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Looking out for your mates
If you are worried about how drugs or alcohol are affecting a friend – say something. Drugsmeter gives you
some tips on how to start the conversation below.
- 1. Before you say anything, remember that how you feel about your mates and what they are doing to themselves and others through their use of drugs or alcohol can influence what you say and how you say it. Being angry, judgmental and derogatory about an issue may discourage them listen to you or take your concerns seriously.
2. Get informed about the drug before you say something
3. When – Try not to raise your concerns in the middle of session or both of you are intoxicated or about to rack up another line. Obviously if you are worried about someone’s immediate safety, then say something on the spot. Try to pick a time when you are both straight, are somewhere quiet, and have enough time to have a conversation.
4. Why – Problems with drugs, if they are spotted early, are often easier to address – just by pulling back, slowing down or taking a break. Trying to do things when someone is depressed, ill or dependent on a drug is harder. The earlier you say something the easier it is.
5. Where – Don’t start the conversation in a crowded placed or where you are surrounded by other mates, It’s too easy to deflect the issue on to others or to feel like they are being picked on. Pick a time when you are engaged in another non-drug related activity e.g sport/movie
6. How – Start by being positive about that person – their qualities, the reason you are mates, your history and how they have looked out for you.
7. What – Express that you are worried, but you are not sure if you need to be. Make sure you focus on behaviours or actions, not the person. For example, reflect back to a recent event or series of events that made you worried and ask for their view. Ask them what they think.
8. Don’t get into arguments about their drug use, yours or others. Everyone is different, some people run into problems earlier or more easily than others. The conversation is about your concerns for them. Don’t expect change to occur over night and if they get angry leave it and come back to it another time.
9. Lead by example. If you are regular drug-using friends you might want to offer to share period of reduced use to support them.
10. End your conversation by saying thank you. Tell them that you only mentioned it because you care and that you can imagine it might not have been easy to listen to. Say you hope if they ever have worries about you they they would say something. Offer to help and support in any way you can. Looking out for mates.
If you are worried about how drugs or alcohol are affecting a friend – say something.
Drugs meter gives you some tips on how to start the conversation below. How do you measure up www.drugsmeter.com
First time with a new powder or pill
Last year Global Drug Survey found out that 1 in 8 young people had taken a mystery white powder to get high.
Since you never know what’s in it so drugs meter thought a few tips might be of use. We can’t guarantee they’ll keep you safe but they may help.
First time with a new powder or pill
1. Do your research – recognize it’s limitations.
2. The biggest risk is starting off taking lots of an unknown drug before you know how long it takes to come
3. on, peak and starting coming down – so easy does it.
4. Test drive it before putting your foot down.
5. Choose your time – don’t be coming down or experiment on the back of a bender.
6. Don’t have anything else on board/including prescribed medications.
7. Don’t be on your own.
8. Make sure others know what you have taken and that at least one of them is not intoxicated.
9. If you feel unwell let someone know and seek help.
10. Be in a safe place – familiar.
11. First dose should be at least a quarter of what you think a tiny dose is (or a maximum quarter of a pill).
12. Wait for at least 90-120 minutes before re-dosing.
13. Avoid taking other drugs/alcohol after dosing.
14. Don’t drive/bath/play with knives.
15. Accept many drugs wont be very good/effective or nice.
16. Plan ahead before you’re too off your head.
Compare yourself to others www.drugsmeter.com
Avoiding the emergency department if you use mephedrone
Fact 1 Over 80% of A+E presentations involving mephedrone also involve alcohol
Tip 1 Keep your alcohol drinking down (5 units) and stay well hydrated with water or juice
Fact 2 The more mephedrone you use and the longer your session is the more likely you are to experience problems
Tip 2 Keep your doses down (best under 1/2gram a session) and keep your session short
Fact 3 Injecting mephedrone is by far the most risky way of using.
Tip 3 Avoid injecting but if you do always use a clean works and dispose of it in a sharps box
Fact 4 If you feel depressed before you start using mephedrone your comedown will be really bad
Tip 4 Avoid using when you feel down, depressed or anxious or if you are on any medication for your mood, heart or brain.
Fact 5 Most A+E presentations involving mephedrone also involve other drugs especially ketamine, cocaine and E
Tip 5 Avoid using other stimulant (cocaine, E, amphetamine) drugs with mephedrone
Fact 6 Most people who have a bad time with mephedrone can feel things starting to go wrong but carry on taking more instead of stopping
Tip 6 If you start to feel agitated, angry, frightened, really paranoid, hot, or confused, or start to feel your race away or get chest pain or hear or see things then stop using immediately. The sooner you stop the sooner you’ll feel back to normal. If you don’t feel better after a little while get help.
Fact 7 Most people who have used mephedrone who turn up to A+E have mates that probably could have got them to slow down or stop before it got really bad.
Tip 7 Don’t be afraid to say something and look out for your mates
Presenting our new Cannabis App
Welcome to #CannabisWeek!
Today we are launching our unique and exclusive ‘cannabis app’ for all smart phones and with cannabis being the most common illicit drug used around the world- what better way to begin?
drugs meter was launched last month and since then over 3,000 people have taken the drugs meter, bringing our comparison database to over 15,000 people! Like all drugs meters, the cannabis app provides you with immediate, objective and personalised feedback and lets you compare your cannabis use with thousands of other current cannabis users. So far around 5,000 cannabis users have examined their use against others on drugs meter….and wouldn’t it be interesting for you to anonymously compare your cannabis use to others within the community- well now you can. Read more
Driving while under the influence of cannabis
This is a short letter written by Adam and published in the BMJ in response to an editorial piece written by Professor Wayne Hall. Professor Halls editorial is available here- Driving while under the influence of cannabis and addresses the topic of whether roadside drug testing reduces cannabis impaired driving. Below is Adams response using findings from the 2012 Global Drug Survey.
Driving while under the influence of cannabis
Dear Editor
I read with interest the editorial by Wayne Hall and the systematic review by Abridge et al in the BMJ, highlighting the increased risk of fatal road collision while driving under the influence of cannabis. As part of a wider survey on drug use patterns and harms conducted at the end of 2011 by Global Drug Survey (www.globaldrugsurvey.com) in partnership with Mixmag and the Guardian newspaper, we asked current cannabis smokers about the risk of being identified as intoxicated with cannabis (without alcohol) whilst driving, if they got pulled over by the police within 2 hours of smoking a joint.
Data from over 10,000 last year cannabis users from around the world was obtained. The results from the UK, USA and Australia are outlined in table 1. The findings tend to support the cautious view put forward by Wayne Hall regarding the likely impact that roadside drug testing would have upon drug driving. For any drug driving policy to be an effective deterrent, drugged drivers must consider the risk of being stopped and subsequently detected as being under the influence as a real possibility.
Our results suggest that only a minority of current cannabis users think they would be detected as driving stoned using the present detection approaches utilised in their countries. The full results of the 2012 Global drug Survey are published exclusively in the Guardian and Mixmag on March 15 2012.
Table 1- BMJ- UK, US and Australia sample
Adam R Wintock, Consultant Addiction Psychiatrist
Read all about it! Global Drug Survey is front page news
The first Global Drug Survey hit the Guardian front page this morning and is set to lead two days of drug coverage – from ‘hidden’ drug users to synthetic cannabis to prescription drugs and our very own drugs meter app. dominating the society most read and Guardian Zietgeist, we had over 300 comments by 10am! Check out the animation, video, data and editorial here.
Mixmag has launched their coverage of the Global Drug Survey data today with a massive 10 pages of coverage on all things drugs! Mixmag have been at the forefront of making drugs a media issue for the last decade and Global Drug Survey is proud to be working with them. Check out their beautiful coverage here.
Global Drug Survey will be releasing our own exclusive coverage later today – want to see what drugs are the most popular? Watch this space!
Anything is possible on the Silk Road- by Monica Barratt
Much of the research and discussion about drugs and the internet has focused upon either buying drugs online or seeking drug-related information online. News coverage has particularly focused upon the capacity to buy drugs from web vendors (eg, Psychedelic drugs just a click away online, Deadly drug on the net).Yet, evidence from the last decade indicates that most drug transactions still occur in the traditional way.
Popular illegal drugs are not generally available online: unless the product can be marketed as ‘legal’ or ‘not for human consumption’, the legal risk and practical problems associated with selling heroin, MDMA, amphetamines, and cannabis through an online marketplace are just too big, for both buyers and sellers.
Yet, evidence from the last decade indicates that most drug transactions still occur in the traditional way.
Recovery Foods- by Susan Kath
Whether your prepping for a nuts night out or in recovery mode from a session the night before, here are some tips by Susan Kath to help you recover.
Big night out? Feeling low and flat and lacking in energy?
Replace depleted nutrients to get you going again.
Also drink lots of water or herbal teas to overcome dehydration.
Replace electrolytes, e.g. sodium & potassium. Read more
On course to being the biggest drug survey ever !
Global Drug Survey has launched the annual Mixmag Drug Survey in partnership with The Guardian, which is anticipated to be the worlds biggest, most comprehensive drug survey ever conducted.
Receiving over 7000 responses in the first 48 hours alone, the anonymous online survey addresses how people are using illegal drugs as well as alcohol, tobacco and prescription Read more