Parents and newspapers are going bonkers over an educational drug pamphlet (pictured here) put out by the Sydney West Area Health Service (SWAHS). A pamphlet they say encourages drug use because it advises readers of some precautions to take should they choose to experiment with drugs.
‘It’s wrong. It shouldn’t be encouraging the kids to do drugs. I’m shocked that it doesn’t tell them not to be doing drugs. Instead it sends kids a message saying, ‘Here’s how to do it’.‘ – Parent
Ummmmm. We could pretend for a second that teaching teenagers to say No to drugs is working wonders, but anyone who doesn’t mind a cold dose of reality will know that just isn’t the case. Take a look at this survey of Victorian school students from 2005 (PDF) for example.
Meanwhile, SWAHS had this to say:
‘The resources emphasise that ideally no young person will turn to drug use and one key message is the best way to keep your head together is not to use drugs at all.
But studies consistently demonstrate the majority of young people will experiment with and use alcohol or other drugs at some time.
Many of them do so without adequate awareness of the impact on their mental and physical health.‘
Luckily, NSW Health Minister Reba Meagher doesn’t listen to reason. She’s now pulled the leaflet from distribution and says all other drug education material for young people will be reviewed.
‘…the reference to what young people should choose to do if they ignore anti-drug advice or information is simply not acceptable.‘
Smart, Reba.
13 comments
Adam says:
Jun 17, 2008
Reba Meagher should be fired! She is going against the most effective form of harm reduction just because of some un educated do gooders. Lets remember how effecting zero tolerance is!
As a young adult just past the whole experimentation phase i can guarantee this sort of information will save lives. For example everyone knows staying hydrated while on extacy is a good idea. But not all know drinking too much water is dangerous as well. Or how important letting someone responsible know what your doing is. Stupid mistakes like this cost lives!
Adam says:
Jun 17, 2008
*effective*
My anger caused haste. Sorry
Mike says:
Jun 18, 2008
Adam: It’s one of those knee jerk reactions that does more harm than good. A politician siding with screaming lunatics who are not health professionals.
I never knew that drinking too much water could also cause problems when a person takes extacy. I’m generally anti drugs, but that’s not to say I want that sort of information (or the information in the pamphlet) hidden from teenagers. Who does that help.
Has telling teenagers ‘no’ ever worked. We all know how successful abstinence education is.
Nathan Jones says:
Jun 18, 2008
I find the “zero tolerance vs. harm minimisation” debate interesting. As I see it, the reason drugs are illegal is that they’re harmful. So, zero tolerance is basically a harm minimisation technique. To forbid the use of other harm minimisation techniques is negligent.
Adam says:
Jun 19, 2008
To clarify my water statement it only occurs in extreme cases. It is how the girl in Sydney died a while back, read the coroner’s report section…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Wood
Everyone bitched and complained about how bad extacy is but if she knew all she needed was less water and/or the occasional isotonic she would still be alive. This leaflet could have been what saved her.
Hmm i wonder if I should email that to the minister? I could go into this much further but i doubt people want to listen
Mike says:
Jun 19, 2008
Nathan:
I think you’re right. Negligent may well sum up the outcry best.
Adam:
It’s a shame that information like this doesn’t reach young people. Much like violence or sex on TV, some assume that because one sees, they will also do. Except with holding back health information, the consequences can be dire.
john in Brisbane says:
Aug 27, 2008
A mob called “Drug Free Australia” was raising hell about this leaflet. I emailed them about it and got a polite but predictable response. I think they are quite misguided in preventing the dissemination of information that will probably reduce the harm associated with the drug taking that most young people will engage in. I think people with this attitude are actually knowingly engaging in a course of action that will cause harm to people in the deeply flawed belief that this harm will both punish the drug taker and also serve as a lesson to others. They would protest loudly at this suggestion but I am sorry to say that I think it underpins their actions.
Mike says:
Aug 27, 2008
Hey John,
These guys: http://www.drugfree.org.au/ ?
Unfortunately, I think your probably right about the learn-a-lesson apparoach.
Lucas says:
Dec 2, 2008
Far out. I’m turning 21 this weekend, and I had to learn the hard way why its a bad call to experiment with drugs despite my optimism last year. It’s a particularly tantalizing prospect for the millions of inquisitive teenagers looking for ‘answers’. So after a run-in with depression, heavy anxiety and depersonalization disorder, I’m somewhat levelheaded again. I’ve been clean for months, I’ve got $5000 in savings, a new car, excellent long-term girlfriend, I’m holding down a data entry job at a pharmacy and I got accepted for an Advanced Diploma in Game Development at Vic Uni, being a game developer is my lifelong goal.
I just wish I had this pamphlet a year ago.
Matthew says:
Dec 22, 2008
Drugs are dangerous mmmkay.. but what is more dangerous IMO is the outrage parents are having over this. 90% of Kids are going to experiment with some substance in there life time, its a fact and the only way you can try to stop this is to educate the best you can with the facts and just pray your kids are smart enough to do the right thing.
Australia’s 20 Worst Cases of Censorship and Moral Outrage in 2008 - Somebody Think Of The Children says:
Dec 28, 2008
[...] Swallow this A pamphlet that advised readers of some precautions to take if experimenting with drugs was declared a drug taking manual by some parents. NSW Health Minister Reba Meagher pulled the [...]
Rich Parr says:
Feb 27, 2009
What’s wrong with this leaflet? It’s excellent, precisely what young people need.
Shayne says:
May 20, 2009
That is exactly what I will be telling my kids.