The lethal risks to young people of legal highs and so-called 'club drugs' were highlighted in brutal fashion at an event in the House of Commons today (5 March 2012).
Mitch Winehouse (father of the late Amy Winehouse who died last year) joined hundreds of guests, celebrities and MPs at a reception hosted by the Angelus Foundation. It was set-up by Maryon Stewart who lost her daughter Hester in April 2009 after she took a half dose of the then legal GBL on a night out with friends. She was 21 years-old.
Two other families who are working with Angelus were present at the event; the family of 21 year-old Louise Cattell who died in March 2011 after drowning in the bath having taken ketamine and the heartbroken parents of 18 year-old Freddy McConnel who died in May 2011 from heroin. Freddy had been a heavy user of the former legal high mephedrone which started his downward spiral into heroin use and addiction.
A new film was shown at the reception featuring the families, including Mitch Winehouse himself, and the aims of the Foundation were set out. Primary among them is to get effective drugs education on the National Curriculum in schools throughout the country. A petition was also launched on the Government's own website which backs this call and seeks to secure a debate in Parliament.
The campaign also seeks to roll out a national Wise Up! campaign so that young people make smarter decisions and parents have wiser conversations with their kids and it wants to establish a new Ministry for Drugs and Alcohol that reports directly to the Prime Minister. This already happens in France and has seen dramatic falls in the use of legal highs and club drugs.
Winchester & Chandler's Ford MP Steve Brine was present at this evening's event in Parliament and has pledged his support. He says; "Susie and I have two small children who, at four and just one, are still at home tucked up safe in bed every night and who don't yet think it's uncool to be seen out with Mum and Dad. We know that will change and it scares the hell out of us to think one day they will be out there exposed to the risks and temptations that come with being a teenager these days. Like all parents, we like to think we will bring them up to recognise danger but so did Maryon Stewart and the other parents behind this campaign.
"What I hadn't appreciated is that many legal highs are a cocktail of Class B drugs and other chemicals never intended for human consumption such as paint stripper and even pool cleaner. They are widely available and young people are deceived into thinking they are safe because they are technically legal. They are not and very little is still known about them and their side effects. At worst, as we have seen, they can kill but other effects can include severe depression, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts and difficulty breathing."
At the same time, club drugs such as ketamine, ecstasy and mephedrone circulate freely and young people are unaware of their potential lethal side-effects from cystitis, loss of the bladder, coma, psychosis and sometime death.
Steve adds; "Losing a child is every parent's worst nightmare but in the case of these legal highs it can be prevented. I will be working nationally with other MPs and the Angelus Foundation to raise awareness of what can happen in the name of a good night out and I will be liaising with parents and schools locally to bring the Wise Up! campaign to as wide an audience as possible."
More information ...
Angelus Foundation – www.angelusfoundation.com
Amy Winehouse Foundation - www.amywinehousefoundation.org
Hidden Treasures by Amy Winehouse can be purchased now – featuring previously unreleased material £1 from every copy will be donated to her Foundation – Buy Now