that the best action to take is reduction of harm through education and honesty. This includes warning people of the potential danger of taking ketamine in a hazardous environment.
 
If she wants to educate people about the dangers of Ketamine she should learn the facts herself and realize that Ketamine has a death rate of .001 out of every 100,000 users and that it has killed 23 people in 16 years.....and she wants it reclassified.

She is trying to be objective and progressive in her thinking, but the fact her daughter was killed is what is driving her to have a substance that is really not dangerous at all demonized.
 
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Saying "Darwinism at Work" would be fucked up if I said it to her family, but I didn't. I don't know the girl, and neither do any of you, and her family will never see this, so we can put our emotions aside and look at this situation objectively for what it is:

Don't do drugs that make you pass out in the bath tub.
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I hope her mother didn't have to read that post
 
Id like to know when are we going to see special reports like this about all the people that die from fucking cigarettes and alcohol but hey no they are a good taxable drug so why would they do that

I do feel sorry for the family but it just annoys me that there are so much people dying from booze and fags that never get a mention like this
 
apparently my friends flatmate knows this girl and obviousley was very distraught over this. However, i have been addicted to K in the past, and one of the most obvious rules is that you stay away from baths while on heavy k trips.
its pretty much common sense, and this death could have been prevented very easily; this is what makes this tragedy especially sad
 
The £12 party drug ketamine killed my lovely Louise - please don't let it be your child next

Daily Mail

By Natalie Clarke
Last updated at 2:19 AM on 9th June 2011

With reader comments

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2001160/Ketamine-12-party-drug-killed-lovely-Louise--dont-let-child-.html

Over the past three months, Vicky Unwin has borne with quiet fortitude the wretched milestones that follow the sudden and unexpected death of a loved one.

The identification of the body, the funeral, and the small, mundane things that acquire an unbearable poignancy: closing down the bank account, calling up the electricity and water companies to say there’s no point sending any more bills.
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Vicky’s main focus for now is the ketamine awareness campaign. She plans to produce a ten-minute film telling Louise’s story and distribute it to schools and on the internet, and there is talk of an ITV documentary. It gives Vicky a sense of purpose, otherwise it would be so easy to give up.
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Correction: Vicky’s main focus for now is the ketware campaign. She plans to produce a ten-minute film telling Louise’s story and distribute it to schools and on the internet, and there is talk of an ITV documentary. It gives Vicky a sense of purpose, otherwise it would be so easy to give up.
 
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Ms Unwin was originally against reclassifying ketamine . I read this in a newspaper article shortly after her daughter's death. Her husband Ross and herself discussed the reclassification then apparently agreed with each other (as the article stated) reclassification is not the answer. I started ' Ketamine Awareness - Caleb's Campaign' 19th June 2010 for the reclassification of ketamine from Class C to B. Be kind don't blame Ms Unwin for (not) wanting ketamine reclassified. She's gone through so much pain , she doesn't need this. My heart goes out to her, and I sincerely hope her campaign for Drug Education is made compulsory in the National Curriculum, and will be a success.
 
Tragic though this disaster is, I fail to see how furthering the laws against Ketamine might prevent similar incidents in future, unfortunately. People die from heroin all the time. Cocaine overdoses kill people all the time. Both these drugs have been about as illigal as a substance can be, yet they have conquered pretty much every corner of the planet. How does pushing Ketamine into a more restrictive legal band make fatalities less likely if the same has failed in the cases of heroin & cocaine?

The simple fact is, it's ILLEGALITY that draws young people into the drugs scene & ILLEGALITY that makes drugs use more dangerous. Because drugs such as Ketamine are illegal, they are appealing to young people eager to break from their parents generation & traditions. The illegality of drugs makes genuine, factual information about their dangers harder to come by. Illegality means that drugs are often aldulterated or of unknown strength & purity & are distributed by criminals, making their use even more dangerous than it need be.

We may well see less these kind of disasters if perhaps some consideration was given to completely legalising Ketamine, & drugs in general.

edit :- Why is it that when someone dies through alcohol misadventure no-one, not even the grieving parents, calls for alohol to be banned?

http://news.sky.com/story/1203047/missing-student-fell-in-river-after-drinking
 
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