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Changing the face of drug education in schools
Jonnie Leach
In his white shirt and black suit you could be forgiven for mistaking Jonnie Leach for an advertising executive here to present a careers talk. Strangely enough, he worked in advertising, before losing his business and his home in order to fund his cocaine habit. Jonnie is open and direct as he tells us his story, from his first experiences with drugs at school to his gradual decline into addiction. It is due to the love and patience of his friends that Jonnie is here today, having been given just six months to live before going into rehab.
Of those parents at the talk, I was not alone in wanting to know 'how to prevent my child taking drugs' and what to do 'if I suspect they are'. Jonnie did not have any easy answers, but his message is clear - talk to your children, be honest with them and tell them about your own experiences with drugs (this caused a few raised eyebrows!). Jonnie reckons that drugs are less cool if you know your parents have taken them - and who can argue with that?
Fascinating as I found his talk, I was left wondering what if any measurable impact it had on the young people who heard it. A young man who wishes to remain anonymous - describes his experiences and the effect of the talk. Ultimately, I am left believing that by demonstrating the possibility of transformation, Jonnie's story offers hope to anyone who wants to listen.
Why did you decide to give talks in schools?
"I believe that others can learn from my experiences, without ending up where I did. I am passionate about talking to young people and have found, that by telling them the truth and realities about drugs, there is more chance of them taking notice of what they are being told."
What difference do you think your presentation makes to young people's lives?
"I have received several e-mails and letters from pupils over the years telling me that I have changed their perspectives and their lives. In my presentations, I put great emphasis on the underlying reasons for addiction, pointing out many of the signs that were missed in me. Young people can hear me describing themselves and the way they feel - and they relate to that and realise that they may be at risk."
What have you learned from your experiences?
"I now see that I was incapable of living life on life's terms. I had low self-esteem. I was utterly lacking in self-worth and felt unwanted and emotionally insecure, not really feeling I quite fitted in with any social group. I hid behind a mask, too afraid to ask for help and certainly too afraid to be myself. I discovered that drugs could numb me into a false sense of security, giving me the ability to lose my inhibitions. They made me feel - confident, outgoing, full of life; all the things I struggled with in normality. I portrayed an image of an outgoing, happy-go-lucky, ever smiling type of guy, but inside I hated myself. I struggled with relationships, scared that if a girl got too close to me she might see behind my façade. In my late teens and early twenties I struggled with periods of binge drinking, self-harm and bulimia, reflecting my emotional state. But hard drugs proved the most effective way of blocking the pain within. By sharing my experiences with young people, it helps remind me that I never want to go back there.
You mentioned in your talk that rehab was one of the hardest things you have done. What helped you get through it?
"I think it was the realisation that, if it didn't work, the chances of staying alive were remote, to say the least."
Most drug education focuses on the inherent dangers of drugs. What do you think of this approach?
"I don't believe that this type of propaganda works at all. Young people have been lied to by successive governments about the dangers of drugs. They know the short-term risks are negligible and, to a degree, tend to disbelieve statistics because of the misleading information they have received in the past."
When do young people start experimenting with drugs?
"Some young people start experimenting when they are as young as ten or eleven. The Health Education Authority National Drugs Campaign Survey of 1996 revealed that over 30% of fourteen year-olds in the UK had experimented with some form of drug, and in the years since that survey, drug use has increased. I think experimentation in all sorts of areas is part of growing up. Young people who experiment with drinking, smoking or drugs, tend to know the risks, but feel they are invincible."
Can you talk about addiction and which individuals you feel are most at risk?
"Although it is possible to become addicted to any drug if used excessively (and to crack cocaine virtually immediately), addiction is generally limited to less than 2% of drug users, and is the result of complicated underlying problems within the individual, not the temptations of the drugs themselves. Individuals with addictive behaviour are the ones most at risk, for example those who:
- are highly manipulative
- have extreme mood swings for no apparent reason
- have a sense of personal isolation even when surrounded by friends
- become easily frustrated and dissatisfied
- are easily hurt and emotionally fragile
- are often misdiagnosed as being depressed, or suffering from attention deficit disorder or other significant behavioural problems."
Why do you think that drug addicts go to such lengths to hide their addiction from their families?
"I think it stems from young people's inability to discuss drugs and experimentation with their parents. By the time my drug taking had become more than recreational, I was so ashamed and embarrassed that I had lied to my family for so long that I felt I simply could not tell them, or ask them for help."
Do you think the change in the law regarding cannabis sends a mixed message to young people?
"Yes. Cannabis has been reclassified from a Class B drug to Class C. Although it is still a dangerous and illegal drug I find that young people tend to think that cannabis is safe, with no real long-term consequences."
Can you describe the dangers of cannabis for teenagers?
"Recent research shows that cannabis use by young people under the age of twenty can have extremely serious long-term consequences. The brain has not finished physically developing until around the age of nineteen or twenty years. Introducing cannabis into the system before that age can permanently and irreversibly alter the way the brain functions. Cannabis can also trigger schizophrenia and depression in people who are predisposed to it. There are many other possible effects, too numerous to mention."
At what age do you think parents should approach the topic of drugs with young people?
"I have found that children as young as nine have an extensive awareness of drugs, picked up through the media, peers and siblings, although they are unlikely to have tried anything themselves. Drug education can't start early enough."
During your presentations to parents, you emphasize that it is important for parents to talk about drugs with their children. Could you say more about this?
"During the course of my presentations, I ask pupils about their experiences with drugs and the realities of drugs in society today.
National statistics, carried out by the Health Education Authority reveal that, by the time they reach eighteen years of age, over 50% of young people will have experimented with some form of illicit drug, with the latest research showing that around 25% of under eighteens use cannabis on a regular basis. My personal experience with young people in independent schools shows these figures to be accurate. So why, when I have addressed parents in the past, and asked the question "How many of you believe that your children have taken illicit drugs?" is the response less than 5%?
I ask pupils, during my presentation, the following question: "If, during the holidays, you were at home with a couple of friends, in your room listening to music, and decided to experiment with say, ecstasy, and you became violently ill as a result, would you go downstairs, tell your parents what you had done and ask for their help?" A staggering 95% say no! I then ask: "But you would go to hospital to seek medical attention, wouldn't you?" Over 75% say that, no, they would not, because the hospital would tell their parents or they would inform the police!
The fact that the majority of deaths from recreational drug use could be avoided if medical attention were sought makes this an exceptionally worrying response, and I provide them with potentially life saving information dispelling these myths.
I believe that the best way for parents to understand the whole situation better would be to have open and honest, non-judgemental discussions on this topic. Quite often it has become apparent that the children's perception of their parents' reaction is a long way off the mark."
If you could give one message to parents what would it be?
"Please, please, please, talk to your children about drugs, rationally and calmly. Discuss their experiences with drugs in a non-judgemental, unbiased way - they know far more about the realities of drugs than most parents! Remember that, whilst a great number of parents are terrified about the prospect of their offspring using illicit drugs, they have no qualms about them drinking alcohol, a 'legal' drug responsible for more deaths and problems than all other drugs added together."
Useful organisations:
Drugscope www.drugscope.org.uk
Narcotics Anonymous
Useful books:
The Truth About Drugs by Dr. Patrick Dixon, Hodder and Stoughton. This book is out of print but you can find most of it on-line at: www.globalchange.com/drugs/TAD-Opening.htm
Out of It - A Cultural History of Intoxication, by Stuart Walton, out of print.
And to keep those lines of communication open:
How To Talk So Kids Will Listen And Listen So Kids Will Talk by Elaine Mazlish and Adele Faber, Piccadilly Press, £9.99.
Jonnie has delivered his presentation on drugs to over twenty thousand young people in more than ninety independent schools over the past three years. Alongside his work in schools, he is a qualified psychotherapist in private practice, specialising in treating addictions. jonnieleach@hotmail.com
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