DRUGS: THE LOWDOWN ON GETTING HIGH

ACTIVITIES

Guidance

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Before viewing

How likely do you think you are to suffer from addiction? Are you already showing some of the warning signs? Before you view the film, fill out the BBC addiction assessment at:
www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/radio1/
gigaquiz.pl?infile=essentials4&path=essentials4

Discuss your results. Do you agree with the assessment?

When you have watched the film, discuss your results again in the light of the testimonies in the programme. What traps did these drug users fall into? Do you feel that you could fall into the same traps that they did? Did the addiction assessment indicate that you could go the same way?

Follow-up activities

Opium is the raw material from which heroin is made. Would it be a surprise to you to learn that Britain had a major role in spreading opium across the globe?

Do the opium quiz on the Release website:
www.release.org.uk/opiumquiz.php

and/or

Explore the drug history pages on the Release website (you may find some quiz answers on these pages):
www.release.org.uk/html/
~Drugs/ Drug_History.php

Next, read the arguments for and against drug prohibition on the following pages:
www.tdpf.org.uk/Transform_leaflet.pdf
Transform is an organisation that campaigns for a reform of drug laws away from criminalisation and toward harm-minimisation.

and

www.drugprevent.demon.co.uk/
New%20look%20of%20Website/homepage/
mainpage11.html
The National Drug Prevention Alliance argues for complete drug prohibition. (You only need read the sections on this page entitled 'The Situation Today', Prevention – The Key Strategy, and NDPA Resolutions.)

Which view point do you agree with? Is the war on drugs creating more of a problem than it is curing? How would legalisation and control help? Or, do you feel that drugs should be criminalised and prohibited? Are prison sentences effective in stopping dealers?

Finally, watch this short three-minute film:
www.release.org.uk/html/~master_menu/
~Media_Center/~Dr_Shulgin_Film/View_Trailer.php
Alexander Shulgin was responsible for popularising ecstasy in the '70s. He has manufactured hundreds of different psychoactive drugs since then, and tried over 200 of them personally. Today, there are a growing number of synthetic E-like club drugs. Shulgin has opened the possibility that there will be thousands more. In the future there could be a drug for every occasion. Will this be a good thing? What will it do to society?

Activities based on clips

To view 4Leaning video clips you will need Windows XP/2000 and Windows Media Player 9, 10 or 11. Unfortunately clips are not supported on Macintosh computers.

The video clips may contain a few seconds of extra material at the beginning and end. We have therefore included opening and closing dialogues to help identify the intended scene.

Cannabis – what's the problem?
Clip 1: 04:50 – 06:25

• In (narrator): 'Cannabis is a depressant…'
• Out (David Monteith): '…spraying it with all kinds of rubbish'

Do you think cannabis is a harmless, natural substance? What other natural substances do we use to change our mood? Cannabis has a reputation for not being addictive, but some people do become addicted. Why do some people have a problem with it, while others don't? Discuss the difference between the ways Hannah, Neal and Dan used cannabis in the film.

Who's in control?
Clip 2: 07:52 – 09:22

• In (Hannah): 'When I tried ecstasy…'
• Out (David Monteith): '… it's a good feeling'

Hannah says she didn't care if the ecstasy killed her – she was taking it because it looked fun and she could do what she wanted. There was a note of rebellion – I can do what I want – in Hannah's voice. One of the difficult things about being a kid is that your parents are in total control. Do you think that taking drugs can be a way in which young people assert control over their own lives? Is this why we all do things that our parents wouldn't want us to do? Has drug-taking become a normal part of teenage rebellion (which, in itself, is natural and harmless)? If drugs feel so good, why doesn't everyone take them all the time?

Friends and family
Clip 3: 31:42 – 33:22

• In (Neal): 'I felt that my only option…'
• Out (Neal's father): '…where I'd gone wrong.'

When someone has a drug problem, what affect does it have on their friends and family? How do you think your parents would feel if you became a heavy drug user? What can you do if someone close to you seems to be spiralling into addiction?

Kicking the habit
Clip 4: 25:08 – 26:51

• In (Graham): 'It was like blocking out what my life was…'
• Out (Graham): '…I've really got to change now.'

What triggered Graham to give up drugs? Compare this with what triggered Hannah, Georgie, Dan and Neal to clean up. Why do people take so long to decide to stop? Why is it so hard to stop taking drugs, once they have become habit?