A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Amy Peacock, UNSW and Rachel Sutherland, UNSW There’s no question COVID-19 has changed many aspects of our lives. As drug researchers, we are interested in how the pandemic has affected illicit drug use in Australia. Our two new surveys of Australians who regularly use illicit drugs show people most commonly reported no change or a [...]
A pill testing trial run earlier this year at Groovin the Moo Canberra has now been endorsed by an independent review conducted by researchers from Australian National University. The critical finding of the report is that in all seven instances of dangerous drugs being detected, the owners threw away the drug. The researchers also found [...]
We all want to reduce drug-related harm and ensure young people don’t take unnecessary risks. But decades of research shows fear isn’t an effective way to do this. This week, Newscorp Australia released The Ripple Effect, a series of articles and accompanying videos about party drugs, aimed at parents of young people. Rather than drawing [...]
It's difficult to not drink in Australia, and if anything, it's even harder for teens. Adolescence is a time of desperately wanting to fit in and be accepted, and many teens see drinking as one of the easiest ways to achieve this. On the other hand, parents (and other adults responsible for teens) are generally [...]
My friends are taking ecstasy at raves and music festivals. Is it safe? — Anonymous Key points no drug use, including ecstasy, is 100% safe festivals can present unique risks look out for friends, know the risks and where to get help. What is ecstasy or MDMA? Ecstasy is a slang term for drugs meant [...]
'MDMA is the drug of the moment', with a marked spike in young people expressing concern for their peers who are using an 'unprecedented' amount of this and other drugs, according to drug researcher and educator Paul Dillon. At a recent coronial inquest into NSW music festival deaths, Dillon stated that the lack of early [...]
The NSW inquest into recent drug deaths at music festivals is due to start this week. So focus is turning to how to make music festivals safer by reducing drug-related incidents. We know that prohibition doesn’t work to reduce either harms or drug use. But what does? How do drugs cause harm? Most illicit drugs [...]
This article debunks the commonly held belief that young people will be safer and better adjusted if allowed alcohol by parents in a controlled environment. It not only outlines the increase in teen binge drinking which is more likely under this style of parenting, but also the increased incidence of alcoholism later in life and [...]
Youth are using e-cigarettes (also known as vaping devices) at a rapidly increasing rate — a practice that constitutes an urgent threat to public health. Preliminary survey data suggests that, for the first time in 30 years, the youth smoking rate has increased in Canada, with e-cigarettes being the suspected cause. Recent data from the [...]
Most young people in the youth justice system have been found to come from “troubled” backgrounds. However, many people with similar backgrounds don’t ever end up in youth justice services. Knowing why people with troubled childhoods may be more likely to engage in criminal activity is necessary to inform the development of effective prevention and [...]
