My Tv Transcript

MYTV Transcript Previous show ***EXAMPLE*** Problem I’m not part of the most popular group - or any particular group really. I guess I feel different from the other kids at school, and they treat me like I’m different too. Most days I’m happy enough doing my own thing and joining in with people here and there. But sometimes when there’s stuff happening I feel left out and get depressed.

Opinions Robert Bosi When you’re growing up, it can be tough at times, it can sometimes feel like, “I’m all alone; nobody else understands me or nobody feels the way that I do, nobody does what I do or nobody wants to do what I do.” And that can be a really tough feeling that sort of, feeling isolated, feeling alone. It can be a common experience and it’s really important to be able to establish a good relationship with somebody so that you can actually talk about that, because one of the most common experiences is that when people start to talk about their feelings, they actually discover that there’s a whole lot of people who feel the same way. It’s a matter of finding the right place and the right people. Danni Nine and a half times out of ten there’ll be someone who is exactly like you and you’ll get along great with them. You’re not going to get along with everyone in school, nobody does, which is why you should just be yourself and find the niche that you’re in and have those close group of friends where you know you’re trusted and you can tell them anything and know that it won’t get thrown in your face. Helen Cahill If you’re being harassed at school, that is something that you really have to deal with and get other people involved to help you. And by harassment, I mean if people are deliberately leaving you out, or they’re putting you down, or taking your stuff or pushing you around, or even if they’re just threatening to do it. But if they’re making you feel bad on purpose then other people need to know about that. You could try telling someone at home and you should definitely tell some teacher at school, someone you trust and that you like because you’ve got a right to learn at school without being worried about being pushed around.

Advice School can be really hard sometimes. It can take a while to feel comfortable and connected. You might not meet really close friends until you’ve left school or you might meet them at interest and support groups outside school. Most kids get the blues once in a while. But if you feel depressed and you can‘t shake it off, then you need to talk to a counsellor or teacher you trust. Remember that some problems are just too big to handle on your own.

PROBLEMS 1

They drink and drive me home

I’m 15 and have started baby-sitting to earn money. My problem is with the family I babysit for. They live about six kilometres away and always drive me home. Often they seem to be a bit drunk when they get in, but they seem to drive OK. What should I do? I don’t want to lose the baby-sitting job.

2

Friend becoming a pot head

I’ve always known that Steve smoked pot occasionally at parties or with friends. However lately he‘s started to smoke a lot more. He’s hanging around with losers. It’s like the whole scene means more to him than anything else. I am sick of him telling me about stupid things he’s done that he thinks are funny. I’ve tried talking to him but he can’t see there’s a problem. I want to help him, but I don’t know how.

3

Is dope dangerous?

I’m 16. I’ve been smoking dope for two years, and been a daily smoker for about nine months. It was great at first. I felt really creative. I’m just wondering if there are any serious problems with dope. I do stress a bit when I don’t have any smoke, and it’s not fun like it used to be. But everyone tells me it’s not an addictive drug. It’s a natural herb. Could it be mentally addictive? Also I’m finding that I feel a bit paranoid when I’m stoned. Can dope make you paranoid, or crazy?

4

Father is an alcoholic

My father is a problem drinker and this has been very hard for me. I’m wondering if I will turn out like my dad and be an “agro” drunk. And I worry when I see people I care about drinking. Any advice is welcome.

5

Rumours follow drinking

Over the school holidays my whole group went up to a place near the lake and we drank. We all did it, and then we started going up there on weekends. I thought it was fun and I got together with a few of the guys. I never had sex with any of them - I just thought it was fun, and I enjoyed the attention. Now I find that there are a whole lot of rumours about me - that I’m a slut who will go with anyone. It’s not fair. No-one’s calling the guys sluts.

6

Girlfriend says quit, friends say don’t

I am 15 years old. My friends and I have been smoking weed for a while. But now I have a girlfriend and she doesn’t like the fact that I do weed and smoke, and drink, so I am trying to quit but the pressure is too hard. Any advice you can give me on how I can stay cool with my friends and not look like a dork because I quit, and keep my girlfriend happy would help me lots.

7

Why do friends smoke and drink?

We hear a lot of stuff at school about how bad drinking and smoking are. But my parents drink and smoke and they are not bad people. They let my sister who is 16 smoke at home, even though they never wanted her to smoke. They tell me I shouldn’t smoke, because it’s expensive and unhealthy. They keep saying they are going to quit. But why do they smoke? There must be a reason people use drugs like tobacco and alcohol.

8

Drunk boyfriend has loose lips

Last weekend my boyfriend went to a friend’s party and drank too much. While under the influence he kissed some other girls. He did this knowing I would probably find out because I know most of the people that were there. He apologised for what happened and said it was only because he was drunk. He doesn’t want to break up. I still have strong feelings for him but I’m not sure I can trust him. I‘m having trouble working out what to do.

9

Parent wants to trust teenager

Maybe you kids can give me some good advice about being a parent. My teenager has been lying to me, mostly about things that go on at parties. For example, saying that there isn’t any alcohol, or that she hasn’t been drinking. It’s true that if she told me she was drinking spirits I wouldn’t let her go out. I need to be able to trust her and I’m not sure how to go about repairing our relationship. It’s my responsibility to make sure nothing bad happens to her. What’s your advice?

10

Wants to get trashed

I can’t stand not being able to go out on a Friday and Saturday night because I want to go out and get trashed as. Every time I get pissed I never go home when I’m supposed to, and then I’m not allowed out the next weekend but as soon as they let me out the weekend after, I do the same thing. I can’t stand not being able to drink, and all these fights are getting me depressed. I am crying all the time and because I don’t smoke marijuana anymore, there’s no other way to have fun. This life is tearing me apart. What should I do?

11.

Girlfriend tastes of cigarettes

I’ve been going out with this girl for about eight months now. I like her a lot and we have fun. The problem is she smokes cigarettes. I find smoking a turn off. Kissing is still good but I wish she didn’t taste like tobacco and spearmint. She has lied about quitting so it has caused problems in our relationship. She’s in Year 9 now and she took it up in Year 7. Should I just put up with it?

12

Does everyone do it?

My friend says it is normal to drink alcohol and smoke drugs when you’re a teenager - it’s natural and everyone does it. That doesn’t sound right to me. Can you give me the facts?

13.

Smoker worried about weight

I’ve been a smoker for over a year now and I want to quit because it is expensive and affecting my sports. But there’s one thing stopping me: I’ve heard that if you quit smoking you gain weight. Is that true? I don’t want to be a blob. I hate fat more than anything else in the world.

14

Alcohol leads to unplanned sex

My sister got drunk at a party and had sex with a guy from Year 12. She felt really upset about it later and wished she hadn’t lost her virginity like that. They didn’t even have safe sex. Does alcohol make people feel like having sex, even if they don’t really want to?

15

Friend starts smoking

I have this friend. She’s been my friend since kindergarten. We always used to agree about things, like how stupid people look when they smoke - especially teenagers trying too hard to fit in. Now I feel really let down because she’s started smoking. I don’t want to lose the friendship, and she says it’s just that she sees things differently now. She wants me to try smoking before I criticise it. I just feel like everything’s changed and I’m confused.

16

Drinking is not my culture

I can’t drink alcohol because of my religion and I don’t see any point in drinking or smoking anyway. My friends and I like to go to parties to dance and have a good time. Last weekend some guys from school tried to start a fight with us. They said 91Real Aussies drink beer’. We ignored them and kept walking, but as we were going they poured some beer over my cousin and threw a can at me. I don’t understand why this happened and what I should do.

17

Hangover cures

I am playing in the regional football team and I work hard to stay fit. A friend has invited me to a party the night before the semi-finals. I’d like to go to the party, and she’ll probably get the wrong idea if I say 91no’. But I don’t want to stuff up the footy. My mate says that partying is OK as long as you drink lots of coffee afterwards and have a big breakfast. Is that right?

18

Dope free party

My parents are pretty good. They’re letting me have a party with some alcohol - mainly light beer. But they are dead-set they don’t want any dope at the party. Now some of my friends are saying they want to bring some dope to the party. They say dope is much safer than alcohol, and when I say I don’t want them to bring it, they don’t take me seriously. They just say my parents will never find out. They tell me to chill out. Now I’m wondering if I want to have a party after all.

19

Safe partying

I’m in Year 10 and sometimes when my friends and I go to a party there’s alcohol or drugs there. Some of my friends drink and smoke. We just want to have fun at parties so can we have your advice about staying safe and healthy while we are partying.

20

Alcohol seems to bring out the worst in me

I’m nearly 16 and I sometimes have a drink with friends, which is something I like to do. There may be a problem though. I seem to get into fights ‘but only when I’m drunk. And I don’t know how the fights start. My friend Sophie says she doesn’t want to see me when I’m drunk because I just argue. Is there something wrong with me? I really don’t mean to say hurtful stuff ‘ I just get moody.

OPINIONS Helen Cahill, Youth researcher Introduction I’m Helen Cahill and in my job I get to spend a lot of time interviewing young people about some of the decisions they have to make around alcohol, drugs, sex and looking after their own mental health. Clip 1 resilience Resilience means being able to cope with things when times are tough or when things are changing on you, and we‘re all resilient, we‘ve all got ways of coping with change. But the trick is to find as many different tactics or strategies as you can to help you get by when things are not going exactly the way you want them to. And let‘s face it, change and challenge are just part of life and it’s certainly part of growing up, so as you get older you’re going to find more and more ways to deal with the things that stress you. Clip 2 self-talk The things you say to yourself in your head, which we call self-talk, are a really important way of coping. Now you might have a voice in your head that‘s constantly criticising you and telling you you‘re dumb or stupid or fat or ugly, you’re going to lose, you’re going to fail and that no-one likes you, and if you‘ve got a voice like that going on full-time in your head, it can be pretty hard to get through the day. What you want to do is work on another voice in your head which sounds more like a coach. You know the kind of coach that encourages you to have a go and not to give up and to keep trying even though you’re only learning at something, that’s the sort of self-talk you want to really encourage in your head, maybe even practise it. Clip 3 assertiveness All of us need to find out how we can look out for ourselves and assert our own needs, because there’s going to be situations that you end up in life where you might have to put forward what you want in such a way that it doesn‘t end up putting you in a fight. At a party, for example, somebody could be hassling you or putting pressure on you, or coming on too strong, they might even want you to get into a car with them and it’s not a safe situation. And you have to be able to assert yourself in such a way as you can get out of that situation safely without offending anyone too much. Clip 4 drugs to cope Using drugs as a way to help you cope with a difficult situation or a tough phase in your life is really not a good idea. The reason why I say that is because you can tend to use the drug as a prop and it doesn‘t help you deal with the problem. It just masks it for a while and then when you stop using the drug, or when you try to, you‘ve still got the same ongoing problem but maybe a few extra ones as well that have come out of the drug use and how you might have behaved when you‘ve been either drunk or out of it on the drug.

Clip 5 making decisions If you‘ve got a difficult decision to make, it’s a good idea to maybe think of three, four, even five or six different possible things you could do in that situation, even if some of them are things that you really wouldn‘t be caught dead doing. Once you‘ve thought through the options like that, you can be sure that you are going to hone in more on something that’s right for you because while you are thinking of those options, you‘ll also be thinking about what would happen if you made that decision, so you‘ll be thinking about the different consequences involved. Clip 6 body image Body image pressures are one of the biggest pressures on young people today. Every time you turn on a TV and go to the movies, you see a lot of gorgeous looking people and you start to think that they‘re what s normal. When you look around you though, you see pretty well, people come in every shape and size, including you. The trick is to try and get past the voice in your head that might be telling you about everything that‘s wrong with you, because you re probably a harsher critic on yourself than anybody else is of you, and you need to try and think beyond that looking glamorous and looking like a movie star is actually going to make your life turn out. If you read the magazines you‘ll know that those gorgeous looking people don‘t necessarily have happy lives, and good relationships are not built out of gorgeous bodies. Clip 7 safe partying How to stay safe at a party is something that’s worth putting a bit of thought into before you actually go. For yourself, it’s going to mean things like deciding whether or not to use any drugs or alcohol that might be on offer to you at the party and you need to accept the fact that nobody else has got the job of looking after you while you’re there ‘ that’s going to come down to you. In fact you might end up with a bit of responsibility for other people. Your friend, for example, might do a stupid thing at a party and you might be the only one who notices that they need looking after. Safety at a party is going to involve not just whether you use a drug or not, but how you get to and from the party, who you hang out with, whether you go along with some of the things they’re doing, or whether you peel off and stick to your own sort of thing. They’re the sort of decisions that are hard to make in the pressure of a crowd so it’s a good idea to rehearse them in your head first so you know what you would do in different situations. Clip 8 unplanned sex It’s when young people are using drugs and alcohol that they are most likely to make unsafe sex decisions so, how that happens is pretty obvious, If someone’s really drunk they’re not going to remember to use a condom. If someone’s under the influence of alcohol or another drug, they might end up going further than they want to with someone that they maybe wouldn’t even choose when they’re sober. You need to have a think about what’s right for you and who is right for you and when is right for you because they’re the basic things to think through, because on top of all of that you actually have to manage the whole situation. So when you’re making that decision in the moment there’s a lot of other things could be going on which could cloud your judgment. Think about it beforehand and then you’ll know that you will do things that you won’t regret.

Robert Bosi, Drug and alcohol counsellor Introduction I‘m Robert Bosi, I’m a drug and alcohol counsellor and I‘ve been working in this business for around 11 years. Clip 1 counselling Counselling is talking, it‘s talking with somebody about the kinds of problems that you’re having and it‘s looking at trying to find some solutions. It‘s a chance to sit back and think about things. I mean, often in people‘s lives, there are many things which are confusing or difficult and it’s a good opportunity to look at what you might want to do about some situation. Clip 2 just to be normal Young people who are off their face all the time, or use drugs all the time, almost always tell stories about how they started and it was a lot of fun, it was interesting and they did it to get high, to have fun. And, almost always, as time goes on when they’re using all the time, they get to a point where it’s not about that anymore, it’s not fun anymore, and they often say that they do it just to feel normal. Clip 3 the underlying problem Some young people who use drugs just use them all the time, they‘re just off their face all the time, and in my experience as a drug counsellor that’s usually because of some really strong feelings, tough feelings to deal with, either being ashamed or feeling guilty or because of the sort of situations in their family. If they’re using all the time, they‘ve obviously become physically dependent on the drug and that’s going to cause withdrawal and that’s going to make it really hard to give up. There‘s also a lot of emotional stuff with that as well Clip 4 schizophrenia The sorts of problems that somebody might encounter with marijuana is there‘s often a lot of fear associated with it, “Does it make me go crazy? Is it going to give me schizophrenia?” What we know is that marijuana doesn‘t cause schizophrenia but it’s certainly associated with people who have a mental health problem. A lot of people who have schizophrenia smoke an awful lot of marijuana and what we do know is that it makes their episodes of madness worse and longer, and it’s likely to bring on one if somebody who has schizophrenia and smokes a lot of marijuana , it’s going to bring on a schizophrenic episode. Clip 5 parent drug problem It‘s really tough sometimes for young people who, in a family, their parents might have a drug and alcohol problem and what’s really important is that they find a way to be able to survive in that situation. People can feel either neglected, like left alone or not loved or not dealt with, or they can actually be abused. If somebody is being abused it is absolutely important that they are safe so what we want to do is find a place, a way for them to be safe, and that might mean moving out. The first thing that somebody who’s got a parent with a drug problem is that they should find somebody good to talk to, hopefully a professional who can actually then help them come up with some way of keeping them safe and helping them learn to survive in a situation which is really hard.

Clip 6 talking to people When young people are looking for help there‘s obviously professionals like counsellors to talk to, school counsellors, but it‘s also really useful to talk to friends and family. What‘s really important is to find somebody that you trust and that you‘re prepared to talk to and that you can talk honestly about. You‘ve got to be able to talk openly, so if you can find those people to do that ... Young people get a good sense of who’s good to talk to and who’s not good to talk to. Clip 7 parents Teenagers and parents, that‘s ... can be a difficult time for both. Young people are exploring the big world out there and wanting to see things, wanting to do things and often trying to show independence and to discover themselves and see what they can do on their own. And what becomes really important is the relationship that you have with your parents. And some people are pretty good at that and if they ‘re good at negotiating, good at compromising, good at talking and good at listening, that‘ll make that go better. It often gets into trouble ... teenagers and their parents get into trouble when they re not very good at communicating and there’s a lot of anxiety around that. Clip 8 friend‘s drug use If you’re worried about a friend and their drug use the first thing to do is talk to them about it and talk a little bit about why they’re doing it: can they see the consequences of what they do? Often people who‘ve got drug problems, when they start to look at the consequences of their behaviour they actually start to stop and think: “Maybe I should do something about this. Maybe I can do something about this”, and when they find somebody good to talk to they can move on.

Helen, Year 9 Introduction My name’s Helen, I’m 14, I’m in Year 9 Clip 1 Starring to smoke I started smoking when I was in year 7 and that’s when I fully started smoking but I tried it, I think when I was in year 6. My mum left her smokes on the table and it was more a temptation. I was tempted so I took one and then in Year 7 I just, I moved and changed schools and I had new friends. So I just … they smoked and I started smoking and now it is a habit I can’t get rid off. Clip 2 problems with smoking I don’t like to smoke because whenever I get sick or get the flu- I get tonsillitis a lot and you can’t smoke but you want to, you want a cigarette , so you start to feel sick because you don’t have one. Clip 3 Quitting I’ve tried to quit but it is not easy. All my friends smoke so it is just really hard to quit when everyone around you is smoking. I hope I’ll quit , it was last years new years resolution and it will be this one’s too. I am going to get Mum to help me.

Clip 4 Parents with problems I have a friend and her dad is an alcoholic and he uses other things like methadone and things like that, it is really hard for her because friends will come over to her house and her dad will have mood swings and he will be off her face all the time. It is hard for her because she lives with her dada and her mum and her dad takes everything out on her. Like he gets sacked from work and he will come home and take it out on hit and hit her and she will come to school with bruises. She has younger brothers and sisters and she is always looking after them so it is hard for her to go out and do stuff like going to the movies with us. It is really hard for her. Clip 5 Leaving friendships I had a friend and we were friends forever and over time I realised I was doing stupid things and getting into trouble because of her. I was worried, she was really wild and I was worried about her. I didn’t want her to get raped or have a drug overdose or something, so I was going with her, like jumping into cars with people I didn’t know and doing stupid things because I was tring to look out for her. At the time I didn’t realise that it was happening to me at the same time that it was happening to her. Until one day some incident happened with a guy in a car and a friend ran to her mum and her mum come up, and I realised that, you know, we could have been raped or anything. And I just said to her, you know, “It’s got to stop”, and she continued doing what she was doing, and I settled down and just met nice friends who weren‘t like that. Clip 6 drunk boys When boys drink I notice that they get all staunch, they try to act like they are so hard. They just want to fight every guy and if they have their eye on one chick and she’s with another guy, they go over there and start punching into him and they have this big brawl. And they just, they don’t think, they think they’re King Kong while they’re drinking and they fight guys that they normally wouldn‘t fight when they weren‘t drinking, so pretty stupid. Clip 7 worrying about a friend If I was really worried about a friend with their drinking or drugs or whatever, I’d try and talk to them first and see what they’re doing, and if like ... I’d talk to a counsellor at school or something and if it did get to the point where it was that bad, I’d have a discreet word to their parents, not saying they’re doing this, this and this, but I’d kind of say to their parents, “Maybe you need to sit down and have a talk to her or him and, you know, see what they’re doing. Because obviously if it is that bad, maybe there’s a reason why they’re doing it”. So talk to their parents or if they had a closer friend or if there was somebody who was close there that might know the situation, I’d talk to them. Clip 8 own decisions I think it’s important for young people to make their own decisions about things because you can’t just do something because other people are doing it. Because you go through teenage-hood like that then you can’t go through life like that and do things just because other people are doing it. Like you‘re going to get married because your friend’s getting married? You can’t go through your whole life doing that because one day you’re going to wake up and realise that there’s nobody to copy from basically. You’re going to realise that you’re going to have to do things on your own, so you may as well start realising now to do what you want, not what other people want.

Tom Carroll, Media campaign adviser Introduction Hi, I’m Tom Carroll. I’ve been working over the years on a number of campaigns on alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs, looking after the research side, the production, and the strategy for the campaigns. Clip I young people and alcohol While we see that the numbers of young people who drink, do actually increase as young people get older, it’s certainly not the case that everyone drinks and nor do they drink on all occasions. There will certainly be some situations where young people will choose not to drink because they don’t want to end up putting themselves at risk in terms of what might happen if they get intoxicated or drink too much. Certainly young people will want to think about looking after themselves, making sure that there’s friends around in situations where they might be drinking and those sorts of considerations are very important so that young people don’t get themselves in harmful situations. Clip 2 alcohol promotion When young people think about alcohol and think about drinking, very often the sort of things that they think about are the sorts of images and messages that are continually promoted to them in alcohol advertising and promotion. They think about going out, having a great time with their friends, just having fun, feeling more attractive or things like that, and those sorts of images are continually reinforced. Clip 3 regrettable decisions When we do research for the campaigns to develop the sorts of messages for those campaigns, we listen a lot to what young people tell us, and they continually tell us about the regrettable things that happen when they drink or drink too much, very often associated with violent situations, or finding themselves in sexual situations which they would certainly not have chosen to find themselves in and these are very much the regrettable situations that young people wish had never happened. Clip 4 most teenagers don’t smoke While it’s true that quite a few young people experiment with tobacco smoking, and we certainly see that more young people smoke as they get a bit older, the reality is that the vast majority of teenagers won’t be regular smokers. This is often sometimes not realised by young people who think that it’s the thing to do, but in reality the majority of teenagers don’t smoke. Clip 5 smoking as glamorous There’s certainly been a range of very positive images associated with the habit of tobacco smoking and very often they portray glamorous images, images targeting women with slim, glamorous situations. But in reality, of course, they couldn’t be any further from the truth in terms of what tobacco smoking really is all about. We only have to ask someone who has been smoking a while, and hooked on tobacco to really describe just how negative that sort of addiction is, and the smell of cigarette smoke, the stench of someone’s hair, and the smell certainly shows that it’s not very glamorous at all.

Clip 6 smoking and weight There are certainly a lot of myths around about quitting smoking and what might happen if someone gives up smoking, and one of those is that someone might put on weight, but the reality is that’s certainly not going to happen at all. For a lot of people who give up smoking, it’s an opportunity to actually do more exercise and eat a healthier diet and all those sorts of things mean that, as well as giving up smoking, general fitness and healthy lifestyle is going to improve as well. Clip 7 passive smoking I think it’s certainly the case that people are becoming much more aware of not wanting to put up with having to breathe someone else’s smoke, side stream smoke, or passive smoking, and I think that people are becoming much more confident in being able to say, “I don’t want to do that. Can you please not smoke in my house or in front of me,” and I think that’s a general recognition of the fact that smoking is becoming less and less socially acceptable.

Clip 8 isn’t health important? I think our research that shows us very clearly that the general message that smoking is not good for your health is very much one that is accepted by everyone pretty much, and certainly young people agree with that. But for a lot of young people, the sense of health damage feels like it’s too far away to matter about me now, whereas in fact the latest research is showing, as the campaign slogan says, that every cigarette is doing you damage, so it’s not a matter of just thinking about, “I’ll smoke for a while and give up a bit later”, it’s often difficult to give up, and the reality is every cigarette is doing you damage now.

Danni, Year 9 Introduction My name is Danni, I’m in Year 9 and I’m 15 years old. Clip 1 don’t like smoking I personally don’t like smoking cigarettes at all. People who smoke, I think it’s smelly and dirty and really gross. I think it really hurts you, not just physically but emotionally as well. I really don’t like the fact that kids my age are smoking when, yeah, these are the times when you should be as healthy as possible. Clip 2 smelly boyfriends I don’t think I would ever go out with anyone who smoked or drank excessively at all. It’s just the whole smell of it. Like, you know a smoker because their clothes smell, their breath smells, they just ... Feels like they don’t have any sense of personal hygiene in a way and the fact is that if they’re smoking around you they’re not just hurting themselves, but they’re hurting you as well. Clip 3 when a friend starts I guess when a friend starts smoking or using pot or any other drugs, it’s a shock. It’s like you’ve known this person for so many years and you’ve made a pact with them never to do any of those things and then one day she turns around and says, “Oh well, our friendship is pretty much a lie because I’m doing this now, and I don’t care what you think.”

Clip 4 parents 1 The relationship with teenagers and parents is the worst relationship in the world. I think it’s, every time you have an argument with your parent, it feels like it’s going to start World War Ill. Especially for a teenager, it’s just ... you’re going through so much stuff, especially at school just trying to find your own ground, trying to fit in everywhere and then you’ve got your homework and clubbing and trying to go to all these parties and concerts and everything, and then you’ve got the nagging parents behind you saying you can’t do this because of the money or because you’re not old enough, or you can’t do that because we don’t want you to, but you don’t have a good reason. Clip 5 parents 2 Parents are the people that say, “I’ve been there, I’ve done that. You don’t want to do it” and the teenagers are there saying, “But I do want to do it because I’m not you. I want to try it for myself.” So it’s the worst relationship ever. Clip 6 advice to parents My advice to parents who have teenagers is keep calm, because most of the time teenagers are trying to pick a fight and they will want you to explode. And in a way, they have achieved something when you do. So try and keep calm, sit down, talk about it, try not to get angry or at least show your anger. And most of all talk about everything, be really blatantly honest with your teenager because teenagers think that all adults lie. Clip 7 friend with a problem If I thought that one of my friends had a serious problem with alcohol or drugs, firstly I’d face them about it. If they totally denied it, which I’m pretty sure they would, I’d probably go to their parents which is ... they would probably say it’s the worst thing to do, like go to a teacher. But you need to get to the heart of it and in order to do that it’s the parents that are the ones that are going to end up dealing with the brunt of it. Clip 8 party I think that when you go to a party, before you go you’re wondering who’s going to be there, what you’re going to wear, if that girl from school is going to be there with her new boyfriend or if the guy that you like is going to be there, or girl that you like. I think it’s a lot of worrying and stress before a party because you don’t know what to expect.

Mitch, Year 9 Introduction I’m Mitch, I’m 15 and I’m in Year 9. Clip 1 gender I’ve only noticed that when a girl will get drunk with her friends, they tend to think it’s really funny and laugh a long time. And the next day at school they probably still think it was funny unless they did something really stupid that night, but all the little stupid things they’ve done they just think it’s funny. The boys, on the other hand, think they’re a bit cooler and, you know, they tend to act like they do it a lot more than the girls and they can handle it a lot better in every single way. And, you know, they just try and be the dominant person and try and handle

everything better, even though most of them probably don’t and keep all their feelings inside about it. Clip 2 why smoke pot I think young people at first why they smoke pot is because it’s fun and exciting at first and they like the feeling of it. But after a while of smoking it, they just do it because their brain tells them to and it‘s really kind of a want thing. I don’t really know if it’s addictive but it seems to be. Clip 3 pot problems Well, one of my friends he was telling me, because he smokes a lot of marijuana, that when he smoked for four days straight he was on the phone and he couldn’t even remember what his girlfriend looked like until a couple of days later when it kind of wore off. So it does have some short term memory loss problems that he’s noticed and he’s told me about. And that’s probably the main thing and schoolwork, it’s just a lot harder to, you know, concentrate in class and do your homework and stuff. Clip 4 parents Most teenagers’ experiences with their parents, most of it’s probably good from the age of 10 to 13. As soon as you get to the age of 14, 15, 16, you tend to figure out that your parents aren’t as cool as you thought they were and, yeah, you kind of get into arguments a fair bit, I guess, disagree a fair bit. It also depends what kind of background you’re from, and how strict your parents are and how much they let you say. Clip 5 being a teenager I’d say the good things about being a teenager is that you’re kind of discovering how to become an adult and that’s, hard to believe, but it’s quite fun and it’s really good trying to find out how to do it and trying to be your own person. That’s another good thing, instead of ... a lot of people follow other people and try to be like their friends or something. It’s good to create your own character and stick to that and be yourself, I guess. And that’s another thing that’s fun to do. Clip 6 boys at school Well, it’s a really, between males at school it’s all about power, I guess. Me and my friends don’t really give a crap about that but a lot of the other males in our year do. Depends how mature you are as well. They’re pretty immature so they think that being big and macho is really cool, and I find that hard to deal with sometimes, and all my friends. And they’re really homophobic as well, all those other guys, and me and my friends aren’t really like that, so it’s kind of, it really gets to you after a while. That’s one of the hardest things in school, dealing with other kids. Clip 7 advice to parents It’s just no matter how they express it, a lot of teenagers can’t really express their true emotions and I think they try and keep it in just to keep their image. But sometimes people’s images are totally not what they are actually inside themselves and that can really be bad for that person, that they can’t let it out or tell anybody about how it is. And I think you should try and get into your kid and find out what’s really going on and just try and not really punish if it’s bad, just try and work your way around it in a positive manner. Their views are so different to yours, you would not have a clue, and you do not realise how frustrating it is for them.

Clip 8 alcohol warning Make sure how much you drink. I’ve had a few friends who have OD’d on alcohol and gone to hospital and had their stomachs pumped and that’s not really a good thing. You have to be really careful, because it can really kick in really quickly, especially if you’re not feeling it, and you’re just drinking more because you can’t really feel it and then all of a sudden, boof, you’re on the ground, you know, and you have to really watch

Francine Seeto, NESB community worker Introduction My name’s Francine Seeto and I work with communities from non-English speaking backgrounds around drug and alcohol use. Clip 1 NESB communities over time The evidence is that generally non-English speaking background communities across the board would use less of any of the substances than those who are born in Australia. When certain communities come to Australia they’re much more traditional and have stricter guidelines around substance use and newly arrived migrants in particular are more protective, especially of young people. But with time those sorts of guidelines are relaxed and that’s where level of substance use increases. Clip 2 overcoming trauma I think there’s a great concern around refugee families in particular because of the traumatic experiences that they’ve endured. They’ve lost members of their family and they’ve seen terrible things happen and generally speaking people with these conditions are at greater risk of substance abuse at some point. Most people who’ve been refugees and have had to endure those sorts of journeys, for the overwhelming majority of them, once they get to Australia, do take advantage of the opportunities and use those difficult past experiences to actually get on with their lives. Clip 3 wanting to fit in Every young person wants to fit in and they all want to be in a group that’s popular, but I think for some non-English speaking background young people they feel like they start in the margins and they have to work hard to get into the middle and they’ve also seen that role modelled with their parents and so I think some of them do feel particularly sensitive about being left out. So for these young people it’s very, very important to fit in and peer pressure then becomes very important in their lives.

Clip 4 family ties I think there are risk factors and protective factors in any community. I think some of the traditional protective factors for NESB families would be around the closer relationships, which has always been quite an emphasis. We’ve been brought up to highly respect our parents and to be very, very obedient, so that everything we do in public reflects on our parents and on their status so if they say, “You’re a young woman and you shouldn’t smoke because that looks like a prostitute” then you just don’t do that because you don’t want to embarrass your family, and most of us are just taught to listen to our parents because they’re older, they’re wiser and they’ve been through most things.

Clip 5 family sacrifice I think for some young people as well, because their parents have gone through so much to migrate and come to a new country, they become much more protective around their young people and they also put on their young people quite a large expectation that they become very successful and justify those hard decisions to migrate. In my own case, my parents sacrificed a lot to get to this country because they wanted me and my brothers and sisters to have a better life and so we understand very early that if we start to ~et into substance use and get into problematic use with alcohol, for example, then that reflects badly on our parents and they get very embarrassed for us. Clip 6 parent concerns Parents are generally concerned about all drugs. I mean some communities are much more concerned than others depending on the location. And they are, they tend to be verging on paranoia in terms of heroin, for example. I mean all parents are particularly concerned about heroin and injecting drug use. I think parents are very concerned: one that their child doesn’t use drugs; secondly that their child doesn’t become dependent on drugs; and they’re also very concerned about the types of other young people that their children mix with. I think there’s a belief, and it’s probably quite true, that most children, young people, are introduced to harmful drug use probably through a friend, a peer. Clip 7 risk factors The critical risk factors for some would be just the high unemployment rate and some of that is to do with performance outcomes at school. Their level of English language ability is not as good as it should be in some cases. Just the general low self-esteem. A lot of young people don’t feel like they’re achieving. I know for a lot of young women, there’s a lot of feeling of loneliness and that doesn’t help, I don’t think, in terms of trying to become an adult and make positive decisions around your health. Clip 8 take your time I think it’s very difficult when your friends are telling you should be drinking because that’s what everyone does and you know that in the back of your head your parents are saying that if you drink you‘ll get kicked out or something like that. Trying to think back to when that used to happen to me I think it’s useful to just take your time in making that decision and really think through what the consequences might be. And have some faith in yourself and you’ll make the right decision. But take your time.

Martin Hocknell, Doctor Introduction Hi. My name’s Martin Hocknell and I’m a doctor who works in the field of addiction medicine and basically I look after people with problems with drugs of all sorts including cannabis, which is pot, alcohol and nicotine based cigarettes. Clip 1 alcohol There are many issues surrounding alcohol. Short term, alcohol is very important because it can affect the way we think, affect the actions that we do. We can actually put ourselves into great danger if we drink alcohol acutely. And there are many long term problems with alcohol. Alcohol affects every part of the body. It affects your skin, your face, your hair, your weight. It affects the organs inside the body such as your liver, your heart.

Clip 2 alcohol is a depressant Alcohol is actually a depressant on the body and the brain. Some people drink because they’re feeling lonely or they’ve got low self-esteem or they’re pretty unhappy with life. But the problem is that alcohol actually makes things worse. It makes them more depressed. Alcohol can actually make you feel worse. Clip 3 alcohol and pills It is very dangerous to mix alcohol with other prescription medications. And these can be all sorts of tablets you can get over the counter or prescriptions from doctors. When these combine in the body it can be terribly dangerous to the mind and the body. People who mix alcohol and other medications can have severe injuries. Clip 4 25 smoking diseases There are at least 25 diseases caused by smoking. It can cause terrible damage to the body. And this includes cancers, heart disease, strokes in the brain, many sort of diseases that can cause terrible injury to the human body later on in life. They may not occur initially but it’s something that can occur many years down the track. And so when people start smoking they don’t really realise the damage that they’re causing to their body now, but perhaps 10 or 20 years later on, they’re going to regret that they ever started smoking. Clip 5 smoking short term effects Young people who smoke often have problems with their lungs, with asthma. And if they start playing footy or cricket they’ll often find that they’re getting short of breath or wheezy and basically they can’t keep up with the other people of their age. Clip 6 smoking skin and face damage Many young women smoke because they think that smoking perhaps keeps them thin or improves their body image. But of course the problem with smoking is that it causes terrible damage to areas of the body such as skin, their facial appearance changes because they’re smoking all the time. They get discolouration of their teeth, their fingernails, their skin, even their hair starts to stink of smoke, and in fact even though they’re smoking to perhaps appear more beautiful, the problem is that the side effects of smoking are far worse than any possible benefits. Clip 7 cannabis I There are many effects of cannabis. Basically it’s very similar to smoking. What happens is, people breathe into their lungs a whole bunch of chemicals and you get a lot of lung diseases like asthma and even chronic infections. The nicotine and other chemicals when you’re smoking grass or pot can also affect other organs. This can lead to heart disease and strokes in the brain and quite a lot of damage. Clip 8 cannabis 2 In the long term cannabis is very dangerous. It can affect the brain, for example. People can get depressed. People get a lot of problems with their mood. It can affect the way you think, and in fact there are some unfortunate people where, if they smoke too much pot, they can actually go a bit paranoid.

Paul Dillon, Research spokesperson Introduction My name is Paul Dillon and I work at a drug and alcohol research centre. Part of my job involves going to schools and talking to young people about drugs. Clip I drugs aren’t everywhere Many young people will use drugs, but not all of them. Unfortunately you hear many times young people saying, “Drugs are everywhere and everyone is using them.” This simply is not true, and when you challenge individual young people and you ask them questions about do they know someone who uses a drug, or have they seen a drug, often it’s not in the realm of their experience. It’s OK not to use drugs. It’s OK to admit that drugs aren’t everywhere. Clip 2 drugs young people encounter The main drugs that young people will encounter are alcohol and tobacco. They’re freely available and they’re legal. In terms of the illegal drugs, cannabis would be the most popular. It’s readily available. It’s grown in Australia and, as a result it’s very easy to access. We’re seeing increasing numbers of young people using cannabis. Clip 3 drugs and risk All drug use has some degree of risk. Some drugs are riskier than others and some people are going to experience more problems with certain drugs than other people will. Drugs are very unpredictable. Unfortunately we still see a large number of young Australians who die as a result of drug-related causes. In 1998 we saw over 1,500 young Australians die as a result of using drugs. Overwhelmingly alcohol is the major problem. Fifty per cent of young Australians who die from drug-related deaths are as a result of alcohol. Clip 4 questions about drugs Some of the questions I get asked when I go into schools are around concerns about friends who use drugs. What are some of the problems they are experiencing and can these be long term problems? Particularly issues around paranoia and cannabis use. I see more and more young people who are concerned about their friends’ drug use and the problems they are experiencing Clip 5 pot, weed, dope Cannabis is an extremely popular drug and as such it has many different names in many different areas right around the country ‘pot, weed, dope, ganja, mull. It has a variety of different names but they are all basically the same thing. Clip 6 smoking dope Cannabis is a plant that is usually smoked. People smoke it in joints or in bongs. Bongs are water pipes which are used to cool the smoke down. All ways of using cannabis have some degree of risk. Clip 7 negative effects Many young people use cannabis in a social setting. They use it to assist them to socialise. It gets them talking, gets them laughing and basically having a good time.

Melissa Year 10 Introduction Hi, I’m Melissa ,I’m 16 and in Year 10 Clip 1 champions and tarts Despite everything that we’ve learnt and talked about, there is a gender difference between guys and girls. When a guy gets drunk or gets with someone, they’re champions, they’re really popular, because they are really strong. But when a girl does the same thing she is considered a slut, she is tarty, she is dirty and just not very well recognised within our groups.

Clip 2 being let down From personal experience, I have friends that turn their backs on you when you need them the most. When you feel that they are the only person there, and they’re not really what you expected them to be. But when someone does get drunk and tells a huge secret of yours, the immediate responses are intense anger, you know: why’d they do it, what’s my friendship with you? But after a while, it seems to settle down and you get your friendship back. Clip 3 friends A good friend is someone you can trust, you can sort of hang on to, you can relate to ‘people who won‘t let you down, basically. Friends can be as different as anything, a lot of them are into sort of skating, different types of music, surfing, anything, but as long as you can talk about things, not have big barriers between you, then anything is really possible.

Adam, 18 years old Introduction Hi, I’m Adam and I’m 18. Clip 1 cannabis and asthma When we were younger a lot of people were using cannabis. It was sort of a, just a thing to do, a way to get to know people. I didn’t. I didn’t want to risk what could happen to my body, and my asthma‘s pretty bad at the moment. I guess I didn’t want to make it worse, didn’t want to risk what could happen to myself. Clip 2 pressure from friends Peer pressure was pretty bad when we were younger. Everyone was like, come, use this, use this, take this smoke. As you get older it’s not so bad, people tend to, they tend to leave your decisions, they just tend to let be. If you say “no”, they won’t push you into it, it just stays like that, it’s more of a ... people tend to respect your decision. Clip 3 a good party At a party it’s just alcohol, friends, always music, always loud. Just dancing, having a good time, catching up. What really makes a good party but, is when there’s no trouble.

Clip 4 waste of money If you get addicted, it’s just wasting money on stuff you don’t want to know. Even if you’re not addicted and you just like it to have a good time, it’s just a waste of money and it could be ... money that could be used on so many other things like your education when you go to uni alot of other things. People they iust waste money.

Louis Schetzer, Lawyer Clip 1 diversion In relation to possession and use of small quantities of cannabis in most jurisdictions now, young people who would be charged with those offences would be most likely to receive formal police warnings or cautions or perhaps diversion to a specialised youth drug court, in those respects.

Clip 2 increased contact with police So even minor use, recreational use, of small quantities of cannabis can lead to a greater level of contact with police. It means that young people are more likely to come to the awareness of police, that police will have a recognition of particular young people who they’ve had dealings with in the past in relation to cannabis offences, even though those offences may not have ended up in court. So that notion of an increased familiarity by police of particular young people can ultimately accelerate young people’s contact with the criminal justice system. Clip 3 cannabis and crime In relation to cannabis, research indicates that there is very little connection between the use or abuse of cannabis and other forms of criminal offending; that essentially the main criminal activity associated with cannabis are those offences that are directly associated with the substance, namely possession and use, cultivation or trafficking. But research is indicating that there is little connection between cannabis usage and, say, property offending or antisocial behaviour. Clip4 alcohol and crime Alcohol continues to be the most destructive, antisocial substance in terms of issues of violent offences, offences relating to domestic violence, offences relating to public disorder and the like. Clip 5 awareness of rights I think it’s important that young people are aware of their rights when dealing with police at any stage, that they’re aware of their rights to obtain legal advice when speaking to police, they’re aware of their rights to remain silent in relation to police, they’re aware of their rights that if they’re offering information, that they may be able to get referred to certain diversionary options. Clip 5 agencies that can help In every State and Territory there are legal aid commissions with specialist youth lawyers working within those commissions. Young people who are concerned about potentially having contact with police should be aware of the relevant emergency contact numbers for those legal aid commissions. A number of States and Territories also have emergency legal advice lines that operate 24 hours a day that young people can contact for legal advice in relation to these issues. There’s a number of online information sources as well that young people can access that provide vital information.

Clip 6 Cannabis – an illicit substance Cannabis is an area where there has a great deal of change in recent years in various laws in the various States and Territories in Australia and there is quite a deal of difference across the various States and Territories in relation to the laws limiting the use of cannabis. Essentially, cannabis is still regarded as an illicit substance, an illegal substance. It is against the law to possess and use cannabis.

Daniel, Year 10 Introduction I’m Daniel, I’m 16 and in Year 10. Clip I care with alcohol People drink because, for similar reasons to why people smoke, because someone does it and someone thinks it’s cool and then it catches on and everyone loves it. Most people underestimate the power of alcohol and think that getting drunk and passing out is a fun thing to do and sometimes it’s just an experience rather than a life-threatening thing. I think it should be taken a little bit more seriously. Clip 2 drunken behaviour You find that people are more often than not are peaceful and happy when they’re drunk and tend to be all over you, but in terms of bad actions and violence and things like that, I’ve known of people being hurt by using alcohol and their friend using alcohol and then getting into arguments and scraps. Clip 3 flirting Where someone’s girlfriend has had a little too much to drink, they may tend to flirt with someone who they wouldn’t normally be so flirty with. Even when they have a boyfriend as such you know, when they’ve got the boyfriend and they flirt and the boyfriend gets jealous and that can lead to violence. Or it can lead to a break-up or it can lead to violence to the girlfriend and so on like that. I suppose there’s more than one consequence that comes out of it and it’s not something nice to get into, not something that you’d want to happen. Clip 4 before a party When I go to a party, I tend to sort of limit myself. I say, “Oh yeah, I’m not going to do this, I’m not going to do this, I will do this”, you know, and I try and keep to that and often I do. As for organising lifts, yeah, most of the time it’s probably best to be staying over or something like that, especially at friends’ houses. Whenever I go to parties I just stay over because it’s easier to start with, you don’t have to organise lifts or anything like that and in that way, I suppose, no-one is in danger. Clip 5 a good friend A good friend is someone you can trust in and is very reliable, someone you can count on for something and who’ll be there for you when you need them, and trust-wise you’d hope that they would keep your secrets and that they would trust in you with their problems, etc, they’d just be there for you and be on time with stuff.

Clip 6 got a problem The first thing you do is look toward your friends and if they say, “Oh yeah, I don’t know, I can’t give you an answer”, or if they do give you an answer and they’re not sure about it, I suppose there are other people you can talk to. You can talk to other family members, you can talk to counsellors and people who are experienced in dealing with all sorts of problems. There’s a number of people that are available to talk to, even teachers at school if you’re close enough I suppose, you can talk to them about problems. Clip 7 disappointing friend I know of friends who do let others down by being drunk or under the influence of some other drug and you know, letting you down because they’ve said or done this and then you feel a bit hurt but you can get past it like you can get past a lot of things. If you’re a good friend, you forgive them, you forget it, or even if you don’t forget it, they’re forgiven. It is something you can get past if you really believe they didn’t mean it. If they did mean it, then maybe it’s best that you’re not friends. Clip 8 you’ve got to worry You’ve got to worry about them when they say, “Yeah last weekend I went out and had so much pot I passed out.” It’s something that you don’t want to see happen, you know, you get scared when it happens because, sometimes, you may not know what to do and if they turn for the worse, you know, what will you do, will you call the ambulance and risk yourself getting in trouble? Or will you say, “Oh no, he’ll be alright”? You know, you’ve got to be careful. You’ve got to keep your friends safe in that manner.