Life Skills Education

Binge-drinking teenagers could be doing lasting harm to their memories, according to a new study.

By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent

Here’s a fascinating article from the Guardian on Mephedrone. They’ve taken a look at how the Internet and the media have reacted to the ‘new’ drug and how users have responded to the calls for it to be banned.

Please be advised that the article contains some explicit language and graphic descriptions of the effects of Mephedrone. DARE (UK) is not responsible for the contents of external links.

Students are increasingly taking neuroenhancing drugs to fight fatigue and help them concentrate. But how safe are they – and is it cheating?

By Catherine Nixey

It is an all too common story: a diligent student works hard and finally achieves a coveted place at Cambridge University. Once there, the pressure becomes too great and they turn to drugs. These days, however, the old narrative has changed. Instead of the spliffs that apparently so delighted generations of our politicians, the latest fad is for educational, not recreational, drugs.

“It was the summer term of my second year,” explains Raj Perera, in his final year of a natural sciences degree at Cambridge University. “I’m an international student, which means my parents are paying £20,000 for every year I am here. That sort of money puts a huge pressure on you. But last summer, I had two weeks to go before my exams, and I had done pretty much no revision. It was a make-or-break moment. So I bought modafinil.”

Modafinil is one of the new neuroenhancing “smart drugs” now being taken by growing numbers of students. It was originally developed for the treatment of narcolepsy, but is now used by students to combat fatigue. Another popular choice is Ritalin, originally designed as a treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Both increase levels of dopamine levels in the brain – and the alertness and wakefulness of those taking them.

So popular have these drugs become that last month Barbara Sahakian, professor of clinical neuropsychology at Cambridge University’s psychiatry department, warned that their use has “enormous implications” and that universities must act on them – even mentioning dope testing as one possibility. But this is not happening. “What universities are doing about [them] is nothing,” she says.

Last year, Sahakian was co-opted on to a committee, set up by the Medical Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, to look at the use of cognitive enhancing drugs by healthy people. One American study, cited in the journal Nature, estimated that up to 25% of students at some campuses had taken neuroenhancing drugs in the past year.

Many hear of these drugs through friends, others independently. “I read an article in the student press on them,” says Lawrence Price, a third-year arts student at Sheffield Hallam University. “It was criticising them, but I thought they sounded great.” Perera, similarly, found out about smart drugs through the media. “I read an article in Nature on them,” he says. “They seemed a pretty good idea.”

Students believe the drugs enable them to do more work. “I take them when I need to get through lectures and I have a terrible hangover,” says Price.

At the other extreme, Lucy Makepeace, a postgraduate student at Cambridge, uses them less from a lack of diligence than an excess of it. Extremely hard working, she takes modafinil once or twice a week. “With study, work and sport I have a very full timetable,” she says. “I want to do everything, but I don’t want to do any of it at a mediocre level. Taking modafinil helps me to do it all.”

Perera similarly turned to modafinil from time pressures – which were, in his case, extreme. “Due to difficulty getting my visa last year, I couldn’t return at the start of the summer term,” he says. “When I eventually got my visa, I arrived back with just a fortnight before my exams, and no revision behind me.”

All the students are clear on the drug’s effects. “Modafinil increases my enthusiasm for studying,” says Perera. “It makes me feel that lazing around is the last thing I want to do.” Price agrees: “Modafinil gives me the motivation I would otherwise lack.” Makepeace, who clearly doesn’t lack motivation, instead takes modafinil to stay alert. “Once I’ve taken a pill I can stay up all night without stopping. It just works so well,” she says. “I need it.”

The way the students obtain the drugs varies. Some get them from friends, but many purchase them from online chemists. “I just Googled them,” says Perera. “The cost, including shipping, came to about £2 each.” “I bought them from an online pharmacy,” says Price. “You just sign a disclaimer saying you won’t sue them for selling you prescription drugs without a prescription, then they send you them.”

Such a convenient process might please the consumer, but it is not one that impresses Sahakian. “When you get a drug off the internet, you don’t know what it is, or whether you have some pre-existing condition that means you shouldn’t be taking it,” she says. “If you get a drug from your GP, they would check that.”

Even if the drugs are what they purport to be, they are not risk-free. Such smart drugs have only been developed relatively recently, and, says Sahakian (who has herself researched the effects of modafinil on healthy volunteers), it is therefore too early to feel confident that they are safe. “It’s a real worry that students are taking these drugs, as we just don’t know whether they are safe in the long term. They’re so new. How could we know?”

In addition to concerns about the drugs’ physical effects, there are also moral issues. “Do we want to solve all our problems in this way?” Sahakian asks. “There are other ways of coping – like exercise, or sleep.” Such methods would not only be physiologically better, but also psychologically. “It’s nice to feel that what you have achieved is your achievement. Take a pill and you might not feel that,” she says…

The article continues here

• All student names have been changed

Article taken from

As the government prepares to classify mephedrone as a class B drug, Dina Rickman uncovers the dangers of young people’s current drug of choice; Ketamine…

Three teenagers are huddled over a CD case in the corner of a Brighton squat. Rave music blares from the soundsystem as they cut lines of white powder from a crumpled wrap. Emily, the youngest of the group at 17, uses a £5 note to snort the largest line. She laughs, coughs a little, then passes the CD case to her friend. “This is just like Skins” she shouts, her voice barely audible over the pounding bassline. It could be any party, in any town in the UK. The powder is ketamine, a Class C dissociative anaesthetic which is also used as a horse tranquilliser. When taken, it causes euphoria and powerful hallucinations, with users reporting out-of-body experiences and conversations with god.

In 2008 the British Crime Survey revealed it was the fastest growing “party drug” among 16-24 year olds, leading it to be dubbed the “new ecstasy.” It now boasts an estimated 125,000 users in the UK and more users among young people in England and Wales than heroin and crack cocaine combined.

But as the number of users rise, serious side effects are beginning to emerge. On internet forums for clubbers the stories all started the same. After about three months of regular use people were experiencing strange side effects; incontinence, blood in their urine and urine infections that did not respond to treatment.

By May 2008, doctors from the Bristol Urological Institute (BUI) became concerned. They published a letter in the British Medical Journal reporting they had seen nine patients with severe urological symptoms associated with ketamine use over the last two years. The letter warned that these cases were “the tip of the iceberg.” It was right. Since then, 15-20 people in the area have been put forward for bladder stretching, a surgical procedure performed under anaesthesia. Two users in their 20s had to have their bladders removed because they had incurred so much damage from the drug.

Daniel, a 21-year-old heavy user from Brighton knows his body is beyond repair. Doctors have told him that drug abuse has given him the bladder of an 80-year-old, and he needs to have it surgically stretched, but he cannot stop taking Ketamine.

“I’ve got a fixation, I just think ‘one more line.’ I’ll go for a piss it will literally be a tablespoon’s worth of urine. I’ll piss out slugs of blood, like congealed jelly and the pain is horrific. It feels like a ball with loads of spikes just bouncing on your bladder. During a bad week I will go to the toilet every five minutes. I was in the job centre once having an interview and I had to stop halfway through because I was sitting there bursting.”

Also known as K, special K and wonk, can sell as cheaply as £6 per gram in the South West. But few of its users will have heeded the warning on the government’s drug website, Frank, of “serious bladder and related problems found in ketamine users.”

Jess was 18 when she began taking ketamine. Two years later, she was wandering the streets of Bristol, high and covered in her own blood: Now 21, her health is a constant reminder of her drug use. She regularly suffers from cystitis because of the damage done to her bladder, and was hospitalised three times from kidney infections during her time on the drug. She also suffered from “k cramps”, severe stomach pains associated with ketamine use. She says that the only cure for the cramps was talking more ketamine – trapping her in a vicious cycle of drug abuse and self harm:

“It started off as very small amounts, when you start using K it’s very attractive, it’s cheap and the effects are strong.”

A leaflet circulated by the Bristol Drugs Project (BDP) and the BUI to GPs in the south west warns: “the symptoms can be severe enough to require hospitalisation… and can result in irreversible bladder and renal damage. Although commoner among those who use ketamine daily or at high doses, it can also occur with lower dose recreational ketamine use.”

The possibilities worry Jess, especially as she knows of 14 and 15 year olds injecting the drug:

“It’s really, really scary. One of my friends got really wasted on ketamine and walked into the sea and drowned themself. It can have a massive effect on your mental state. When I was a heavy ketamine user I spent most of my time in my room on my own self harming. I tried to give up many, many, many times. The only way I managed to do it was to get out of the country.”

Dr Rachel Ayres, from the BDP, said urinary symptoms associated with ketamine use were becoming more widely known in the medical community as more people are abusing it:

“These problems are not due to contamination of ketamine, and they still develop even when you inject it rather than snort it. Some users think that damage is due to contaminated drugs but we think these problems are due to ketamine itself.” Ayres emphasises that the users who had to have their bladders removed or stretched were at the severe end of the scale: “You have to be really bad to be referred to a urologist, and not everybody is.”

Nate, 24 from Milton Keynes didn’t go to see a doctor, even when he couldn’t sleep through the night because he had to use the toilet so frequently. Charlie, 24, a student from Brighton also didn’t seek help when he had the same problem. He says there needs to more preventative education about ketamine’s effects:

“It’s such a massive epidemic, it’s something that you can get on any street corner. When ecstasy came onto the party scene there was a furore but there hasn’t been for ketamine even though young people are destroying their bodies.”

Young people like Emily, the 17-year-old at the squat party in Brighton who snorted the largest line. She’s notorious on the Brighton party scene now – not for her hedonism or youthful charm, but for being incontinent.

*Some names have been changed

Article taken from

Three arrested over suspected mephedrone deaths

Drug has become increasingly popular among young club goers despite fears about side-effects

Police have arrested three people following the deaths of two teenagers who are believed to have taken mephedrone, a legal drug which gives users a similar experience to ecstasy or cocaine.

Humberside police said last night that men aged 26 and 20 and a 17-year-old boy were in custody in connection with an investigation into the case of Louis Wainwright, 18, and Nicholas Smith, 19.

The teenagers are believed to have been drinking together in Scunthorpe until the early hours of Tuesday morning. Wainwright was found dead at his home in Winteringham, North Yorkshire, later that day. Several hours later, police found Smith dead at his home in Scunthorpe.

One of the arrested men was treated in hospital after also apparently taking the drug, known as “meow meow” or “M-cat”, which has become increasingly popular among young club goers despite fears about side-effects that can include nose bleeds, joint pains, paranoia, heart palpitations, insomnia and memory problems.

Detective chief inspector Mark Oliver said: “We have information to suggest these deaths are linked to M-cat. We would encourage anyone who may have taken the drug or knows somebody who has taken the drug to attend a local hospital as a matter of urgency.

“Anyone who knows somebody who has possession of the drug, we would encourage them to either hand it in to a local police station or dispose of the substance and contact Humberside police.”

Police investigating the deaths found empty mephedrone packets and packages marked “herbal highs” when they searched a property, the force said.

The drug, which comes in the form of a powder, tablets, crystals or liquid, is often sold via the internet, where it can be marketed as plant food, another name for the substance. Health and drug workers and police have become increasingly concerned at its use but are unable to do anything as it remains legal.

In December, Jersey banned the substance, making it a class C drug. Authorities on Guernsey said they were considering classifying mephedrone as class A.

The Home Office has asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to look into whether a nationwide ban is needed.

Article taken from

According to the BBC, The National Association of Head Teachers has called for urgent action to be taken over the drug.

You can also read about it on the local ITV news here…

For more information on what exactly mephedrone is, the effect is has on the human body and the current laws surrounding it, check out Drugscope (below)

Gordon Brown’s refusal to ban cheap booze is biggest health failing, claims chief doctor

Gordon Brown’s refusal to clamp down on cheap alcohol is the biggest public health failing of the last decade, England’s chief medical officer has said.

By Laura Donnelly, Health Correspondent

Sir Liam Donaldson, who is about to retire as Whitehall’s most senior doctor, said the Government’s rejection last year of his proposal for minimum prices constituted his biggest disappointment in the role.

He spoke out in an interview ahead of his final annual report, to be published on Mar 15, in which he will say that grandparents are often the best people to instill healthy habits into a younger generation, giving advice to their grandchildren on diet, exercise and the dangers of smoking and drugs.

Last year Sir Liam, 60, said that supermarkets and shops should not be allowed to sell alcohol for less than 50 pence per unit. His recommendation would have doubled the price of many beers and placed a minimum price of £4.50 on a bottle of wine.

Gordon Brown rejected the proposal instantly, saying the “sensible majority” of moderate drinkers should not be punished for the excesses of binge drinkers. The Conservatives also ruled out the idea.

Sir Liam’s proposal had the backing of many senior doctors, including the British Medical Association.

In January the Commons health select committee criticised Mr Brown’s decision, saying: “It is time the Government listened more to the Chief Medical Officer and the President of the Royal College of Physicians and less to the drinks and retail industry.”

The medical adviser said the rejection of his proposal had been his greatest disappointment during his 12 years in post, all with Labour in power.

The majority of his most significant recommendations – including a ban on smoking in workplaces, allowing embryonic stem cell research, and changes to the way doctors are regulated – have been introduced, though some involved major battles.

The article continues here…

Article taken from

Using cannabis for the first time under the age of 15 is linked to an increased risk of hallucinations or delusions, a new study has found. However, the findings are still not definite.

What do we know already?

Previous studies have found that using cannabis at a young age is linked to psychosis, a condition where someone loses touch with reality. Someone with psychosis might hallucinate or have false beliefs called delusions. Schizophrenia is one cause of psychosis.

Although cannabis use seems to have a link with psychosis, it’s harder to find out whether it’s the cause of the problem. The sheer number of things that could influence someone’s mental health makes it difficult for researchers to investigate whether cannabis really has an effect. Some doctors think people at risk of psychosis may be more likely to use cannabis because of problems in their lives, or to help them cope with their mental illness.

A new study solves some of the research problems by looking at siblings. Siblings usually grow up in a similar environment, and they also share many of the same genes. So, if siblings have a different pattern of cannabis use, researchers can be more confident that it caused other differences between them, such as differences in their mental health.

What does the new study say?

The study looked at nearly 4,000 Australian people born in the early 1980s. At 21 years of age they were asked about whether they’d used cannabis, and also completed questionnaires asking if they’d ever had symptoms like hallucinations or delusions.

People who’d started using cannabis before age 15 were more likely to have had symptoms of psychosis by the age of 21. Of the people who’d used cannabis at an early age, 3.9 percent had developed a psychotic illness. This compared with about 3 percent of people who’d started using cannabis after age 15, and 2.1 percent of people who’d never used cannabis.

The study included 10 pairs of siblings among whom one had developed a psychotic illness but not the other. Within these pairs, there wasn’t a big difference in cannabis use. However, among the 218 pairs of siblings where neither had developed a psychotic illness, siblings who’d used cannabis at a younger age tended to score higher on a questionnaire measuring “delusional-like experiences”.

The article continues here

Article taken from

McGrath J, Welham J, Scott J, et al. Association between cannabis use and psychosis-related outcomes using sibling pair analysis in a cohort of young adults. Archives of General Psychiatry. Published online 1 March 2010.

‘Grossly irresponsible’ Robbie Williams blasted after describing cannabis as ‘lovely’ during an interview

By Liz Thomas

Robbie Williams was yesterday accused of being ‘grossly irresponsible’ for encouraging his young fans to try cannabis after he described the illegal drug as ‘lovely’ during an interview.

The controversial singer, who has battled addictions to cocaine and prescription drugs, said he was still smoking the illegal substance last year and claimed it was ‘a shame’ that it ‘did not mix well’ with him.

But charities and campaign groups have reacted with fury at his comments and claim he is effectively promoting a Class B drug that has been linked to the development of mental illness and psychosis.

The majority of the stars fans are in their teens and his new song Morning Sun has just been selected as the official Sport Relief song, which aims to raise money for disadvantaged people – many of whom will have been affected by drug abuse.

In an interview in the Radio Times Williams told how the tendency to binge eat after smoking marijuana had caused the pounds to pile on.

He said: ‘Have a look at [me] last year. Yep. Year of the Munchie 2009.

‘Weed, it’s such a lovely drug. It is such a lovely drug. But it doesn’t mix well with me – at all.

‘It doesn’t take much to trigger – I mean, I’ll get psychosis from having this cup of tea! Seriously. The caffeine in that is enough. A cup of tea will make me feel like s***. But it’s just a shame about weed, because I did love it.’

David Gilbert, chief executive of drugs education and awareness charity DARE, branded Williams comments ‘disgusting’.

He said: ‘This is grossly irresponsible. He is a role model. Young people look up to him, they admire him, they want to emulate him so saying something like this is thoughtless.

‘His comments make it sound like he is promoting cannabis use – even though it is known that it is harmful and has links to mental illness.

‘In saying cannabis is a ‘lovely drug’ young people who had not previously tried it  – may be tempted to – and others may believe that there are no ill effects.

The article continues here…

Article taken from

Dead smoker has ‘Smoking Killed Me’ signs placed on hearse

A life-long smoker had his dying wish honoured today when he had the words ”Smoking Killed Me” placed on signs in his hearse.

Albert Whittamore, known as Dick, died last month aged 85 after suffering for years from emphysema, a progressive lung condition he blamed on his habit.

He wanted the ill-effects of his smoking to act as a warning to others and dictated in his will that the signs be placed inside his hearse as it passed through his home town of Dover in Kent.

One of the signs was also placed at Mr Whittamore’s graveside, according to his wishes.

Paul Sullivan, of Sullivan & Son funeral directors, said: ”Although he had reached the age of 85, he had been suffering for a while and wanted to do his bit to warn others about smoking.

”He specified that that’s what he wanted in his will. We gave it some thought but after a while we decided that that’s what he had requested.”

Mr Whittamore, who ran a small printing business in a shop below his home, was forced to use a motorised wheelchair in his later years as his health faltered.

A spokesman for the stop smoking charity Quit said: ”We understand Dick had emphysema, which is a lung condition caused by smoking which results in people struggling for breath.

”Dick is sending out a strong message to smokers as he doesn’t want others to suffer.”

Article taken from

People who drink to excess may no longer be able to blame their friends for piling on the pressure, new research has revealed.

A number of adults questioned in the YouGov poll said they had put excessive drinking down to peer pressure but very few said they expected their friends to keep up with them or forced them to drink more when they did not want to.

The survey, for the Department of Health’s Alcohol Effects campaign, also found that people made up excuses or lied to justify refusing a drink, even though it was unlikely their friends would think less of them for doing so.

The poll of more than 2,000 English adults found that more than one in five (22%) people who had ended up drinking more than they planned had blamed peer pressure.

But only 2% of those surveyed admitted to piling on the pressure for friends to drink more when they did not want to and just 4% expected their friends to keep up with them when drinking.

The survey also revealed that 39% of drinkers felt the need to make up an excuse or lie to justify refusing a drink but only 1% said they would think less of those who turned down alcohol or chose to drink less than them.

Experts said the research showed that all drinkers should feel confident about admitting to friends when they have had enough.

Gillian Merron, Public Health Minister, said: “Many of us enjoy a drink – drinking sensibly isn’t a problem, but too many are regularly drinking more than the NHS advises. This means you’re at higher risk of getting cancer or having a stroke or heart attack.

“This survey should encourage us all that it is OK to be honest with our friends about when we’ve had enough.

“Protecting our long-term health should be a good enough reason for anyone.”

Article taken from