Teach youngsters about drugs, says Amy's father (From The Argus)

I listened to a conversion between a mother a son on a local bus last week. The mother had obviously been called to school and was reading a letter from the headmaster, Mr Stride. The mother's view was who does he think he is, and the son had the view the he could say and do exactly what he wanted and nobody was going to tell him otherwise. The mother agreed. Isn't education wonderful.

giving him that money was wrong? he did so well with his kid . i would let him near mine

Wish the pair of them would shut up and go away.

It's possible that 'drug chats' make the problem worse. Ex-addicts, or minor celebs claiming to have reformed, certainly would not be the right people to be talking to children about drugs. The relapse rate is over 90%.
I believe the people with the skills and in-depth knowledge to tackle this problem would tackle the problem differently.
There is enough ignorance in this area of treatment without muddying the waters with good intention but unproven interventions that might even lead to more experimentation with drugs.

Surely Mr Winehouse should be directing his efforts at supporting parents who are struggling to help their kids - this is something of which I think he would at least have some experience.

This is why I think the cheque book needs to be taken away from whoever wrote that one.

Popped vanity implant wrote:
It's possible that 'drug chats' make the problem worse. Ex-addicts, or minor celebs claiming to have reformed, certainly would not be the right people to be talking to children about drugs. The relapse rate is over 90%.
I believe the people with the skills and in-depth knowledge to tackle this problem would tackle the problem differently.
There is enough ignorance in this area of treatment without muddying the waters with good intention but unproven interventions that might even lead to more experimentation with drugs.

Surely Mr Winehouse should be directing his efforts at supporting parents who are struggling to help their kids - this is something of which I think he would at least have some experience.

This is why I think the cheque book needs to be taken away from whoever wrote that one.

As an ex-addict (off the drink/drugs for 8 years now) I went into a school and relayed my experiences. It wasn't only about 'dont do drugs' is was also about telling them there was a life without them and also where to look for help. I went through a rehab as well and along with Narcotics Anonymous it helped save my life. Plus it taught me a lot about how my friends/family were affected.

Some rehabs like the Priory do provide some support for families but its only short term. The best option for families is Al-Anon or Families Anonymous.

I think this money is well spent in providing a rehab for younger people. In the long run it will save the country money. Though more importantly it will save lives. The relapse rate is sadly high but at least the people who attend these places learn there is a life without drugs and get a chance to see people who can maintain a happy life off drink/drugs.

Good for you West Hove. Your story is inspirational and I've seen some very special people giving passionate and compelling stories.

My point could also be made by asking if it's OK to do these drug chats if we don't know if they actually make things worse for the kids? I have no doubt it helps the staff and speakers feel better and kids get a buzz from talking about something with street cred rather than 'why some people believe the world is only 5000 years old', or learning about ox-bow lakes in geography.

Doctors routinely used to cut a blood vessel in the chest to treat angina - not that long ago. Everyone believed it worked, even lots of patients, and that everyone was doing the right thing. It was, in reality, worse than useless.

If children are going to be exposed to any kind of opinion or belief about drug education then it should have clear evidence of benefit. Educating their parents is easier and less ethically problematic.

Drug chats do not appear to have any solid supporting evidence - perhaps they may make staff and parents feel like they're doing something...and they probably are...I'm not sure exactly what.

Parents need to be educated - so that they can educate their kids, or not. Some parents clearly don't care - their kids can be helped more directly with focused help wth growing up until they can escape.

It's not just about drugs - but drug use is a good way of identifying children at risk from all the things that come in a package as a result of c rap parenting or falling in with the wrong crowd.

Your points about rehab move beyond the scope of the article I think. Is the money being spent on rehab or drug chats?

Rehab certainly has a small role in society but this isn't about rehab. Legalising drugs and removing safety-netting (you do it - you die and we don't care) might well save more lives and reduce the devastation caused by drug-related crime. We can't tell because the issue has been hijacked for political point-scoring.

Bottom line - it's about whether a specific type of discussion will influence the thoughts of a child about using drugs. Each child is different and interact differently with their peers. Trying to give a group-talk can have unpredictable results. Until we know what works we should perhaps stick to trying to brainwash adults about the pros and cons of using drugs.

Otherwise we could be making things worse for the future - with a bunch of kids who'v e "heard all that when I woz a kid".

There's no safe way to indicriminently educate children about drugs when adults in society do not agree on so many issues about them.

Valid points about what effect these drug chats actually have on children. As far as I remember from my school days I looked forward to them so I could show off my credibilty about how much I already knew and massage my ego! Though I was scared of initially taking some drugs thanks to the information given at school, plus a negative experience I had as well, it didn't actually stop me taking them.

Sadly by the time family members do attend Al-Anon or Families Anonymous the family member they're worried about is often deep in alcoholism/addiction
. It would be good to teach parents about behaviours/patterns of drug use/abuse. The problem is how to do this. The other problem is the user will often not listen to any advice until things have reached a critical stage.

The sad thing is there are 1000's of childred across the UK with a parent/parents who are alcoholics/addicts (both mine were). This country will never have the resources to keep an eye out for them all. Which is why these talks at school will help (I hope).

Popped vanity implant wrote:
It's possible that 'drug chats' make the problem worse. Ex-addicts, or minor celebs claiming to have reformed, certainly would not be the right people to be talking to children about drugs. The relapse rate is over 90%.
I believe the people with the skills and in-depth knowledge to tackle this problem would tackle the problem differently.
There is enough ignorance in this area of treatment without muddying the waters with good intention but unproven interventions that might even lead to more experimentation with drugs.

Surely Mr Winehouse should be directing his efforts at supporting parents who are struggling to help their kids - this is something of which I think he would at least have some experience.

This is why I think the cheque book needs to be taken away from whoever wrote that one.

You forgot one major point in the story, his daughter died, so it is not about some reformed celeb going around glorifying their own been there and done it publicity.

A variety of views here, some of which I agree with and some I don't.

But the important thing, surely, is that the man is making an effort? If we all do that then we can make a great society. Regardless of how effective our individual efforts may be.