where do i begin??

[dan300]

I am going to be doing a presentation to around 30 cops.

It is my choice to do this. I was approached by a social worker who ran the idea by me as they know im actively ambitious in raising drug & alcohol awareness.

They want an insight into what its like to be someone who takes drugs. To hear first hand from someone who has been there done that bought the t-shirt, so that they can see where they are going wrong in the fight against drugs, what they could do better, what they dont need to be doing etc etc etc.

I have a few weeks to get some material together. Im going to base it on my personal journey & point out what society could have done better in order to ensure i was - at the very least - made more aware of or even educated on how dangerous drugs can be to a person.

I have a female friend who is now my colleage & we are doing this together. She doesnt have first hand experience of using drugs but she is as passionate about this as i am. The ultimate outcome for us is to eventually be going around schools educating kids on the dangers of drugs, that is the goal, & our determination will see us to the end.


I have no experience on presenting whatsoever & as i am gunna be doing this in front of 30 cops, for the very first time, i am jumping right in at the deep end.

Having said that, if im gunna do this i may as well do it right, that means i wanna stand out & not be predictable in presenting this. I dont wanna stand & tell them things they already know > "this is cocaine, it is white" blah blah.

I wanna be unique & make an impact as this will kickstart myself & my colleages careers if done properly.

Where do i begin in building me into a confident presentation machine who will blow the audience away???

Ps. I dont have computer access all the time so therefore online courses or anything like that arent gunna be much help, & i think this should be done from the bottom up.

 

[SM0K3Y]

Hey Dan,

Just wanted to hop in this thread and give you some help and info as I'm planning on doing the same thing with speaking to high school students. I have thought about this over and over and over again. Maybe I can give you a few pointers, especially because I was very much into drug use in high school. I start thursday on my first time clean in 2 years as I promised my father I would before he passed away. He just never got a chance to see it (I'm still young too, mid twenties, but very successful, so not saying "Take all my information because I know it all" but I can still relate very much to the HS crowd)

What you want to do (in my opinion of course) is relate to the kids. Let them know, and base a lot of your stories off of, the first experiences you had "Hey I got this bag of pot, wouldn't it be fun to smoke it with me? Haven't you ever wondered what it was like for the older kids when they got high? Now we can!" or "Hey my dad let me try a beer, do you wanna cut school and drink?" one time I got drunk and cut school fell and <insert funny moment here>

You want the kids to laugh. You also want them to cry, if not on the outside, hit a nerve somewhere. A heart cord is different for everyone, but even the toughest brick walls for kids have some soft spot, even if it isn't readily shown like others.

Of course gradually moving up, things like cocaine and heroin, explain the withdrawals, explain the thousands of friends you seen having the 'flu' and describe withdrawal in detail. Or Imagining your best friend passing OD'ing, you don't know whether to call 911 or let it happen. And make you sure stress to them to call 911.

Then make jokes about it again like "you know it's funny the drug addict who scratches himself, willing to sell you a pair of socks for 25 cents so he can get his fix" or "The dope addict who you are talking to who falls asleep in his bowl of cereal while you guys are chatting" Laugh with the kids, but then let them know it's not really that funny. People die every day from this stuff, and if they don't think it could be a friend or themselves they are wrong. A 3 day binge brings a 4th day addiction, especially with opiates.

Let them know that "Hey even if you don't want to sell your parents DVD player, or steal their jewelry, a habit does that to you. And you have no choice. Because you don't think clear. Your mind is about getting the drugs so you can feel normal and live every day life. It's not about getting high, it's about getting by" and let them know the opiate symptoms (as heroin is the biggest problem today with kids, along with other painkillers) let them know that if they combined depression, anxiety, menopause, the flu, and arthritis into 1 big crappy ball and multiplied it by 10, you'd have withdrawals.

Again, I don't want to make a book out of this, but relating to the kids, hitting that one spot that brings a laugh, then followed by a deep hurt spot, that's the way. Also even if you fabricate a story about a friend dying, or a parent dying, just to make sure it does get through to them. It needs to relate, and I can't say that enough.

Good Luck, I would love to help you more, but this isn't the right place to write a book of paragraphs on this.

 

[dan300]

Thanks smokey.

I was a very heavy amphetamine user & weed smoker both for around 15 years, i quit using speed in 2005, i gave up weed 3 years ago & finally gave up all other drugs 18 months ago (ecstacy,mephedrone,cocaine,legal highs etc) im 27 in a few days.

I never got into opiates, so i dont know first hand how it affects people, although i do understand how & why it ruins lives.

Well done on giving up drugs mate, & well done too for having the same vision as me in that you want to help others not to go down that route.

Im with you on the humour mixed with shock tactics, i dont want to come across all doom & gloom. Equally i dont want to glorify it, i will need to find the correct balance.

Thanks for your ideas on talking to the kids, which is ultimately my goal.

But how do you think i should handle a room full of hardened police officers??lol

 

[SM0K3Y]

Dealing with police officers is very different. You will have to get them to sympathize with you a bit. You want them to know that you know doing drugs are not okay, but that you are looking out for the best interest of everyone. Police wake up and they just go and do their job, I have an officer friend and trust me, it's nothing personal. They'll tell you that, and even though you may not believe it, it isn't personal.

With the police, you want them to know that if someone is sick and withdrawing they aren't in the correct state of mind, no matter what the drug is. Let them know that an addict doesn't want to be an addict. They are good people underneath the addiction, people like their brothers or sisters or sons & daughters who made poor decisions. I would tell them that they don't want to be criminals, no one wants to grow up and steal and do drugs. They do it because they have a sickness. Let them know that they don't need to charge the user with every charge they can, but 1 hefty charge will do. Something that will stick, where the Judge (or Magistrate in your case) will not let it be dropped to nothing, but at the same time will not be a bad mark on their record for life.

I'm not sure you'd ever get close to a magistrate as far as them listening to an ex-drug addict plea for lesser penalties for fellow drug users, but if you can get to the police force, yes that would work wonders.

Also, a small booklet with information to hand out to the officers may not be a bad idea as well. Just simple things in there like "Drug addicts are normal people like you and I who can't function because of their problem" - "The Justice system is not the correct response, rehab & drug user outlets such as meetings and things of that nature are" - It's also very important to make them aware of the impact it makes on the families as well. Drug addicts can't pay their fines, the families do. And a drug addict doesn't need jail time, he needs help.

It's tough, but I'm sure you could come up with a lot more than me. Police in my area are NOT very likely to listen to anything I or anyone has to say. They are too pumped up on the fact that they police a nice town and they stroke their guns every night thinking how important they are. Make sure you are talking to police who are willing to listen.

Good Luck, sorry I couldn't be of more help.

 

[verso]

I don't want to discourage you, but if you want to know what I think, what I really, really think...

I think that where we're going wrong in the fight against drugs is just that, the fight against drugs, the whole thing... it's something inherently flawed, in my opinion.

Again, I don't want to impugn your work and what it is you're trying to do because I'm sure that your intentions are good, but I personally would not waste my time talking to the police; they're not part of the solution now and there's just really no place for them, ever, in a future solution; there's just no point... it would be like lecturing 30 soldiers on how best to build schools and playgrounds. It's just not in their design; it's not what they do, what they're primarily there for... and it's never going to change, so you've got to look around for other resources and think of some other solution.

So what's the solution then? I'm not sure, but I bet it has less to do with laws and the police... and more to do with education and teachers, and cops are not teachers. (Can you hear the disdain in my voice?) Let me say it again so that it might resonate with you, cops are not teachers.

 

[dan300]

Verso, you have gotten me wrong here sorry if my original post mislead you. Im not "pro-policing" & i understand your comments. The cops are looking to see it from a person like me's perspective, letting them know where they are going wrong (locking people up instead of helping them)

Smokey, you are on the right track & i intend to use your ideas, they are great & you have given me something to work on, so thanks. If you come up with any more please share man.

 

[verso]

Im not "pro-policing" & i understand your comments. The cops are looking to see it from a person like me's perspective, letting them know where they are going wrong (locking people up instead of helping them)

No, I understand that you believe in education and not incarceration and I'm sure that we share similar views. It's just that I'm not sure what someone like you or I or anyone else on this board for that matter could ever say to thirty cops that might change how they approach drug users and how they go about handling drug-related incidents on the day-to-day.

If one's found with an illegal substance in his or her possession, for example, I'm not sure that any police officer, no matter how liberal-minded or flexible, could do anything differently. I'm not sure that a police officer could even exercise such lucidity as, say, confiscating the illegal substance or substances, referring one to a treatment center, and sending one on his way... do you see what I mean? At the end of the day, it's the law of the land, and police officers are law-enforcement, after all. So then lecturing thirty judges might be more fruitful, or, better still, appealing to those policy-makers, those who actually write the laws.

At the end of the day, though you might have changed a cop or two's mind and his feelings on drug users, and maybe you've taught one or two to better empathize with drug users, I'm not sure how much good it will do.

Then again, it won't exactly do any harm either. When will you be making this presentation? Please let us know how you make out

 

[dan300]

I do understand your points & i agree with you about the unlikelyhood of changing cops minds on how they view ordinary people who are caught in possession of drugs, & i may include this particular view in my speech.

However, they did approach me (someone who knows) to get an insight into these things as, in her words, "most officers have had decent upbringings in priveliged areas therefore have no clue as to how people come into contact with or turn to drugs", so i do believe they have a genuine & productive reason for wanting this, & i also think its an excellent opportunty for myself & my colleage to take on, MUCH too good an opportunity to turn down as it can only do good for us & our profile/career.

The presentation wont be for about a month, plenty of time for us to work on our ideas, & for me get a blinder of a speech prepared.

 

[Venrak]

Hey Dan,

Just wanted to hop in this thread and give you some help and info as I'm planning on doing the same thing with speaking to high school students. I have thought about this over and over and over again. Maybe I can give you a few pointers, especially because I was very much into drug use in high school. I start thursday on my first time clean in 2 years as I promised my father I would before he passed away. He just never got a chance to see it (I'm still young too, mid twenties, but very successful, so not saying "Take all my information because I know it all" but I can still relate very much to the HS crowd)

What you want to do (in my opinion of course) is relate to the kids. Let them know, and base a lot of your stories off of, the first experiences you had "Hey I got this bag of pot, wouldn't it be fun to smoke it with me? Haven't you ever wondered what it was like for the older kids when they got high? Now we can!" or "Hey my dad let me try a beer, do you wanna cut school and drink?" one time I got drunk and cut school fell and <insert funny moment here>

You want the kids to laugh. You also want them to cry, if not on the outside, hit a nerve somewhere. A heart cord is different for everyone, but even the toughest brick walls for kids have some soft spot, even if it isn't readily shown like others.

Of course gradually moving up, things like cocaine and heroin, explain the withdrawals, explain the thousands of friends you seen having the 'flu' and describe withdrawal in detail. Or Imagining your best friend passing OD'ing, you don't know whether to call 911 or let it happen. And make you sure stress to them to call 911.

Then make jokes about it again like "you know it's funny the drug addict who scratches himself, willing to sell you a pair of socks for 25 cents so he can get his fix" or "The dope addict who you are talking to who falls asleep in his bowl of cereal while you guys are chatting" Laugh with the kids, but then let them know it's not really that funny. People die every day from this stuff, and if they don't think it could be a friend or themselves they are wrong. A 3 day binge brings a 4th day addiction, especially with opiates.

Let them know that "Hey even if you don't want to sell your parents DVD player, or steal their jewelry, a habit does that to you. And you have no choice. Because you don't think clear. Your mind is about getting the drugs so you can feel normal and live every day life. It's not about getting high, it's about getting by" and let them know the opiate symptoms (as heroin is the biggest problem today with kids, along with other painkillers) let them know that if they combined depression, anxiety, menopause, the flu, and arthritis into 1 big crappy ball and multiplied it by 10, you'd have withdrawals.

Again, I don't want to make a book out of this, but relating to the kids, hitting that one spot that brings a laugh, then followed by a deep hurt spot, that's the way. Also even if you fabricate a story about a friend dying, or a parent dying, just to make sure it does get through to them. It needs to relate, and I can't say that enough.

Good Luck, I would love to help you more, but this isn't the right place to write a book of paragraphs on this.

Sounds like you just want to scare kids instead of educate them.

 

[Znegative]

I have to say, I admire you're courage for standing before 30 police officers, to try and give them a little bit of perspective as to where drug users, and addicts are coming from. I say go for it man, I mean, I'm skeptical too, because even of they do gain some sympathy or compassion, they're still required to arrest someone if they've been caught with drugs. But for what it's worth, give it a shot. Who knows, if even one of those cops decides to give someone a break, thats still improvement in my book, small or not.

 

[SM0K3Y]

Sounds like you just want to scare kids instead of educate them.

What? I don't know if you've taken any type of drug education course in middleschool/highschool, but let me tell you, when I had it they never told me anything about withdrawals or the f'd up stuff that happens besides it being a risk to your health (ie: Dying) - By telling them all this stuff this is EDUCATING them - IT IS REAL WORLD EDUCATION. Not little kid education. This is stuff that really happens. If that's not education then I don't know what is. Have you ever been addicted to heroin or opiates? It's nothing like the drug educations courses tell you. I can promise you that. It is so vague, and so mis-represented it's no wonder why kids are still doing them.

It's not like you'd have to lie about the withdrawals, or the stealing, the negative effects of using drugs. And if it scares the kids, well yea, maybe that's what I am looking for. If it scares them, then yes they are way less likely to use it. And drug addiction is scary, again, none of it would be lies. It'd be telling the blatant and blunt truth that drug education today doesn't. It will explain all the symptoms and sick stuff addicts do to get themselves right.

Yea maybe it will scare them, not my intention, though certainly an added benefit. You want the kids to know the truth, and yes if it scares them, all the better. Scaring them is better than making the inquisitive about it. If they are inquisitive (like most children/teenagers are) I can guarantee you they are very very likely to try it just to see what it's about. If you scare them into thinking that there are severe repercussions (which there are) you may save just save even1 kid from being addicted than it's a success. Would you rather give them the little kiddie talk like "drugs are bad, people get hurt, it's not fun, you get ugly, people don't like you, you are likely to die at a younger age??"

If you think that works you are very mistaken.

 

[dan300]

Smokey, we are so singing off the same page mate. One of my motivation's in wanting to do this is also "if i can save just ONE kid, it will have been worth it"

Everything you have said is spot on & you have given me some ideas to use on the heroin subject of which i dont have the experience but totally do understand.

Venrak you are also right, i DO want to scare kids....i want to scare sense into them!! So that they hopefully dont get caught up in the horrible web of deceit that is, drugs.

Also, i never got educated about drugs AT ALL during my time in school, or ever. Its not mandatory in this country, which is what me & my colleage are going to change.

 

[Alex000]

Frankly, it sounds as if you are trying to exploit the tales of addicts and recreational drug users so that better policing, or even regulation can be attained. Frankly, I don't support either. The government (police in this case) has no business in my personal affairs or the personal affairs of others, including drug use. I am in support of education, but I can guarantee you the "education" or "rehabilitation" offered by the government is severely flawed, and often outright false. I would not entertain the police with the woes of an addict, they don't give a fuck. It won't help anyone, and I don't like what you are doing. I find it offensive for you to even read this. Exploitation to remove me of my freedoms is nothing I would support.

 

[dan300]

I have to say, I admire you're courage for standing before 30 police officers, to try and give them a little bit of perspective as to where drug users, and addicts are coming from. I say go for it man, I mean, I'm skeptical too, because even of they do gain some sympathy or compassion, they're still required to arrest someone if they've been caught with drugs. But for what it's worth, give it a shot. Who knows, if even one of those cops decides to give someone a break, thats still improvement in my book, small or not.

Thanks. Its a pretty daunting task & i should be shitting myself but instead i am relishing the challenge & going for it 100%

Im brainstorming for my talk & writing down as many ideas & important things to mention as i can. Im trying to make it as long & as productive as possible, & i wont be happy until it is perfect.

 

[dan300]

Frankly, it sounds as if you are trying to exploit the tales of addicts and recreational drug users so that better policing, or even regulation can be attained. Frankly, I don't support either. The government (police in this case) has no business in my personal affairs or the personal affairs of others, including drug use. I am in support of education, but I can guarantee you the "education" or "rehabilitation" offered by the government is severely flawed, and often outright false. I would not entertain the police with the woes of an addict, they don't give a fuck. It won't help anyone, and I don't like what you are doing. I find it offensive for you to even read this. Exploitation to remove me of my freedoms is nothing I would support.

You are looking at what i want to do in a completely misguided way. I am not & never will be trying to exploit people who have these problems, ive been there myself!! What i am doing is raising awareness on the dangers of drugs so kids are properly educated on the huge risks they face if they choose to do drugs for whatever reason, peer pressure, depression etc. I dont agree that we as a society should let the people who have made mistakes simply rot, not when they can be helped. You obviously dont have a problem with drugs, & therefore your view on this is one sided in a "i can do what i want & its no-one elses business" kinda way. AND,10 years ago i would have agreed with you. But you not everyone, & a lot of people do require help.

Maybe the cops dont give a fuck, i dont give a fuck about them either, but talking to the police is not nearly as important to me as talking to a roomful of kids, & doing this is gunna raise me & my co-workers profile in where we want to go with this, schools.

 

[verso]

I think that if we were honest with kids, we would tell them that there is no guarantee, that it's a spin of the wheel, that many who experiment with substances will become addicts, and many others will not.

To present drugs to students as though there's some guarantee that they'll soon become full-blown addicts is misleading, so I don't support the whole scaring-some-sense-into-students bit.

If you truly believe that it's no wonder young people still experiment with drugs because we just haven't scared enough sense into them yet, well then, I'm not sure what more I can say and we're most definitely not coming from the same place. I think that's an approach and a mindset entirely devoid of any understanding whatsoever on adolescent development, their almost inherent risk-taking behavior, and, of course, the state of affairs right now. In other words, it's to ignore the countless number of other factors.

 

[SM0K3Y]

I think that if we were honest with kids, we would tell them that there is no guarantee, that it's a spin of the wheel, that many who experiment with substances will become addicts, and many others will not.

To present drugs to students as though there's some guarantee that they'll soon become full-blown addicts is misleading, so I don't support the whole scaring-some-sense-into-students bit.

If you truly believe that it's no wonder young people still experiment with drugs because we just haven't scared enough sense into them yet, well then, I'm not sure what more I can say and we're most definitely not coming from the same place. I think that's an approach and a mindset entirely devoid of any understanding whatsoever on adolescent development, their almost inherent risk-taking behavior, and, of course, the state of affairs right now. In other words, it's to ignore the countless number of other factors.

Have you ever taken a drug education course? Things are so watered down as to not divulge the sick, nasty, ugly, horrible side of things. Nothing in drug education courses stood out to me like "Wow that might really happen? Is it that bad?"

I sat like every other kid. Fist on cheek, head tilted, "Is this over yet" attitude.

My DARE class was over 10 years ago (I think 15 about) and maybe it's changed, but maybe it hasn't. And I can tell you that more and more kids are becoming addicts and dying. I totally agree with your comment "It's a spin of the wheel" - but why do they have to spin that wheel in the first place? Why not discourage them completely, and make them think that every slot on that wheel is severe, negative, ugly, repercussions?

There is no reason not to. Why even say "Well yea, you could do them, and nothing at all could happen, you could grow up and live a happy merry life!"

Well shit, ever kid is going to want to try it. If they know there is a success rate, that's all they'll focus on. You don't let a dog shit on a rug and give him a treat after a smack on the nose. They have no wait of telling if it's okay or not. You tell him no, and you repeat over and over until it's embedded into it's head.

**edit

And I do agree, by focusing on scaring the children (which wouldn't by my intention once again, but that may happen when you tell them the BLUNT TRUTH) you are bypassing the other issues. The underlying issues of drug abuse. Such as parental abuse, parental drug abuse, school, work, stress, life in itself. I agree, yes you are not including those factors, so it's hard to assess student by student. BUT if you are going to give a presentation, to a class in whole, you can't assess each individual student (especially in the world we live in today, you could barely ask the students if they felt stressed in their lives without having them sign a consent form with their parents)

The thing of it is, is that you aren't addressing the problems leading to drug abuse, you are trying to educate the kids on the things that can, and often do happen. If you take away the thought that "Hey I might be able to do this and get away with it scott-free" you are cutting down on the chances that the even think twice about touching the stuff.

That's my .02 cents. I know it's not something that everyone will agree upon, but that's my opinion in a nutshell.