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advice for parents

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

01 May 2016
Sticky Post By Posted in Drugs With 2 Comments Permalink

A Parents Guide to Heroin

Sticky Post By On May 1, 2016 With 2 Comments

Heroin Drugs 101By Cheryl Critchley

Heroin use is not common among Australian teenagers; latest figures reveal only 1.6 per cent of high-school students have used opiates or narcotics such as heroin or morphine other than for medical reasons.

Heroin is a depressant and belongs to a group of drugs known as “opioids” that are derived from the opium poppy. It comes in different forms, including fine white powder, coarse off-white granules and tiny pieces of light brown “rock”.

Heroin is usually injected into a vein, but it can also be smoked (“chasing the dragon”) and added to cigarettes and cannabis. The effects are usually felt straight away. If snorted, it takes 10 to 15 minutes to take effect. Read more

30 Apr 2016
Sticky Post By Posted in Drugs With 3 Comments Permalink

A Parents Guide to Inhalants

Sticky Post By On April 30, 2016 With 3 Comments

By Cheryl Critchley

Inhalants Drugs 101
Sniffing inhalants such as glue, petrol and aerosols is a cheap and dangerous way for young people to achieve a “high”.

The substances used are often affordable and easily obtained. About 17 per cent of Australian high-school students has used inhalants, making them more popular than individual illicit drugs such as heroin, cocaine and ice. These substances can seriously affect or even kill if an overdose occurs.

Essentially, inhalants are common household, industrial and medical products that produce vapours that can be inhaled to produce a “high”. Common inhalants include aerosol sprays, spray paint and paint thinner, felt-tipped pens, correction fluid, gas from lighters or barbecues (butane), cleaning fluid, glue, petrol and nitrous oxide.

The use of inhalants is more common in younger children than older children. 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

25 Apr 2016
Sticky Post By Posted in Drugs With 1 Comment Permalink

A Parents Guide to Cannabis

Sticky Post By On April 25, 2016 With 1 Comment

By Cheryl Critchley

One in three adults and one in seven teenagers has tried cannabis.

Cannabis is Australia’s most popular illicit drug and many of today’s high-school parents have tried it. The 2013 National Drug Strategy Household Survey found that 35 per cent of Australians reported using cannabis at least once, with 10 per cent using it in the past year. A 2011 Australian high-school students’ survey found cannabis was the most commonly used illicit substance by this age group, with 15 per cent of 12 to 17-year-olds reporting they had tried it.

Most people who use cannabis seek a sense of mild euphoria and relaxation, often referred to as a “high”. Cannabis causes changes in the user’s mood and also affects how they think and perceive the environment. Everyday activities such as watching television and listening to music can become altered and more intense.

Generally speaking, people who start smoking cannabis at a younger age and smoke heavily are more likely to experience problems. This may include mental health problems, and more general life problems, such as conflict at home or school/work, financial problems and memory problems.

If a teenager has a genetic vulnerability, such as close family with depression, psychosis, bipolar disorder or anxiety, or if they have an existing mental health issue, cannabis should be avoided.

Rolling a joint Read more

23 Apr 2016
Sticky Post By Posted in Drugs With 3 Comments Permalink

A Parents Guide to Alcohol

Sticky Post By On April 23, 2016 With 3 Comments

By Cheryl Critchley
A Parents Guide to Alcohol

LEAD BY EXAMPLE

Children look to their parents to set standards. Parental attitudes to drinking have a big influence on
their children. There is nothing wrong with having a drink, but parents need to be aware that their alcohol habits are observed by their children, who may take a lead from their behaviour.

MYTH: Allowing under-18s to drink will “ease them into it”
FACT: Alcohol can be damaging to young, developing brains. Early drinking is also linked to increased alcohol consumption in adolescence and young adulthood and the possibility of damage to the developing brain and development of alcohol related harms in adulthood. Read more

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