Amy-Winehouse-Foundation-launches-drug-programme

Amy Winehouse Foundation launches drug programme

Amy Winehouse Foundation launches drug programme – BBC

The Amy Winehouse Foundation has launched a drug and alcohol education program for schools in England. The foundation's resilience programme will initially be rolled out in 10 different locations and will be delivered by people who are already in recovery. Amy's father, Mitch made the announcement alongside the drugs treatment charity Addaction. He was also supported by actor and former drug addict Russell Brand.

Concerns over legal highs and mixing them with other substances like alcohol were highlighted during a two-day conference on addiction, and Addaction says there are also worries over the number of people injecting legal highs. Simon Antrobus, the chief executive of Addaction, says that it is an issue which needs a response.

He said: "If you think back probably 18 months ago when we were first talking about Mephedrone, we really didn't know what the consequences were. Now we're seeing young people and adults injecting Mephedrone and that's a serious issue. And of course if you layer on top of that alcohol you are going to have some significant consequences."

Mitch Winehouse said "We have to tell them what the compounds are in these so called legal highs. We're not saying to them, 'Don't do it. Don't smoke, don't drink, don't take legal highs.' We're saying, 'Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's safe.' There is an epidemic. The good part, if you want to call it that, is that crack cocaine and heroin are coming down, legal highs are going up because it's much cheaper. It's poison and they don't know that it's poison."

He said that his plan was for a resilience programme to support and inform pupils, parents and teachers on drug and alcohol issues and any other personal concerns surrounding those issues. The programme, with support from Childline, will also offer a free, confidential phone and online service for children and young people across the UK, if they don't feel confident discussing them in school.

"It's not just the kids that are suffering from addiction problems, it's the parents too," he said. "That's what we're there for, to highlight these problems and to help the young people and their parents."

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The Have I Got A Problem website is a free online resource to help people better understand any issues or concerns they may have about mental health or addiction. The website includes resources specifically focused to; general Mental Health, Depression, Stress, Anxiety, Insecurities, Self-harm Schizophrenia, Bipolar, Anger Management, Eating Disorders, Coping, general Addiction, Alcohol, Smoking, Gambling, Drugs, Cocaine, Heroin, Marijuana (Cannabis) Ecstasy, PCP, Mephedrone, Ketamine & Crystal Meth.

The site was created to give the public information to help them understand mental health and addiction issues and to assist people in making better informed decisions about their life and personal choices.

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"Bath salts have been linked to an alarming surge in visits to emergency departments and poison control centers across the country"

drugabuse.gov

"I don't miss the fact that now when my lips move it is more than likely I am actually telling the truth."

Jane S

"I don't miss the fear that arose when I'm driving my car every time a police car hovers into view."

Steven

"My lowest point was when I realised I was stealing money from my daughters Christmas presents to fund my habit."

P. Gomez

"That's what made me think of stopping my drug habits - My Blood pressure spiked at 200/110 last week during a Panic Attack."

Maria

"Anyone being faced with the reality that their addiction needs to be conquered and their life will change is going to be scared."

Fatima

"You need to realize that the little voice in your head telling you to use is your own."

Maya

"Find out why you use, find out your triggers, and take it day by day. Any day clean is better than any day you’ve been high."

Ivan

"My goal in life wasn't living...it was getting high. I was falling in a downward spiral towards a point of no return"

John

"I ended up homeless and on the streets, living and sleeping in a cardboard box, begging and struggling to find ways to get my next meal."

Ben

"Now I see how important it is for me to be in control of every part of me. Today my body is being controlled by me. I am in the driver’s seat, and I’m driving with happiness."

Nathan

"Little did I know that my mom was upstairs crying every night that I came home late, crying because she was scared for my survival."

Nick

"I thought that if it is ‘legal plant food’, it couldn’t do me any harm."

Abdul

"The reason people are taking it is because it’s cheap and legal. At the festivals last year they had legal high stands with people just going round saying, ‘Yeah, it’s amazing’."

Mark

"A few nights after I?d stopped I wanted to die."

Anonymous

"This drug will change your life in the click of a finger."

Anonymous

"I say I'm never going to take it again but when the weekend gets here I can't resist it. It scares me so much because I have got two young children and it is taking over my life."

Anonymous

"I'm really worried now, this is starting to take over my life and i have no idea what its doing to my body due to the lack of research."

Anonymous

"After quitting mephedrone, I can't concentrate on anything... I can't understand anything. I'm completely and utterly useless. I stare at the screen at my job, trying to make some sense of the nonsense in front of me. I end up sobbing in the toilets in sh"

Anonymous

"I have been addicted to pretty much every drug out there. I've been living like this for over 15 years, but I have never became so addicted so quick aw to mephedrone."

Anonymous

"It's within you to stop the use of Mephedrone. Do the right thing."

Anonymous

"It's not just the kids that are suffering from addiction problems, it's the parents too"

Mitch Winehouse

"We're saying, 'Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's safe.'"

Mitch Winehouse

"The harms and potential danger with taking drugs such as amphetamines and cocaine are well known, and these substances are related to those drugs. There is no evidence that [mephedrone] is a safer option."

Harry Shapiro, DrugScope

"Many of the deaths involved poly-drug use and high levels of alcohol"

Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs

"You see young kids now, 13, 14 on it, but they think it's all right because it was legal at one point."

Rachel

"We'd have to say that this drug is probably worse in some ways, in terms of the violence, than some of the other drugs like cocaine and heroin"

Consultant Mr Michael McCabe

"There's a real ruthlessness about this that is to exploit children and to get people hooked so that they are then their market for the future."

Supt. Rhiannon Kirk

"I had no idea what was real, and don't like being that out of control."

Seth

"I got cold in places, but felt hot and sweaty in other parts… and my heart was beating but not regular."

Keith

"The back of your nose fills up with snotty gunk and blood, and is scabbed afterwards."

Beth

"The first time I took mephedrone it felt like a cross between good coke and good MDMA. But by the third time the high was much harder to get."

Peter

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Compared to other recreational drugs, it is relatively easy to overdose on Mephedrone. This is because it is so moreish, that is once y...

Avoid oral route

The oral route is the most popular because it has the least side effects; however, it can take some time for the effects to be felt so ...

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As a recovering addict, you can take up a physical routine like joining a gym or a yoga club or just jog with friends. Physical occupat...

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Leave the scene

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Write A Letter

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