Harm Reduction Emergency!

[drugbeat]

Ok, here is the jist of my problem. I know this girl who is still in high school. She lives in another city and wants to start experimenting. She is my girlfriends cousin and by proxy, I am the most knoledgable person in drugs that she knows. The thing is that she is going to start doing things soon and does not care about the effects or consequences. Every time I try and tell her the cons of something she goes on the deffensive and tells me to stop being like her parrents. This brings me to my questions.

1) How can I tell her about the pros and cons with out her seeing it as an attack.
2) Is this just the normal teenager acting out phase?

I know that when I was her age I researched everthing I took. I wanted to know the pros, the cons, the effects, the dangers. I just dont want her to put herself in a situation where she gets hurt or worse. Please people. you are the harm reduction sepcialists. How do I do this with out seeming like an over bearing authority figure?

[Pinkavvy]

sounds like normal teenage angst ... introduce her to the fourm and erowid

[sands of time]

If you ask me, it sounds like she is not mature enough for drugs. Many people start using drugs when they are at this point in they're life, and there is no way to stop them. Every substance must be respected, and the dangers must be clearly understood before one should attempt something new.

I agree with pink, as these sites offer plenty of non biased info. Both sources should give her all the information that she will every need on any substance in question. Erowid's collection of experience reports provide personalized details regarding what to expect during a trip.

Regurding your second question, that is a normal reaction for a certain age group. It's more representative of the maturity level though.

[Abrad]

In SWIMs experience the vast majority of drug users do not want to listen to anyone who is in any way knowlegable about drugs and will tend to dismiss any harm reduction advice as bullshit. This seems to be regardless of age.

[IHrtHalucingens]

In SWIMS area kids know absolutely nothing about drugs besides there names and what they generally do. They know nothing of why these drugs do what they do, how they affect their bodies, or even where they come from.

In schools they show you videos of the homeless junkies whose lives got ruined by the drug and just shove it down your throat that drugs are bad, without telling you why they are bad or that responsible use can be safe. So its normal for many kids to use drugs not for the pleasure that comes from the substance, but more just to rebel from what there parents and teachers have been telling them to do for their whole lives.

Its all about education, they realized that just telling kids not to have sex wasnt working so now they are teaching kids how to use condoms and birth control, my highschool offered a years supply of free birth control for any student who came in and asked for it. They realized that its going to happen no matter what we might as well make sure that when it does happen its done safely.

The same stance should be taken with drugs, they need to be educated on all the facts, including safe use (all the while still discouraging it of course) but i feel that kids would make alot better decisions about drugs if they were more informed from the beginning.

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