Drink and Drug Misuse
In this article, Marilyn Hawes of Freedom From Abuse examines the worrying trends of social recreational drink and drug use and "legal highs".
The NSPCC define substance abuse as “…when someone's drinking or drug use becomes harmful or dependent. By 'harmful' we mean when someone puts themselves or others in danger. They might continue to drink or take drugs even if it puts them at risk of illness, psychological problems or physical accidents. Dependent drinking or drug use is when someone craves alcohol or drugs and continues to use them even though it causes them social, health or even financial problems.”
Unfortunately, drug education is not mandatory in schools, meaning that it is down to the school to inform their students of the dangers of drink and drug misuse in PSHE sessions.
Legal Highs
2016 BBC documentary The Last Days of Legal Highs shone a spotlight on drug-related chemicals that were fatally wounding our population, across a variety of age groups.
A direct relationship to these ‘research chemicals’ and other substances was linked to an increase in mental health issues amongst young people.
The overall governmental ‘control measure’ was to produce a new piece of drug legislation called the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 – a law intended to restrict the production, sale and supply of "legal highs", having the intention to shut down the retailers of legal highs with immediate effect from 26th May 2016.
The good news is that these chemicals are not as easily available. However, they can still be obtained from the dealer stockists on the dark web or the black market. The use of ‘spice’ (synthetic cannabis) is still rife in larger cities like Birmingham and Manchester, and especially in correctional facilities across the UK.
Other drug-saliva related legislation has seen drivers affected by a new Section 5A of the Road Traffic Act 1988, where a saliva type test for illegal and medicinal substances has been implemented.
Alcohol
Medical research shows young brains and bodies cannot break down alcohol and this will impact on organs such as the liver and kidneys. Drinking regularly will have a huge detrimental effect on exam results which can fall by 20 points as a result of continued alcohol use – the difference between a 9/8/7 and a 4!
Young people today tend to drink neat sprits unlike 10 years ago. When intoxicated, the Medulla Oblongata at the base of the brain is prevented from instructing the lungs to operate properly – in other words, to breathe.
Cathy McCulloch, a lawyer who specialises in sexual offence cases, said young men must be educated to understand the dangers of indulging in the casual drinking and sex culture that had engulfed British universities. She said that male students should not risk having sex with girls who have been drinking heavily for fear they could end up being accused of rape.
Advice you can give to your students
- CHARGE your mobile phone in case you need help
- TELL someone outside your friendship group where you are going
- EAT before you go out
- PACE your drinking & alternate alcohol with non-alcohol
- DON’T leave drinks unattended
- DON’T drink from punch bowls or homemade cocktails
- DON’T accept a drink from someone you don’t know
JUUL
One of the most popular trends among young people is a relatively new e-cigarette: JUUL. This is a brand of e-cigarette that is shaped like a USB flash drive. Like many other e-cigarettes, JUUL is a battery-powered device that heats a nicotine-containing liquid to produce an aerosol that is inhaled. These e-cigarettes have a high level of nicotine and according to the manufacturer, a single JUUL pod contains as much nicotine as a pack of 20 regular cigarettes.
Vaping JUULs and taking certain medicines with alcohol have become a trend at parties and social gatherings.
Worryingly, a recent US survey revealed that approximately two-thirds of JUUL users aged 15-24 do not know that JUUL always contains nicotine. Very few users realise that vaping causes heavy metal tiny particles to sit in the lung causing “popcorn” lung and causing infections and is carcinogenic.
Hair tests will show drugs in your system through DNA
Drugs
Most drugs commonly available today lack purity. Often, it is these adulterations that can make the drugs even more dangerous than they already are. These adulterations for example, can contain heroin and/or cocaine. Dealers will often add sand and flour to make up the weight.
Drugs currently used by school-age children include:
- COCAETHYLENE: can be fatal if mixed with alcohol and is often found in cannabis;
- SPICE: This is often laced with synthetic chemicals which are very dangerous, resulting in very high potency. This can cause numbness of limbs and psychotic episodes; and
- SKUNK: is a highly potent cannabis.
Categories of Drugs
- Class A Drugs: heroin, cocaine, crack, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, MDMA, methamphetamine, and certain Class B drugs are reclassified to Class A if they have been prepared for injection
- Class B Drugs: cannabis, amphetamines, ritalin, barbiturates, mephedrone (mkat), DF118’s and ketamine
- Class C Drugs: anabolic steroids, diazepam, xanax, GHB, GBL & BZP