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It’s every Jewish parent’s worst nightmare to lose a child, especially needlessly . That sadly was my experience on 26 April 2009, when my wonderful 21 year-old daughter Hester, a medical student at Sussex University, was given a legal high. She wasn’t a drug taker, but a cheerleader and student mentor. Instead of surviving to become a doctor she went to sleep after an awards dinner and never woke up. Tonight, the House of Lords is hearing the debate on the Psychoactive Substances Bill.
We all want our children to stay safe and well so that they live to thrive to lead happy and fulfilled lives. These days’ young people face many challenges during their teenage years and the party substances known as ‘legal highs’ are top of the list of pitfalls as many believe they are safe because, until now, they have been legal.
In 2010 I founded the Angelus Foundation in Hester’s memory, to raise awareness about the dangers of ‘legal highs’ so that young people can make informed decisions and parents can have wise conversations with their children.
Following an intense six-year campaign, the team at the Angelus Foundation welcomed the Government plans to legislate against the sale of new psychoactive substances, which most young people call ‘legal highs’, announced in the Queen’s Speech last month. Angelus has led the call for a strong legal response to the easy availability of these legal substances and has long campaigned for fundamental measures to disrupt the supply of these legal drugs.
The legal change, should effectively shut down the high street trade in ‘legal highs’. Angelus surveys have shown a deeply concerning level of experimentation with ‘legal highs’ - as many as 13.6% of 14-18 year old school students and 19% of university freshers had tried one.
The debate to ban legal highs continues tonight in the House of Lords but they need to bear in mind that banning these harmful substances, and there were over a hundred new substances on the market in Europe last year, will not provide an absolute solution to the problem. They need to also give serious thought to raising public awareness about these potentially harmful substances. There must be a greater commitment from central and local Government, schools and universities, to giving the education which young people need to stay safe.
After the ban internet trade will continue, so it is vital the legal changes are combined with a sustained public awareness campaign. Recently five students at Lancaster University were hospitalised after collapsing from the effects of synthetic cannabis and there are now deaths every week, not to mention the large numbers of young people who suffer psychosis and are robbed of their life potential as a result of effectively playing Russian Roulette with legal highs.
Angelus surveys show young people are still unwittingly taking huge risks by experimenting with legal drugs, often believing they are safe because they are legal. We are determined to build up young people’s knowledge and resilience to prevent further tragedies from taking these harmful products.
Most parents are in the dark too as there is a lack of information to build their knowledge base. They have little idea that several new substances are trickling onto the market each week and that many of their children are at severe risk of being harmed; sometimes even losing their lives like Hester.
Our website www.whynotfindout.org.uk is a dedicated website where young people can receive comprehensive non-judgemental information. Our schools surveys show that over 94% of pupils aged 14 – 18 change their mind set about trying legal highs when they see the short film ‘Not What it Says on the Tin’; so send your teenagers there to watch the film.
Angelus are soon planning to launch a community with a series of films, including celebrities and experts, to take parents on a journey from ignorance through to wisdom so that they know how to have the wisest conversations and keep their young safe. You can register to join the community prior to the launch at www.angelusfoundation.org.uk