Tobacco is still too often the first drug consumed by children.
Alcohol laws are a cocktail of confusion and contradiction that do not protect children.
The massive vested interests of the alcohol industry is more powerful than the Mafia at selling its drugs.
Ninety percent of males and 86% of females in Scotland buy alcohol regularly, but less than 5% buy illicit drugs.
There are now around 2000 substances (drugs) in common use in the UK.
No police force, army or government in the world have managed to control the drug barons who seek to dip into the pocket money of our children, for profit.
Parents ignorance about drug use and children does little to protect their families from harm.
The most powerful way to reduce harm to children from drugs is to reduce demand. Ignorance increases harm. Knowledge reduces harm.
The aim of this book is to inform, educate and empower parents or carers of children and young people, about how drugs have the potential to damage their health and wellbeing. Many adults are particularly worried about the use of drugs by teenagers, and so they should be, but it is important to understand that drug use often starts well before adolescence for an ever-growing number of children.
Scotland has the unwelcome reputation of being more damaged by drug misuse than most nations. So understanding our Scottish love affair with drugs including the legal drugs, tobacco and alcohol is as good a point as any to start from to find at least some of the answers to why people misuse drugs.
Another theme of this book is drug laws do not protect children. The current drug laws mainly protect businesses and adults. And yet urgent drug law reform, even a halfway measure like unit alcohol pricing, is painfully slow politicians will only make laws that they believe the public will accept.
Booze Fags Drugs contains all the facts clearly set out and the intention of the book is to enable many more parents to do their little bit towards reducing the harm caused to children from drugs.
Those who profit from drugs can only do so if there is a market for their products. The misuse of drugs in society will only reduce when adults and children are well enough informed to realise that they do not need unnecessary drugs in their lives.
About the Author
Max Cruickshank has served as a youth worker for over 35 years. He has run thousands of workshops and training sessions for young people and their parents on drugs, AIDS and sex education. He has been a leading youthwork voice on the Scottish Drugs Forum for over 20 years.
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