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02 May 2016
Sticky Post By Posted in Drugs With 95 Comments Permalink

A Parents Guide to Ecstasy

Sticky Post By On May 2, 2016 With 95 Comments
Teenage Girl Buying Drugs On The Street From Dealer

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

Ecstasy is relatively easily obtained on the street or at parties and raves; tablets can cost as little as $20 each.

Unlike the 1970s and 1980s, when some of today’s parents were teenagers and illicit drugs were deep underground, today’s teens need only attend a music event or ask around to find ecstasy and other drugs. They can also use underground websites that sell illegal substances of all kinds.

Ecstasy is usually swallowed as a pill. The pills come in different colours and sizes and are often imprinted with a picture or symbol.

Ecstasy is a stimulant containing the drug MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine). However, many pills sold as ecstasy only have a small amount of MDMA or none at all. Read more

01 May 2016
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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
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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

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

A Parents Guide to Amphetamines

Sticky Post By On April 29, 2016 With 1 Comment

Amphetamine Drugs 101By Cheryl Critchley

Highly addictive and extremely dangerous, problem amphetamines such as ice are becoming more common.

Ice is a highly addictive form of amphetamine known as methamphetamine. It is stronger than the powdered form of amphetamine, speed. Usage rates by Australian teenagers are generally low, but pockets of Melbourne and regional Victoria face growing ice-related problems, both physical and social. Drug overdose deaths and ambulance attendances involving ice have risen in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria in the past two years.

While the use of amphetamines as a whole has not increased, more people are using it in the potent crystal methamphetamine form (ice), which produces strong highs very quickly and can be highly addictive. This is causing growing concern among police and medical professionals, as those using ice can become extremely
violent and have been known to attack ambulance officers trying to help them. They may also commit violent crimes. 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
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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

25 Apr 2016
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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

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

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