A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Two disturbing reports have been released by charities in the last week describing alarming instances of under-age alcohol and cannabis consumption in Australia. The Salvation Army released research on Monday which shows 80 per cent of people believe it is safe to give children sips of alcohol. This, they emphasise, goes against new national guidelines [...]
The Trinity Grammar College in Kew, Victoria, has published a handbook to give information to parents about drugs and alcohol. The book, called the "Trinity Parent's Alcohol and Drug Resource Book," was put together by parents with the support of experts including Dr Michael Carr-Gregg with the intention of raising awareness of drug and alcohol [...]
Most parents know relatively little about alcohol and other drugs. They might have a bit of practical experience - usually in the form of vague memories from their teens or early twenties - but when it really comes down to it, most of the information they have has been obtained either through their friends of [...]
Malcolm had been using ecstasy for over eight years when I spoke to him. He had first used the drug when he was twenty years old after associating with a group of clubbers for almost twelve months. He had observed his group of friends using ecstasy and had decided to try it. When he asked [...]
Talk to your children about drugs as early and as often as possible. Make sure you speak to them about the range of drugs available, with an emphasis on those they are likely to come into contact with at their particular stage of development. For the very young, including primary school-aged children, most of the [...]
We know that by far one of the most important elements of a positive parent-child relationship is honesty and trust. When you ask your child a question about something they have done, you would like them to answer honestly. Doesn’t your child deserve the same respect? So if you have used drugs, what should you [...]
A new study by British researches has proven conclusively that using skunk cannabis can result in psychosis in healthy people. The study was carried out on 22 men in their late 20s who were injected with either the active component of skunk cannabis or a dummy placebo. The research team concluded: "These findings confirm that [...]
Be a parent when it comes to parties, particularly for the first couple of years. Take an interest in where your kids are going and who they will be with, and do a little bit of parenting when it comes to finding out what type of party it will be and whether there will be [...]
If you are finding it difficult to raise the issue of mental health and cannabis, try talking about paranoia. Almost every child, regardless of whether they have had contact with cannabis or not, is aware that this is a side effect of using the drug. Although it may seem quite harmless, paranoia can actually be [...]
