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04 May 2016
Sticky Post By Posted in Blog, Drugs Permalink

I’m not trying to be popular, I’m trying to be a parent

Sticky Post By On May 4, 2016
Teens Drinking

Image is for illustrative purposes.

Sarah*, 42, has two children. Megan* is 16 and Matthew* is 14. They have both gone to parties where alcohol and drugs are present.

My mum often tells me that she’s so glad she doesn’t have to be a parent to teenagers now. She says it’s so much more complicated these days because of Facebook, texting, drugs and drink. There are so many more opportunities for kids to go down the wrong path and I think mum’s right.

Being a parent to teenagers is stressful and it can be so hard to keep up to date with who their friends are, where they’re going after school or at the weekend, who they’re spending time with, whose party they are going to and who else will be at that party. Read more

03 May 2016
Sticky Post By Posted in Blog, Drugs Permalink

No such thing as safe drug-taking for kids

Sticky Post By On May 3, 2016
Prof George Braitberg Royal Melbourne Hospital trauma ward

Prof George Braitberg Royal Melbourne Hospital trauma ward

I’ve looked after a patient of 14 or 15 who had one of the highest blood alcohol levels I’ve seen – he was 0.5 – 10 times the legal limit for driving. When he arrived at hospital he was unconscious and needed a couple of days in ICU attached to a ventilator.

I think the age at which young people begin experimenting with drugs has dropped, and that started with the advent of pills, such as ecstasy, when kids were looking to supplement the pleasurable experience at rave parties. Young people don’t want to take anything that involves a needle, so the proliferation of pills has made drugs more accessible for them. But these pills are not safe. They’re not made by pharmacists and usually have contaminants – other drugs and bulking agents such as starch that may create a reaction. Read more

30 Apr 2016
Sticky Post By Posted in Blog, Drugs Permalink

Teach your kids to make safe decisions

Sticky Post By On April 30, 2016
Alan Eade The Paramedic

Alan Eade is an intensive-care paramedic based in Melbourne’s CBD. Photo: Fiona Hamilton

A 20-year veteran of the ambulance service, paramedic Alan Eade attends incidents every week involving young people affected by drugs or alcohol.

Around midnight last night we were called to help a 14–year–old boy on the city streets. He and some other teenagers did a snatch-and-run at a bottle shop. He consumed quite a bit of alcohol in a short space of time and became intoxicated. Police saw him and called an ambulance.

He wasn’t life-threateningly unwell and he hadn’t run away from home either but he was taken to a children’s hospital where he could safely sleep off the alcohol and be supervised while he recovered. Since I began this job alcohol has always been present but it was unusual in the under–14s. Now we see children in single-digit years drinking alcohol on a regular basis. It’s more prevalent in a wider group of young people. Read more

29 Apr 2016
Sticky Post By Posted in Blog, Drugs Permalink

Don’t think this couldn’t happen to your child. It can.

Sticky Post By On April 29, 2016
Felicity is Nick's mum

Used for illustrative purposes only, the person depicted in this image is a model.

Earlier in Nick’s life we didn’t realise he had dyslexia and other learning difficulties. He was in a supposedly top school in the state but they weren’t interested in helping him. He was put in the ‘too hard’ basket and was ostracised. And Nick felt that. In hindsight, that’s when all the trouble began …

I didn’t realise for quite a long time that when I dropped Nick at the school gate he’d walk out the back gate and spend the day smoking marijuana with his friends. Then he started arriving home from school a little later and a little later. Four o’clock became five o’clock and then 9 or 10pm. I’d drive around the streets looking for him. Read more

27 Apr 2016
Sticky Post By Posted in Blog, Drugs, Our Stories Permalink

Can ice’s grip on Geelong be broken?

Sticky Post By On April 27, 2016
Superintendent Daryl Clifton.

Superintendent Daryl Clifton. Photo: Reg Ryan

Superintendent Daryl Clifton, division commander of Barwon South-Western Region and 40-year veteran of Victoria Police is helping mobilise the local community and break the grip of ice in the Geelong and Barwon regions.

I have been in the police force for 40 years, and during that time I’ve seen different drugs come and go. But in my 40 years I’ve never seen anything like ice. In Australia, the drug is so pure and so it affects people’s behaviour and judgment and their thinking. If you took a shot of heroin it would more than likely put you to sleep in the corner – but not ice. Ice is an upper, a methamphetamine in the same family as ecstasy and speed. When people go on an ice binge they become violent and irrational. Read more

26 Apr 2016
Sticky Post By Posted in Blog, Drugs, Our Stories Permalink

It’s so easy to use when you’re with mates

Sticky Post By On April 26, 2016
Young Adult lighting a marijuana Joint in the dark

Used for illustrative purposes only, the person depicted in this image is a model.

I was about 12 when I began smoking a little bit of pot. I began drinking too and occasionally I tried speed. I never fitted into school and I found a pair of mates who were the same and we’d use with each other. It’s hard to explain why I started but I suppose I relied on these things to make me feel better. When I got too many thoughts in my head – happy or sad – I’d try and wash them out with drugs.

I started smoking pot more often in the week and doing crazy things on the weekend. By the time I was 13 or 14 I was using pot every day and drinking and popping pills and I was in and out of different schools.

In early 2012 I got a job working with my family. I’d only smoke pot during the week but would go really crazy at the weekends – coke, amphetamines, methamphetamines … I got prescribed benzos as well. Whatever I could get, really. Read more

21 Apr 2016
Sticky Post By Posted in Blog, Drugs With 471 Comments Permalink

Raising resilient kids

Sticky Post By On April 21, 2016 With 471 Comments

Parents at McKinnon engaging with the experts on our Parent Guides panel
Pitsa Binnion

Pitsa Binnion

By Pitsa Binnion 

Pitsa is the principal at McKinnon Secondary College in Victoria, Australia

Our school culture is one based on the principle of community. We’ve created a hub – one that is fuelled by what I often call the ‘McKinnon Magic’. It brings our community together and encourages teachers and parents to help every child see what success looks like and to understand the responsibilities of being part of our community. Every one of us needs to do our bit to raise resilient kids who, when confronted with difficult choices, make the right decisions. Read more

01 Dec 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in Blog, Drugs With 518 Comments Permalink

What to do if you suspect your kids have a drug problem

Sticky Post By On December 1, 2015 With 518 Comments

 

Kirsten Cleland

Photo: Fiona Hamilton

“A significant number of young people we see at Headspace have substance-abuse or misuse issues. Alcohol and marijuana are the most prevalent substances, and we also see a little cocaine and ecstasy.

“Ice use is becoming more problematic. We see kids who were battling mental-health issues like depression and anxiety and now they have ice use, too, and some are turning to sex work and crime to pay for that. I’ve heard kids say that they’ve been given ice for free, not realising that sooner or later the people giving them their free ice will want something in return. People are making it available to kids to suck them into using it and then they hit them up for money or sex.

“For the 12 to 14-year-olds, it’s a time of experimentation. For the slightly older group, things happen when they’ve been intoxicated that they are embarrassed and ashamed of, like their behaviour or having unprotected sex. The 17-plus age group are using more and more alcohol and substances to get through the day. They’re binge drinking on weekends and using whatever they can get their hands on with school friends or social groups outside school. After a couple of appointments here, when they feel comfortable, they may tell us they’ve been drinking until they black out, that there are photos of them floating around that they don’t recall or that they lost their virginity because they were drunk.
Read more

13 Oct 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in Blog, Drugs Permalink

Repairing your immune system after drug abuse

Sticky Post By On October 13, 2015

VitaminsGuest post by Sharon Brooks 

Registered Nutritionist, Food Scientist & Yoga Teacher
BAppSci (Food Sci & Nutr), G Cert Hum Nutr, RNutr
Nutrition Society of Australia Committee Member (Victoria)
200hr Qualified Yoga Teacher

Drug and alcohol abuse can cause biochemical alterations in the body. One fundamental aspect of this is the possible long-term damage to immune system strength. The immune system includes white blood cells, lymph vessels and nodes, spleen, thymus gland and other lymphatic tissues. This system provides a defence against foreign particles and pathogens. In other words, the immune system attempts to distinguish between “self” and “non-self”. It is therefore a crucial component in ridding the body of toxins and toxic build-up in drug recovery.

The other core bodily system commonly impacted by drug usage is the digestive system, which includes the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, intestines, liver, gallbladder and pancreas. The digestive system is fundamental to the body’s ability to absorb nutrients that boost immune strength. As such, indirectly the digestive system is just as important to immune health as the immune system itself. Read more

12 Jul 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in Blog, Drugs Permalink

Isn’t it time we heard something positive about drugs?

Sticky Post By On July 12, 2015
Isn't it time we heard something positive?

Parents: It’s important to stay optimistic. Things can change for the better, even when you least expect it.

One thing we’re trying to do differently at Parent Guides is to highlight the importance of telling stories and sharing experiences. Shocking statistics and fear often underpin a vast majority of educational material relating to drugs. Unfortunately much of what were hear are horror stories.

Isn’t it about time we heard something positive?

Sally’s* 16-year-old daughter has successfully pulled herself out of drug addiction to pursue her childhood dream. She told us her story.. Read more

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