21 May 2016

Sticky Post By Cheryl Critchley Posted in Drugs With 1 Comment Permalink

A Parents Guide to Steroids

Sticky Post By Cheryl Critchley On May 21, 2016 With 1 Comment

Steroids and other performance and image-enhancing drugs (PIEDs) have long been associated with elite sportspeople desperate for an edge. PIEDs are used by people of all skill levels and ages, whether they want to boost their sporting performance or simply build muscle mass.

Among the most notorious cases was champion cyclist Lance Armstrong, who was stripped of seven Tour de France wins after admitting he took EPO (erythropoietin), which regulates red blood cell production.

PIED use is not common and in some cases, steroids are used legitimately to treat medical conditions such as osteoporosis. But if used privately and without professional supervision they can have health implications.

Steroids may be injected intramuscularly, taken orally or rubbed on the skin as a cream. Two per cent of Australian high-school students aged 12 to 17 say they have used steroids without a doctor’s prescription, with boys (2.4 per cent) slightly more likely than girls (1.5 per cent) to have tried them.

Among the 1 per cent of students who tried steroids in the year before the 2011 survey, use was infrequent. Read more

06 May 2016

Sticky Post By Rene de Sant’Anna Posted in Drugs Permalink

What do you do if your kids are drinking or doing drugs?

Sticky Post By Rene de Sant’Anna On May 6, 2016

Rene de Sant’Anna – Odyssey House

My core business is working with young people who are using substances and helping them to cut down or get off those substances. I’ve been working in this field for 22 years and the main substances kids use are the same – alcohol and cannabis. They may hav tried LSD, mushrooms, eccies (ecstasy) or cocaine, but their staple drug is usually cannabis or alcohol. Usually their parents refer them to me, and a young person is reluctant because they don’t see a problem – then we need to get that young person to a point where they also see their substance use is a problem.

People use drugs because they change the way they feel. The first time a young person uses they’ll have positive feelings and then they come back down to normal. So they use that drug again and then again because it feels good. Then something happens that wouldn’t have happened if they weren’t under the influence of that substance. Maybe a child misses school because they’re going to a friend’s house to smoke or drink, or they’re out late and the police bring them home, or they drink too much in the park, throw up and need an ambulance, or they can’t be bothered to go to football or netball. Read more

06 May 2016

Sticky Post By Cheryl Critchley Posted in Drugs With 114 Comments Permalink

A Parents Guide to Hallucinogens

Sticky Post By Cheryl Critchley On May 6, 2016 With 114 Comments

By Cheryl Critchley

Hallucinogens, such as LSD, were popular with young people during the 1960s and 1970s “flower power” era. While many more drugs have been developed since, LSD is still available in Australia.

Hallucinogen use among young people is relatively uncommon; about 3 per cent of Australian high-school students report having tried them.

Also known as “psychedelics”, hallucinogens can make you see, hear, smell, feel or taste things that aren’t really there or are different from reality, hence the word hallucinate. LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) is made in a laboratory and in its pure state is a white odourless powder.

It usually comes in squares of gelatine or blotting paper that have been dipped or soaked in LSD and is sometimes sold as a liquid, in a tablet or capsules. LSD is usually swallowed, but it can also be sniffed, injected or smoked. Some plants, such as magic mushrooms, can cause similar hallucinations to chemically produced hallucinogens. Read more

06 May 2016

Sticky Post By administrator Posted in Drugs With 2 Comments Permalink

A Parents Guide to Cocaine

Sticky Post By administrator On May 6, 2016 With 2 Comments

By Cheryl Critchley

Cocaine has a reputation as the drug of choice for celebrities, but its effects can be far from glamorous.

Cocaine can be dangerous if taken in high doses or contaminated by other substances.

Snorting cocaine regularly can cause a runny nose and nosebleeds, infection of the nasal membranes, perforation of the septum and long-term damage to the nasal cavity and sinuses.

Only 1.7 per cent of Australian high-school students surveyed in the 2011 Australian secondary students’ survey had used cocaine, and only 1 per cent had used it in the past month.

These levels have also fallen significantly since 2005, when almost 3 per cent of 12 to 17-year-olds had tried it. Read more

03 May 2016

Sticky Post By Professor George Braitberg Posted in Blog, Drugs Permalink

No such thing as safe drug-taking for kids

Sticky Post By Professor George Braitberg On May 3, 2016

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

02 May 2016

Sticky Post By Cheryl Critchley Posted in Drugs With 95 Comments Permalink

A Parents Guide to Ecstasy

Sticky Post By Cheryl Critchley On May 2, 2016 With 95 Comments

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

Sticky Post By administrator Posted in Drugs With 2 Comments Permalink

A Parents Guide to Heroin

Sticky Post By administrator On May 1, 2016 With 2 Comments

By 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 administrator Posted in Drugs With 3 Comments Permalink

A Parents Guide to Inhalants

Sticky Post By administrator On April 30, 2016 With 3 Comments

By Cheryl Critchley

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

30 Apr 2016

Sticky Post By administrator Posted in Blog, Drugs Permalink

Teach your kids to make safe decisions

Sticky Post By administrator On April 30, 2016

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 administrator Posted in Drugs With 1 Comment Permalink

A Parents Guide to Amphetamines

Sticky Post By administrator On April 29, 2016 With 1 Comment

By 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