Last week we had a spectacular Drugs Awareness Week consisting of reflection, competitions, facts, speakers, workshops and simulations, all intended to spark more conversation and ultimately awareness about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

During the week, a competition was held for all Senior School students to send other students a message about drug use through thought-provoking slogans. Students came up with a variety of poignant statements: “Don’t do pot or your brain will rot!” “I’d eat bugs rather than do drugs!” “No need to do weed!” and “D.E.A.D (Drugs End All Dreams)!” The students were creative in their messages and came up with some great ideas! 

We had an alcohol simulation experiment outside where students had the opportunity to wear beer and marijuana goggles, which simulated the experience of being under the influence. Students stumbled, fell, struggled with following a guided path or catching a ball… there were lots of giggles until A. Stephen asked: “imagine if you were this affected and you chose to get behind the wheel?” One of the students remarked: “It’d be suicide”.

We also had ten recovering addicts from a local rehab centre join us to share their story of addiction and recovery. The students seemed riveted by their stories and asked lots of questions. Many of the recovering addicts were in their late teens and twenties, some had attended boarding schools and IB schools, and all of them shared how they had thought that drugs had been the solution at first but that drugs had ended up ravaging their self-esteem, their relationships, and their identity. 

The parents had lots of questions about this topic too, so we organised a parent workshop to help parents detect drug use, learn about the impact of drugs and alcohol on teens, identify some strategies for how to talk to teens about drugs, and what to do if they suspect someone in the family has a drug problem.

We will follow up with the students over the remainder of the academic year however if you would like to know more, please get in touch and we will be happy to help.

In the meantime, however, please see the video below which gives a taste of the week and what was learned as well as the slides from the parent presentation and some links to resources we used during the week.

Have a conversation, not a confrontation – website

How to talk to your kids about drugs if you did drugs – website

Shaking places where your kids are hiding drugs – movie

The truth about drugs: the final word – documentary conclusion