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NEWS: Daily Telegraph - 17/06/08 'Want to take drugs? Teen guide shows how'

hoptis

hoptis

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Want to take drugs? Teen guide 'shows how'
By Bruce McDougall and David Barrett
June 17, 2008 02:10am
Article from: The Daily Telegraph

HEALTH and education authorities have been accused of promoting illegal rugs - including ecstasy, cannabis and methamphetamines - to high school students.

A controversial teaching resource produced by Sydney West Area Health Service advises students on what to do if they "choose to experiment".

The booklet headed "Choosing to use ... but wanna keep your head together?" is aimed at students in Year 9 and Year 10.

Inside, the booklet suggests young people should not experiment until they are over 18, know their family medical history and "use only small amounts and not too often".

Students targeted by the booklet claimed yesterday it encouraged them to try drugs. One mum, whose 15-year-old daughter attends Seven Hills High School in Sydney's west, said the booklet sent the wrong message to students.

"I'm always discussing the dangers of taking drugs with my kids," she said. "Drug use is a big concern for parents. I'm afraid of the negative impact drug use has on a child's life and I don't think it's a good thing to encourage them.

"It shouldn't be about whether or not you do decide to take them (drugs)."

A 15-year-old male at the school said students in Year 9 and 10 were given copies of the booklet and heard a speech from a drug counsellor last Thursday.

The student, who did not wish to be named, also said the material sent the wrong message to students. "It gives you guidelines on the fact that you can do drugs rather than telling you that you're not meant to. That's the wrong message for kids," he said.

The student's mother, 34, said she was shocked to read the booklet. "It's wrong. It shouldn't be encouraging the kids to do drugs. I'm shocked that it doesn't tell them not to be doing drugs," she said.

"Instead it sends kids a message saying, 'Here's how to do it'."

A Year 9 student added: "It was basically saying that if you are going to do drugs this is how you should do it. A better message would have been that drugs can wreck your life and you really shouldn't do it."

A female teenager said some students laughed when they read the material. "It puts a message out there that it's OK to take drugs," she said.

Australia is battling an ice epidemic with statistical evidence showing 170,400 people aged 14 and older used methamphetamines in NSW in just one year.

There are fears that drug abuse is taking hold of the young more than ever before with the age of first-time drug users in NSW dropping to 12.

The Sydney West Area Health Service issued a statement last night saying the resource was "designed to provide young people and their families with information about risks associated with the use of alcohol and illicit drugs".

"The resources emphasise that ideally no young person will turn to drug use and one key message is the best way to keep your head together is not to use drugs at all," it said.

"But studies consistently demonstrate the majority of young people will experiment with and use alcohol or other drugs at some time. Many of them do so without adequate awareness of the impact on their mental and physical health."
Click to expand...

News.com.au
 
When are they going to relise It doesnt matter what you say about drugs there will be plenty of people out there who are going to try them.

This isnt an attempt to say its ok

Its an attempt to give them a head up on what there about to do anyway rather than having them dive in with typical teenage abuse of it.

Most of the dangerous abuse ive perosonally seen has been teens going to hard because they have no idea what there actually doing.
 
acidicweed_69 said:
a step in the right direction imo, but theyll keep demonising them no matter what
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I second the first part of that strongly.

I think what they have to realise, its that its not a clear black and white matter. One of the most profound things i've seen on bluelight was a person saying something that made me realise there is a difference between use and abuse of legal drugs, whereas media would have you believe any use of an illegal drug is abuse.

Still, its a case of people going stupid and wrecking it for everybody, we can only hope
 
It is OK to take drugs just as long as your responsible and don't waste all your money on them lol... Always get your priorities right first though.
 
This is a great opportunity for those who are well versed in the subject of harm minimisation to actually get involved via talk back etc and put the case for harm minimisation.

I hope tghat people such as Johnboy etc can make good use of this opportunity while its here.
 
The student, who did not wish to be named, also said the material sent the wrong message to students. "It gives you guidelines on the fact that you can do drugs rather than telling you that you're not meant to. That's the wrong message for kids," he said.
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I would have just loved to be this puritans friend in highschool.

It is really the same issue as teaching celibacy over safe sex. One works, and works very well at stopping the problems associated with sex, the other does nothing but waste time.

Besides, telling kids that they should never do drugs because they will destroy their lives is counterproductive once the children realize they are being lied to, and that most drugs can be used with little harm to ones self and society. When this happens a major blow is dealt to the credibility of these authority figures and everything said in the future is taken with a very large grain of salt.
 
The great divide in the drugs debate
By Bruce McDougall
June 18, 2008 12:00am

DARREN Marton makes no claim to be an expert on drugs.

His credibility is in the extreme lessons he has learned in the "laboratory of life".

The founder of the No-Way Campaign started experimenting with marijuana and alcohol in high school, moving on to heroin in his early 20s and finally to crystal-meth, more commonly known as ice.

A few years ago Marton turned his life around after stints in jail and psychiatric wards.

Using his experiences to teach young Australians about the dangers of drugs, he has become the nemesis of the exponents of harm minimisation.

Yesterday Marton blew the lid on a controversial brochure produced by the Sydney West Area Health Service advising students on what to do if they "choose to experiment".

As the Say No and the Harm Reduction camps squared off, health and education authorities were accused of promoting ecstasy, cannabis and methamphetamines to young people.

"There's a virus in drug policy that would bring an elephant to its knees," Marton said.

"We are talking about young, impressionable minds here."

Say No advocates say the mantra that youngsters must be supported with safety messages - and not just told to ban drugs - is destroying lives.

From their earliest years children are offered protection from bullies, stranger danger, backyard swimming pools, road traffic and a host of other threats.

When they become drivers they are warned about the dangers of speed and alcohol.

What perplexes Marton and others in the Say No camp is why illicit drugs should be treated differently.

Yesterday he found strong support from the State Opposition which claimed the "Choosing to use" brochure effectively gave students the green light to use drugs.

"This pamphlet sends confusing and dangerous mixed messages to school children," Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell said.

Opposition health spokeswoman Jillian Skinner was even blunter.

"There is no safe way to take drugs," she said.

"This (brochure) clearly is a message that it is okay to take drugs.

"For the Health Department to be promoting illegal drug taking to students is offensive and a gross misuse of public money."

The Say No camp claims parents have a hard enough job warning their children of the dangers of drugs without the Government offering them choices.

But in the sensitive debate over how best to protect kids, there is an argument that runs like this: When you say no, children generally will do the opposite. It is realistic to assume some will be taking drugs, they say.

So the best course is to alert them to the dangers and ways of avoiding further problems.

Education chiefs and other drug education groups are adamant the brochure discourages drug taking and warns clearly of the dangers.

Drug incidents in New South Wales secondary schools have plummeted by 65 per cent over the past five years, crime statistics show.

Cannabis use among school students has almost halved, so schools which have drug and alcohol education on the curriculum must be doing something right.

Chief executive of the Australian Drug Foundation John Rogerson defends the brochure.

"It is understandable that parents are concerned about drug use and their kids but this program is backed up with solid research and evaluation and aims to prevent and reduce the mental health harms associated with substance use," he said.

"Not only do we know that, in general, harm minimisation approaches to drug prevention work is better than just saying no, but this project also consulted with drug and alcohol professionals, mental health professionals, community agencies and young people during its development.

"An evaluation of the project has shown that, within six months of reading the print materials, one-third of young people who are using drugs seek additional information, treatment or help."

Tony Trimingham, of Family Drug Support, claims the "just say no" message was discredited long ago.

"If we think going back to that will be more effective we will suffer worse consequences," he said.

"It seems reasonable to give evidence-based information to those who do make these choices..."

The Sydney West Area Health Service said its brochure was "designed to provide young people and their families with information about risks associated with the use of alcohol and illicit drugs".

"The resources emphasise that ideally no young person will turn to drug use and one key message is the best way to keep your head together is not to use drugs at all," it said.

"However studies consistently demonstrate that the majority of young people will experiment with and use alcohol or other drugs at some time. Many do so without adequate awareness of the impact on their mental and physical health."

"Limited distribution" was organised by the Department of Education and a lesson plan developed to support use within the classroom.

Darren Marton launched his No-Way Campaign in May, 2006 at the Cronulla Sharks Leagues Club with a moving account of his life.

He said the program had reached more than 20,000 young people so far, along with concerned parents.

"The No-Way Campaign believes that by educating the youth within our community about the real dangers associated with illicit drugs and alcohol, it will allow young people to make good, informed choices on this very important issue.

"Our primary purpose is, and always will be, to educate our youth about the real dangers and consequences associated with drugs."

Another aim is to "dispel the myth of so called recreational drugs and party drugs such as amphetamines and ecstasy, which are both poisonous and often deadly".

As he carries his message into schools, youth groups and sporting clubs, Marton has put the Government on serious notice about its own contribution.
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News.com.au
 
Trust this sort of thing from news.com.au.

This Marton guy has no idea if he thinks ecstacy and methamphetamine are "often deadly" and certainly "poisonous". Cringeworthy, and made worse because I think he honestly believes the things he sais.

EDIT: Spelling
 
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What a cock. And just when I thought things were quietening down on the "I am an idiot, and I don't understand anything about drugs policy" front, with the overdue demise of King and Queen Cocks themselves, Messrs Pyne and Bishop... Someone let me at this moron and his smack-addled brain in a public forum...
 
harm min has been aust federal policy on drugs since 1986 or there abouts

its been coping heaps of shit, encouraged by the howard govt, espesially the bronwyn bishop report on drugs and families.

its a great system because it respects that you cant make plp just stoping doing anything, even drugs:!
 
i wonder if i can start a "fuck off" campaign where i go to schools and educate them about the science behind drugs, reasons why drugs are illegal and how news is manipulated so that one viewpoint is pushed onto people, so that when they are told blatant lies and mis-information they can tell the person to "fuck off"
 
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