Concert to Celebrate HM The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee // May 11th, 2012 // Events
The concert is on Saturday 19th May at 7.30 pm at St Augustine’s Church, Edgbaston and promises to be a wonderful toe-tapping proms-style event.
Free entry to children accompanied by an adult.
http://www.staugustines-edgbaston.org.uk
I don’t think he is saying that alchool isn’t a problem, just that its a separate problem, and that drugs need a focus of their own. Most students are fine with having the odd night out (even if its a heavy one) but are able to prioritise and control their nights out. Yes, we get hangovers, we throw up, we waste the next day feeling crap. But we aren’t all alchoolics, and most of us are fairly ok drunks. We don’t (generally) end up paranoid, or violent, or hallucinating, or in toxic shock when we stop drinking. I dont want to judge totally on my own experiences of drug users, because I know they’ve been the more extreme end (uni drop-out, suicide, and a male friend who physically attacked me, all of whom had coped perfectly fine with alchool before starting to use drugs) but, having also known plenty of heavy drinkers, alchool rarely makes you paranoid, or affects your memory long term when not drunk, or affects your sense of reality, in the same way that drugs do. Most people who drink are in control of it (and yes, those who aren’t need help) whereas you start off intending to be in control of drug use, and it just gradually starts controlling you. And its easy to not notice and genuinely believe that you are still in control. Sure, make people aware about alchool, like we aren’t already, but drugs do need focus. Most people do have this its no worse than alchool, a little bit wont hurt’ attitude, and that only makes people more likely to try things. I had that attitude until I’d seen the other side realistically. Most campaigns tend to focus on the short term negatives, without the long term consequences. (Having said that, it only took my friend a few months to become a different person).I definitely agree that people should be made more aware about the negative effects of drugs, as much as the most people are fine’ aspect, because for the ones that aren’t fine, it’s too late once they’re hooked. I think a video clip of some long term drug users struggling to put a sentence together and unable to stop twitching, a memorial for someone who died of toxic shock trying to quit, or perhaps a photo of the bruises someone paranoid can inflict on a friend’ could make a few people stop and think. And if it saves even a few people surely its worth it? Just preventing one person starting on drugs also saves their family and friends from the pain of watching it, either losing them as the person they know, or losing them altogether. And it saves people around them being saved from all the other side effects. I totally agree drugs should get the same focus as alchool, and the fact that so many people think alchool is worse than drugs just backs up (for me) the fact that people need to be made more aware
By Omi | July 19, 2012