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Empowering communities for prevention of drugs and HIV in India

Decide whether taking drugs – and the consequences of drug abuse – fit into your plan for the future.

So, which substances are being abused?
Things that people take to change the way they feel, think, or behave, are called psychoactive substances. These include alcohol. Some drugs are made from plants, such as opium poppies for heroin, cannabis for marijuana (ganja) and the coca bush for cocaine. Other drugs such as Ecstasy are made by synthesizing different chemicals.

Drugs fall into three categories:

• Depressants: heroin, barbiturates, alcohol
• Stimulants: ecstasy, amphetamines, cocaine, crack
• Hallucinogens: cannabis/marijuana, LSD

What do drugs do to your system?
People sometimes think that some drugs, such as cannabis and ecstasy, are not so dangerous. But these drugs can damage your body and future prospects.

Drugs can be swallowed, inhaled, smoked, injected, snorted.

Myths

• Myth: “Recreational use” of drugs is NOT HARMFUL.
  Truth: All illegal drugs are dangerous and cause physical and psychological changes in the user. Prolonged use intensifies these harmful effects and can lead to addiction. There is no safe way to use illegal drugs.
• Myth: If a person wants to take drugs, the Government should not interfere.
  Truth: The rights of the individual must be consistent with the safety and welfare of the general population. No individual has the right, even if unintentionally, to behave in a manner that is harmful to others – especially close friends and family members.
• Myth: Only weak individuals become addicts.
  Truth: Addicts become weak individuals. No one begins taking drugs with the aim of becoming addicted.
• Myth: Drug abuse is a “victimless” crime – it hurts only the user.
  Truth: The user’s family suffers in witnessing the self–destruction of a loved one. The employer is adversely affected by lost productivity, sloppy work, increased number of accidents, absenteeism and rising healthcare costs. Tax payers suffer because they pay for Government efforts in law enforcement and treatment to combat drug crimes and rehabilitate users.

Is drug addiction a problem?
Apart from the things drugs do to your body, they also:

• Cost a lot of money. Some people turn to crime to pay for their addiction.
• Take away control that you have over yourself, your choices and your future.
• Make you more likely to say yes to (unprotected) sex, which could lead to unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS.
• Could make you end up on the wrong side of the law.

Be prepared… and stay in control!
Drug addiction rips families apart and leads to heartache and despair.

• But it’s not just about addiction. Using drugs, even just occasionally, can lead to slowed development and lost potential. For example, finding it more difficult to concentrate or recall things and generally not doing as well as you could.

How to help a friend who might have a problem

• Don’t try to deal with it alone. Find a trusted adult to talk to, or phone a helpline about the best way to go about helping and what the options are.
• Stick by your friend, don’t turn your back on them, but make it clear what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour to you.
• Suggest what they might do, and offer as much information as you can, but don’t nag. They will have to make their own decisions.
• Offer to go with them, or help them to make a phone call if they do decide they want help.
• Find out all you can about the available options for help.
• Don’t bargain with or threaten them.
• Encourage them to believe that they can change and they can do something about their problem.

Will you say “I decide” when you need to?
Prepare to refuse and practice these skills with your parents or friends. If offered drugs, a decision has to be made. It cannot be postponed. So, plan ahead of time what you will do.

Some ideas

• Say “I decide. No thanks, I’m fine – without drugs!”
• Leave the scene.
• Change the subject.
• Suggest an alternative activity.
• Give a reason: think of one and stick to it.
• Laugh it off – make a joke about the offer.
• Ignore the offer.

Practice these skills and learn to recognize when you are in a situation of pressure. Use these techniques to ease the pressure and control. Act logically and quickly.

Try to access as much information as possible, so you can make an informed choice.

How parents can help their children to make healthy choices?
Parents can provide positive alternatives to drugs – any interests or activities that make kids feel good and uses their spare time. Some activities often found helpful are physical exercise, sports, working to achieve personal goals, helping others, hobbies, drug–free youth groups, a constructive home environment (i.e., having stimulating things to do at home, such as a computer), and part time employment. If children can find other enjoyable things in life, they will be less likely to turn to drugs.The best things all parents can do can be probably, is to keep the communication lines open with their kids.

Which age groups need guidance to make healthy choices?
Making choices will be harder for some than for others. It will be hardest when children and young people have experienced poor approaches to health while young, for those who have poor self–esteem and emotional health, and for those among whom risk–taking behaviours are already established.

What are the steps to be taken to help people make healthy choices?
The first step in influencing health behaviours in any group is to understand why people make the choices that they do.

The second step is to design and deliver any new initiatives in consultation with them. Young people tell us that issues of smoking, drinking and sexual health tend to be presented from an adult perspective and do not fit the context of their lives or their experiences. Well–intentioned messages are either mistrusted or seen as irrelevant and about someone else. Young people do not consider the risks and benefits of different choices in the same way as adults.

We should offer focus on creating the conditions for all young people to live healthy, happy, safe and prosperous lives and successfully make the sometimes complicated transition to adulthood. This will include specific new proposals to improve young people’s mental and physical health and provide alternatives to risk–taking behaviour that has an adverse impact on health.

• increase the choice and availability of opportunities for young people to engage in positive activities in their spare time, and to ensure there are places where they can be themselves and feel safe. This will include initiatives to encourage young people to access more physical and sporting activities;
• improve the relevance and accessibility of information, advice and guidance services that are available to all young people when they make everyday choices about lifestyles and health in particular smoking, drinking and sexual health
• develop new ways of supporting the parents of teenagers so that they feel equipped to help their children make informed choices, particularly on sensitive issues such as sex and relationships.