Module 2

Drug Education
Drug education is an important strategy for reducing the extent of
drug related incidents among young people. Effective drug education
programs need to build knowledge and increase the competency
of students to act in safe ways when presented with challenging
situations.

This module supports the personal and social capabilities introduced

in Module 1 and provides opportunities for students to build upon their
drug education knowledge and skills, identify high risk situations, and
develop a range of strategies to prepare them to make safer decisions.

The suggested activities in this module of work can be modified or

additional resources sourced to support student needs and the local
context. It is recommended that videos be pre-viewed to determine
suitability for different student cohorts.
 Topic 1 Check students’ answers using the marking key on page 32.
Tally the number of correct and incorrect answers as this
will help you to decide where to focus the students’ alcohol
Introduction to drug education and drug education program, and which activities from
this section of the resource to conduct.

Activity 1 Getting started If during the program students demonstrate a lack of

awareness that was not identified from the quiz results,
Learning intention select and deliver one or two activities from the relevant
section to fill that gap.
• Students demonstrate current knowledge and
understandings about drugs and drug use At the conclusion of the program, have students sit the
• Students understand the aim of their drug education quiz again to identify what advances have been achieved
program in knowledge and understandings, skills and attitudes as a
result of working with the program content.
• Students identify rules for a safe classroom environment
2. Explain to the class that their drug education program will
Equipment aim to:
Activity sheet – What do you know about drugs? – photocopy • make sure they have accurate information about drugs
one per student such as alcohol, tobacco and cannabis
Activity sheet – Quiz marking key (refer to page 32) • show the physical effects drug use can have on the body
Family information sheet – Letter to parents – photocopy one • highlight the social, emotional and legal consequences
per student of drug use
Be Ready Year 7 student workbook – one per student • identify strategies they can use to keep themselves and
others safe in drug-related situations
• present a harm minimisation approach which considers
Activities
how best to prevent or reduce harms that can occur as a
1. Drug education is not just about the delivery of drug result of the use of alcohol and other drugs.
information to increase students’ knowledge and
understandings, but also the development of skills and 3. Discuss the classroom rules that will apply during the
attitudes that can help young people to make safer choices. students’ drug education program, such as:
Many young people when asked about their school • No put downs. (Students should feel confident that
drug education often make comments such as ‘it wasn’t their question, comment or personal attitude will be
relevant’ and ‘the class usually knew more about drugs respected within the class. Any infringements of this rule
and the effects they can have on the body, than the should be acted upon quickly).
person presenting the information’. Young people in their • No personal disclosures. (Personal stories about alcohol
reflections also identified a disconnect from drug education and other drug use should not be encouraged. This
due to the delivery of the same information in each year will protect students, and those related to students,
of their schooling such as the definition of a drug and the personal privacy and prevent them from damaging their
short term and long term effects of drug use. Students reputation. It also prevents students from sharing stories
suggested that knowing how to handle situations where that may increase their status, glamorise risky behaviour,
they felt pressured or needed to help a friend would have or covertly influence others to engage in risky behaviour.
been more relevant and useful (Copeland, Finney Lamb, It will also stop the class from being side-tracked).
Bleeker & Dillon, 2006). • Option to opt out. (Although the aim of the program is
This quiz has been designed to identify what students to have students consider their own attitudes and beliefs
already know about: drugs and the effects of drug use; the about drug use, students should always be given the
prevalence of drug use by 12 to 17 year olds in Western option not to share. Teachers should also be aware of any
Australia; laws associated with legal and illegal drugs; the students in their class who have experienced a drug-
perception of possible harms from drug use; skills and related situation as discussions may raise emotions and
strategies to reduce the harms of their drug use or the cause distress).
harms from others drug use including basic first aid and 4. Distribute a Be Ready workbook to each student.
who to seek help from in drug-related situations; and their
current attitudes about drugs and drug use. 5. In situations where students have not previously
participated in a drug education program, it is suggested
Assessing the students’ knowledge and skills and attitudes
that students understand the definition of a drug. The
will be useful in assisting the teacher to plan a program of
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

World Health Organisation (WHO) defines a drug to be

work that is relevant to their class.
“any substance, excluding food and water which when
Students should complete the quiz on their own and under taken into the body, alters its function physically and/or
test conditions. It is also important that students do not psychologically” (WHO, n.d).
write their name on the test. By remaining anonymous it
is hoped that the class will provide honest responses. It 6. Send a copy of the letter (refer to page 33) home with each
is important to highlight to the class that their responses student to inform parents of the focus of their children’s
are not about being right but will be used to guide the drug education program.
direction that their drug education program will take.

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

29
© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 ACTIVITY sheet

What do you know about drugs?

This quiz is to help you find out what you already know about drugs, the effects they can have on your
body, the laws about legal and illegal drugs, how you keep yourself and your mates safe in situations
where alcohol and drugs are being used, and your attitudes about alcohol and drugs.
Read each question and circle your answer. Do not write your name on this sheet.

Types of drugs and what they can do to 7. If a woman drinks alcohol while she is pregnant or
your body breastfeeding it can cause damage to the baby.
a) True b) False c) Don’t know
1. Drugs can have different effects on your body. Classify
these drugs according to the main affect they have on
your central nervous system (CNS).
Drugs and the law
nicotine caffeine alcohol ecstasy magic mushrooms
amphetamines cannabis cocaine LSD heroin 8. It is legal to drink alcohol under the age of 18.
a) True b) False c) Don’t know

9. Growing a couple of cannabis plants is legal in Western

Stimulants
Australia.
a) True b) False c) Don’t know

10. Which list includes all legal drugs:

Depressants
a) Analgesics, cannabis and caffeine
b) Nicotine, cannabis and caffeine
c) Analgesics, nicotine, alcohol and caffeine
Hallucinogens
d) Don’t know

11. A drug conviction may affect your future employment

Multi-action and travel goals.
(have more than a) True b) False c) Don’t know
one effect)
12. L and P plate drivers and riders must have a Blood
Alcohol Concentration of zero.
a) True b) False c) Don’t know
2. Dope, gunga and weed are all street or slang names for
which drug?
13. It is illegal to drink alcohol in public places
a) Cannabis b) Alcohol c) LSD d) Cocaine (park, beach, oval).
e) Don’t know a) True b) False c) Don’t know

3. Alcohol can cause some cancers in the body.

a) True b) False c) Don’t know

4. Smoking tobacco or cannabis using an implement (eg

bong, shisha or hookah) will not reduce the damage to
your lungs.
a) True b) False c) Don’t know

5. Alcohol only affects the brain and liver.

a) True b) False c) Don’t know

Challenges and Choices

6. If a young person under 18 years of age drinks alcohol

they can affect the healthy development of their brain.
a) True b) False c) Don’t know

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
ACTIVITY sheet

What do you know about drugs?

Helping yourself and your mates What drugs are used by 12-17 year old school
students?
14. If your mate has had too much to drink, should you:
18. Sort the list from (1) the drug that most young people
a) Leave your mate alone to sleep it off aged 12-17 years used in the last year to (7) the drug that
few young people aged 12 to 17 years used in the last
b) Stay with your mate and watch while he/she drinks year.
some water and has something to eat
cannabis ecstasy alcohol nicotine
c) Encourage your mate to drive or walk home amphetamines analgesics tranquillisers
d) Don’t know
1.
15. Your mate has been using drugs and is on the ground (91% used this drug in the last year)
unconscious. You want to call an ambulance. If you do:
2.
a) You will all be arrested by the police for using drugs
(44% used this drug in the last year)
b) Your mate will be arrested by the police for using
drugs 3.
(16% used this drug in the last year)
c) You will be able to get help for your mate from the
ambulance officers and the police who are only
concerned about safety 4.
(14% used this drug in the last year)
d) Don’t know
5.
16. The best thing to do if someone has a bad reaction to (13% used this drug in the last year
alcohol or a drug is to:
a) Watch them until it is out of their system 6.
(3.1% used this drug in the last year)
b) Call for help from an adult and/or an ambulance
c) Leave them alone 7.
(2.8% used this drug in the last year)
d) Hope they come right with time
e) Don’t know
19. 95% of 12-17 year olds are not current smokers
(smoked in the past 7 days).
17. In a health and safety situation involving alcohol or
drugs, it is important to look after myself and help my a) True b) False c) Don’t know
mates.
20. Most 12-17 year old students in Western Australia have
a) True b) False c) Don’t know used amphetamines some time in their life.
a) True b) False c) Don’t know
Challenges and Choices

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 ACTIVITY sheet

Quiz marking key

Question Correct Incorrect Don’t Topic Activity
know
Types of drugs and what they can to your body
1. Stimulants – nicotine, amphetamine, caffeine, cocaine 1 2, 3
Depressants – alcohol, heroin 2 1
Hallucinogens – magic mushrooms, LSD 3 1
Multi-action – ecstasy, cannabis
2. Dope, gunga, weed are all street or slang names for which drug? 1 2
a) Cannabis 5 1
3. Alcohol can cause some cancers in the body. 4 1
a) True
4. Smoking tobacco and cannabis using an implement (bong, shisha or hookah) 3 1, 2
will not reduce the damage to your lungs. 5 2
a) True
5. Alcohol only affects the brain and liver. 4 1
b) False
6. If a young person under 18 years of age drinks alcohol they can affect the 4 1, 2
healthy development of their brain.
a) True
7. If a woman drinks alcohol while she is pregnant or breastfeeding it can cause 4 1, 2
damage to the baby.
a) True
Drugs and the law
8. It is legal to drink alcohol under the age of 18. 1 3
b) False 4 4
9. Growing a couple of cannabis plants is legal in Western Australia. 5 1, 3
b) False
10. Which list includes all legal drugs? 1 3
c) Analgesics, nicotine, alcohol and caffeine
11. A drug conviction may affect your future employment and travel goals. 5 2, 3
a) True
12. L and P plate drivers and riders must have a Blood Alcohol Concentration of 4 1, 4
zero.
a) True
13. It is illegal to drink alcohol in public places (park, beach, oval). 4 1, 4
a) True
Helping yourself and your mates (harm minimisation)
14. If your mate has had too much to drink, should you: 6 1, 2
b) Stay with your mate and watch while he/she drinks some water
and has something to eat.
15. Your mate has been using drugs and is on the ground unconscious. You want 6 1, 2
to call an ambulance. If you do:
c) You will be able to get help for your mate from the ambulance
officers and the police who are only concerned about safety.
16. The best thing to do if someone has a bad reaction to alcohol or a drug is to: 6 1, 2
b) Call for help from an adult and/or an ambulance
17. In a health and safety situation involving alcohol or drugs, I should look after 6 1, 2
myself and my mates.
a) True
What drugs are used by 12-17 year olds school students? (prevalence of drug use)
18. Analgesics (91%), alcohol (44%), cannabis (16%), nicotine (14%), 1 3
tranquillisers (13%), ecstasy (3.1%), amphetamines (2.8%), 5 1
(MHC, 2016a; MHC, 2016b)
Challenges and Choices

19. 95% of 12-17 year olds are not current smokers (smoked in the past 7 days) 1 3
(White & Williams, 2015)
a) True
20. Most 12-17 year old students in Western Australia have used amphetamines 1 3
sometime in their life.
b) False (3%)

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
LETTER TO PARENTS

Dear Parents
In Health and Physical Education this term, our class will be building on their drug education learning
from Year 6 and focusing on alcohol and other drugs such as cannabis using Challenges and Choices, an
evidence-based education program that is endorsed by the State government and supported by the
Department of Education, Catholic Education Western Australia and the Association of Independent
Schools of WA.

Research tells us that young people should receive ongoing and age-relevant alcohol and other drug
education. Challenges and Choices does this by focusing on medicines, poisonous substances and passive
smoking in early childhood; energy drinks, tobacco and alcohol in middle primary; and alcohol, cannabis
and other drugs in secondary school.

The aim of the Challenges and Choices program is to:

1. Develop the skills that young people need to lead a safe and healthy life such as knowing when to seek
help, making responsible decisions, predicting and solving problems, and speaking assertively.
2. Give students the confidence to use a range of refusal and coping strategies that can help them resist
the pressures and influences from others to keep them safe.
3. Discuss the consequences of alcohol and other drug use. Not only the physical effects on our body but
also the social, emotional, financial and legal implications.
4. Develop negative attitudes towards harmful alcohol use or ‘binge drinking’ and promote the message –
no alcohol is the safest option for anyone under 18 years of age (National Health and Medical Research
Council [NHMRC], 2009).
5. Look at current Western Australian alcohol and drug statistics. Many teenagers believe that ‘everyone
smokes’ and ‘everyone drinks alcohol’. The Australian School Students Alcohol and Drug Survey (Mental
Health Commission [MHC], 2016a)2 3 dispels this perception and can reassure your child that they are
part of the majority of young people who do not use alcohol or other drugs.
Parents and families have a key role to play in their children’s drug education and can also have a strong,
positive influence on their children’s attitudes towards alcohol and other drugs. It may however be a topic
of discussion that you are not confident to tackle. During the program your will receive fact sheets on a
range of topics that I encourage you to share and discuss with your child.

Please contact me if you require further information about the Challenges and Choices alcohol and drug
education program.

Yours sincerely

1
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRA). (2009). Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol.
Retrieved from https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines-publications/ds10
Challenges and Choices

2
Mental Health Commission (2016a). Alcohol trends in Western Australia: 2014 Australian school students alcohol and drug survey, Government of Western
Australia, Perth. Retrieved from http://www.dao.health.wa.gov.au/Informationandresources/Publicationsandresources/Researchandstatistics/Statistics/
AustralianSchoolStudentsAlcoholandDrugsurvey.aspx
3
Mental Health Commission (2016b). Ilicit drug trends in Western Australia: 2014 Australian school students alcohol and drug survey - Western Australian Results.
Government of Western Australia, Perth. Retrieved from http://www.dao.health.wa.gov.au/Informationandresources/Publicationsandresources/Researchandstatistics/
Statistics/AustralianSchoolStudentsAlcoholandDrugsurvey.aspx

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 Activity 2 What are drugs? Have groups brainstorm (refer to page 91) the names of
psychoactive drugs for each category of drugs and write
Learning intention these in their workbook. Suggest that students list street
• Students define a drug names and slang words if they do not know the correct
name of the drug. For example: marijuana (gunga, mull,
• Students classify drugs according to the primary effect
dope, weed), alcohol (booze, grog), ecstasy (eccies, E).
of the drug on the central nervous system (CNS) eg
Some street names may be more relevant to certain
depressant, stimulant, hallucinogen and multi-action
student cohorts and in different locations. Give students
Equipment the correct drug name for those drugs only known by the
street name. Ask groups to place a tick next to the drugs
Be Ready student workbook – Talking drugs – page 11
that are legal to use ie tobacco and alcohol for anyone
Empty tissue box or similar to be used as a ‘question box’ who is 18 years or older, analgesics etc and to complete
Family information sheet – It’s not just the drug – the reflection question about what they have learnt.
photocopy one per student
3. Invite students to place any questions they may have
about drugs in the ‘question box’. Remind the class
Activities
not to write their name on the question as this may
1. In small groups, have students write their own definition encourage students to ask a wider range of questions.
of a drug. Listen to some of the group’s ideas then read Select a question each lesson to discuss. Only answer the
the World Health Organisation (WHO) definition on questions that you feel confident to answer.
page 11 of Be Ready which is: “A drug is any substance,
except food and water, which when taken into the body, Reliable websites such as the Drug Aware
changes the way the body works” (WHO, n.d.). Discuss website www.drugaware.com.au will help
any similarities between the WHO definition and those you find the information to provide credible
created by the class. answers. Emphasise to students that any drug
has the potential to cause harm.
2. Explain that drugs which affect a person’s CNS (eg
physically and psychologically) are called psychoactive 4. Send home a copy of the Family information sheet – It’s
drugs. These drugs can be sorted into four categories not just the drug provided with this activity. Also advise
according to the primary effect that the drug has on the parents about the reliable drug information websites and
CNS, and include: help lines that they, and their teenager, can contact for
advice about alcohol and drug use problems.
o Depressants – these drugs slow the activity of the brain
and decrease its alertness eg alcohol, heroin. (Volatile
substances such as aerosol sprays and glues also fall
into this category. However it is recommended that
information on volatile substances should not form part
of the general drug education curriculum due to the
ease of access and risks of experimentation.
Refer to www.sdera.wa.edu.au).
o Stimulants – these drugs have the opposite effect to
depressants by increasing the activity of the brain eg
caffeine, nicotine (in tobacco).
o Hallucinogens – these drugs cause the user to see,
hear and smell things in a strange way eg cannabis and
ecstasy in high doses, and some types of mushrooms.
o Multi-action – these drugs can have more than one
effect on the CNS. For example, cannabis can have both
depressant and hallucinogenic effects, and ecstasy can
have both stimulant and hallucinogenic effects.
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

34 © 2016 Mental Health Commission
 family information sheet

It’s not just the drug

When a person uses a drug, is their experience only because of the drug they have used? Simple
answer – No. Drug use affects everyone differently.
When setting up open lines of communication to talk with your children about alcohol and other
drugs, it is important to be aware of individual differences and the factors involved in drug use.
The information provided on this sheet can help you to have those discussions.
The Drug Use Triangle shows how the effects and harms of drug use rely on the combination of three
factors – The Person, The Drug and The Environment.

Age? Experience? Male or female?

Body size? Mood? Personality?
Expectation of the drug?
Food intake?

Person

rs
cto

The drug use

l fa

triangle
Dr

Where used?
a

Type of drug?
nt
ug

With whom?
me

How much taken?

fa

On what occasion?
cto

on

Over what time ?

Supervision?
vir
rs

Other drugs used?

En

Strength of drug? Time of day/week?

Purity of the drug? Activities after taking
the drug?

Want to know more?

• Drug Aware www.drugaware.com.au has reliable

information about all drugs Any drug has the potential to cause
• Australian Drug Foundation www.adf.org.au has harm. Illegal drugs especially
reliable information about all drugs
EDUCATING FOR SMARTER Choices

can have unexpected effects as

• Alcohol and Drug Support Line (08) 9442 5000 or the substances in them are often
1800 198 024 (country callers)
unknown and potentially dangerous.
• Parent and Family Drug Support Line
(08) 9442 5050 or1800 653 203 (country callers) Understanding the factors involved
• Aboriginal Alcohol and Drug Service (08) 9221 1411
in the drug use triangle can help to
minimise the potential risks.

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 Activity 3 Normative Drugs that cannot Any drug has the potential to
education around drug use cause harm cause harm. However, when used
as directed the risk of harm from
Learning intention analgesics, cough syrup, caffeine,
• Students explore drug use statistics for Western guarana and tranquillisers is low.
Australian secondary students The drug that was Ecstasy
• Students identify reliable sources of information about used by 1.3% of
drug use 12-17 year old WA
• Students explore types of drugs and the associated students in the last
harms from use of drugs week
The drug that was Alcohol
Equipment used by 14% of
Be Ready student workbook – Alcohol and other drugs – 12-17 year old WA
page 12 students in the last
Family information sheet – Drug use: the real story – week
photocopy one per student The drug that was Tobacco
Family information sheet – Over the counter medications – used by 4.8% of
photocopy one per student 12-17 year old WA
students in the last
Activities week
1. Ask students to form small groups. Have each group write (Department of Health,
the drug that they think should be written next to each 2016)
heading on Alcohol and other drugs on page 12 of Be The drug that was Cannabis
Ready. Point out that the drug names can be used more used by 5.6% of
than once. Allow time for groups to complete the task 12-17 year old WA
then listen to responses before providing the answers as students in the last
shown here. week
(MHC, 2016a;
Drugs that are legal Ventolin, cough syrup, analgesics, MHC, 2016b)
caffeine, tobacco, alcohol,
tranquillisers, guarana, caffeine The two drugs that Tobacco causes about 80% of all
cause the most drug drug related deaths each year,
Drugs that are illegal Cannabis, ecstasy, synthetic related deaths in our through cancer, emphysema and
cannabis, LSD community heart disease. Alcohol causes about
Legal drugs that Alcohol, tobacco 14% of alcohol related deaths
are illegal to sell to through traffic accidents, liver
people under 18 disease and misadventure. About
years old one in five deaths in Australia are
drug related but only about 6% of
Drugs that can be Ventolin, cough syrup, analgesic,
these deaths are caused by illegal
used as a medicine tranquillisers, caffeine for example,
drugs. ABS Mortality data - 2008
caffeine is used to stimulate
breathing in premature babies. There Drugs that are Cough syrup, caffeine, analgesics,
have been some instances of using psychoactive drugs tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, ecstasy,
cannabis for pain relief in other synthetic cannabis, LSD
countries. This is not currently legal in Drugs that are Alcohol, analgesics, cough syrup,
Australia. depressants cannabis
Drugs that can All of the drugs can cause harm Drugs that are Caffeine, tobacco
cause harm depending on the person, the stimulants
level of use and the situation they
are used in. There is no safe level Drugs that are LSD
of use for tobacco. Alcohol use for hallucinogens
those under 18 can affect brain Drugs that are Ecstasy, cannabis
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

development. Pregnant women multi-action

who drink alcohol may harm the
development of their baby.

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

36 © 2016 Mental Health Commission
2. Have students write their answers to the questions on • What have you learnt from this activity? (Drugs can be
page 12 of their workbook (and shown here) and then grouped in different ways according to the effect they
discuss as a class. have on the body. Drugs can affect people in ways
that are both helpful and harmful. All drugs have the
Ask potential to cause harm if misused however tobacco
and alcohol are the drugs that cause the most harm in
• Why do you think your guess about student drug use was
our community. Most school aged students do not take
incorrect?
drugs).
• How might knowing the real student drug use statistics
• Where do you usually find out information about drugs?
change the way a young person your age feels about
(eg media, friends, peers, teachers, internet, family,
these drugs or how they behave around these drugs?
pharmacist, doctors).
(Because students often overestimate the number of
people who do use drugs, they may make students • Are all of these sources reliable? (No. Doctors, pharmacists,
believe that ‘everyone is doing it, so drug use must be government websites and the Alcohol and Drug
okay’ or make them feel pressured to experiment with Support Line are reliable sources. Teachers, friends,
drugs to be part of a ‘cool’ subculture. Remind students peers, family and the media may not always be well
that delaying the age of experimentation of drug use informed and therefore are not always reliable sources).
decreases the likelihood of later problematic drug use).
3. Have students research the drugs discussed in this activity
• Would thinking that more people around their age were using reliable websites that provide reliable information
using cannabis actually influence a young person to about drugs such as the Australian Drug Foundation,
experiment with cannabis? (Yes. Young people who National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre,
perceive cannabis use norms to be higher than they Drug Aware, and the Drug and Alcohol Office WA.
are may be more likely to experiment or be regular
cannabis users. The same applies to alcohol use). 4. Send home a copy of the Family information sheets –
• Why do you think the number of people who smoke, for all Drug use: the real story and Over the counter medications
age groups, has reduced so much over the last 60 years? with each student to share and discuss with their family.
(eg effective public health campaigns, less tobacco
advertising, more education about the harmful effects
of smoking, more laws that help encourage less use,
increase in cost).

Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

37
© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 family information sheet

Drug use: The real story The Australian

School Studen
Drug (ASSAD) ts Alcohol and
survey is cond
years and invo u cted every thre
Many parents worry about whether their lves thousand
s
e
answer anonym o f students who
teenagers are drinking alcohol or taking illegal ously a range
of questions.
drugs, how they can tell, and what to do about it The 2014 surv
ey results show
if they are. Australia: ed that in Wes
tern
With all the stories about drugs in the media, • Apart from
analgesics and
many parents also wonder why young people young people alcohol, most
aged 12 to 17
would even think about trying drugs. However, use drugs. years do not
media stories often try to paint a picture of high • Although u
se of alcohol b
drug use amongst secondary students. So what is has decreased y these age gro
ups
since 2011, 44
the real story? had used alco % reported th
ey
hol in the last
year.
• 19% said th
If you would like to read further ey had used ca
time in their lif nnabis at som
information about the Western Australian e. e
results of the national survey visit the Drug
• 16% of 12-1
and Alcohol Office or the Mental Health 7 year olds rep
Commission website used cannabis orted they had
in the last year
.
Drug and Alcohol Office website • Only 3.1% sa
www.dao.wa.gov.au id they had use
2.8% had used d ecstasy and
amphetamines
Mental Health Commission’s website year. in the last
www.mentalhealth.wa.gov.au
• Volatile sub
stances (eg glu
thinners) were e, paint, petro
used by 16% o l or
olds at some ti f 12-17 year
me in their lives
.
(MHC, 2016a; M
HC, 2016b)

Dispelling the myths

around young people
and drug use
Your children will be exposed to
news stories that may suggest to
them that ‘all young people are
using illicit drugs’. Your children
may also believe that many of
their friends are drinking alcohol
or using cannabis. It is therefore
so important to let your children
EDUCATING FOR SMARTER Choices

know that their perceptions about

other young people’s drug use are
incorrect and that by choosing not
to use alcohol or other drugs they
are part of the majority of young
people their age.

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
family information sheet

Over-the-counter drugs
When you think about drug use and young people, drugs like alcohol or cannabis might quickly
come to mind. But we know from recent surveys that the overuse of over-the-counter drugs
is becoming a problem with some young people. These drugs when taken as intended by
appropriately following the instructions provided by a doctor, pharmacist or the instructions on
the packet, can safely treat specific mind and body symptoms. It is when over-the-counter drugs
are misused by taking different quantities or when symptoms aren’t present that these drugs may
affect a person in ways very similar to illicit drugs. For example, stimulants such as Ritalin achieve
their effects by acting on the same neurotransmitter systems as cocaine.

Australian School Students Alcohol and Drug

The messages
(ASSAD) Survey to give your
children abou
The harms associated with pharmaceuticals are not just t over-the-
related to the misuse of prescription drugs but also the counter drugs
misuse of over-the-counter drugs such as analgesics (that • Over-the-count
contain codeine). Misuse is reported to be increasing and er drugs have
potential to ca the
is emerging as an issue of concern. Codeine is used to use harm. Som
people may thin e young
provide relief from a number of conditions including mild k that prescriptio
the-counter drug n and over-
to severe pain, diarrhoea and dry cough. Misusing codeine, s are safer than
because they ar other drugs
including taking more codeine than recommended on the e legal and pres
doctor. cribed by a
packet, increases the risk of side effects such as dizziness,
lethargy and blurred vision, and puts a person at risk of an • These drugs sh
ould only be us
overdose. Care should be taken when using these drugs directed. Youn ed as
g people who do
including those that contain paracetamol. that using prescr not think
iption and over
drugs is harmfu -the counter
The most common reasons for using analgesics for males l may be more lik
them for non-m ely to use
and females in the 2014 ASSAD survey was to help ease edical reasons th
who view them an those
the pain associated with a headache/migraine and to as harmful.
ease the symptoms of a cold or ‘flu’. In the national survey • Using phar
maceutical drug
of school students aged 12 to 17 years: prescription fro s without a
m a doctor, or
giving them to selling or
• the use of over-the-counter medications such as someone else
It is also against is illegal.
Panadol was extremely high1 with 93.4% having used the law to forge
prescription. or alter a
these medications in their lifetime
• seven in ten (70%) had used analgesics in the past • Try alternatives
before using m
month Talk about alter edications.
native ways your
can relieve a he children
• females were more likely to have used analgesics in adache before ta
analgesics such king
their lifetime. About one in five (20.8%) reported using as: eating food
water to hydrat or drinking
analgesics to help with menstrual pain e the body, lying
dark room with down in a
• 16.2% of males, at all ages, used analgesics to help a cold compres
forehead or back s across the
relieve pain from a sports injury. of the neck, or go
walk and getting ing for a
some fresh air. (T
suggestions on hese are
ly and should no
medical advice) t be taken as
.
EDUCATING FOR SMARTER Choices

1
Mental Health Commission (2016). Australian Secondary Students’ Alcohol and Drug Survey 2014: Western Australian Results. Unpublished analysis.

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 Activity 4 The drug use triangle 3. Place a sign (agree/disagree) at each end of the room and
conduct a values continuum (refer to page 97). Read the
Learning intention following scenario.
• Students understand that the effects from drug use are a Scenario
combination of many factors and not just the drug itself • The 17 year old female smoking cannabis at home is at a
• Students assess possible harms associated with cannabis lower risk of harm than the 17 year old female smoking
use and share their opinion cannabis at the beach. Do you agree or disagree?
• Students appreciate that everyone has a different
Ask students to assess the two scenarios then place
viewpoint
themselves on the continuum. Invite students to give
Equipment reasons for their placement along the continuum. Talk
about how both females could reduce the possible harms
Be Ready student workbook – It’s not just the drug – page 13
from their cannabis use (eg not smoke cannabis, find out
Strategy sheet – Agree disagree – photocopy agree and more information about cannabis and the short-term and
disagree signs – page 106 long-term effects and consequences, use in a safer place
with people they know).
Activities Create other scenarios for discussion using the factors
1. Draw a triangle on the board and label as shown on students identified for each heading on the drug triangle.
It’s not just the drug on page 13 of Be Ready. Explain to
students that the effects and degree of harm caused to
a person while using a drug is determined by a number
of factors that can be grouped under the three headings:
the person using the drug, the environment it’s being
used within, and the drug itself. Have students add other
factors to each heading of the drug use triangle in their
workbook.
2. Read the following scenario to the class. Identify the
factors relevant to each point of the drug use experience
triangle in this cannabis-related situation and discuss how
these may contribute to the drug user’s experience.
Scenario
• A 17 year old female who has never used cannabis before
is smoking a bong with friends in her own home.
Now have students read the scenario described on
page 13 of the student workbook and again identify
the contributing factors and possible harms using the
drug use experience triangle. Check that students have
identified all factors.
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

40 © 2016 Mental Health Commission
TOPIC 2

Caffeine
Caffeine is a drug found in a range of readily available
products such as chocolate, coffee, tea, cola, cocoa, energy
drinks and over-the-counter medicines including No Doz and
cough mixtures. These are products that young people often
drink and eat.
There are currently no guidelines or recommendations about
the amount of caffeine intake suitable for young people.
Caffeine effects, like any drug, differ from person to person
depending on their age, body size and general health.
Regular caffeine users may have different experiences from
people who only consume caffeine products occasionally. As
a stimulant it can cause physical effects for some people such
as increased breathing and heart rates, dizziness, headaches,
dehydration and frequent trips to the toilet.

Caffeine prevention education

The trend for young people to consume coffee and energy
drinks, which contain caffeine, to increase stamina and
performance is an emerging concern. Alerting students to the
effects that caffeine and energy drinks can have on their body
should be part of caffeine education programs.
It may be appropriate to focus on the peer and media
influence to consume these drinks if students identify that
they are regularly drinking them.

Key concepts
• Students need to understand that being healthy involves
maintaining a low caffeine intake. Low or no caffeine intake
needs to be discussed as part of behaviours of healthy
people. Many of the caffeine products that young people
consume also contain high levels of sugar or artificial
sweetners, so it would be appropriate to focus on this as
part of a healthy diet.
• Students should be able to identify products containing
caffeine and also alternative food and drinks that could be
consumed instead of those that contain caffeine.
• It is important to engage parents/families in this caffeine
education as many young people have little control over
what they eat and drink and many parents are not aware of
the effects of caffeine.
• The learning experiences chosen will be dependent on
the observed or reported consumption levels of caffeine
among students. It may only be appropriate to engage
in some of the activities in this topic to raise students’
awareness of caffeine and energy drinks.
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

Whole-school approach
Check to see if your School Drug Education Guidelines advise
students and families that only caffeine free products will be
sold in the school canteen, and that students are encouraged
not to bring these products to school especially for use at
sports training.

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

41
© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 Activity 1 Caffeine – the facts 2. Conduct a question partners (refer to page 94) using
the question and answer cards from Activity sheets Clued
Learning intention up on caffeine – pages 43 to 46. Make sure that there is a
• Students investigate the caffeine content in drinks and matching card for each student. Explain that students are
food to find the card that matches either their question or their
answer. When all cards have been matched, listen to all of
• Students discuss the possible immediate effects of
the questions and answers. Use the following questions
caffeine on the body
to process the activity.
Equipment
Ask
A collection of empty packets, boxes, wrappers,
• What type of drug is caffeine? (Stimulant)
containers of a range of products with and without
caffeine (eg chocolate, chocolate and coffee milk cartons • What can caffeine do to your body?
and bottles, cola drinks, energy drink cans, tea and coffee, • What was something new that you learnt about caffeine?
decaffeinated coffee and tea) • Why are we learning about caffeine? (So we can monitor
A4 sheet of paper our own caffeine intake and reduce it or continue to
Activity sheet – Clued up on caffeine – photocopy one card remain caffeine free to maintain our wellbeing).
per student • Do you think companies who produce foods and drinks
containing caffeine should put some of these facts on their
Teaching tips packaging? Why?
Ask students to bring in empty containers of foods and • Why do many people continue to use caffeine even though
drinks that contain caffeine. Use the list from the Caffeine and it can have some nasty effects on the body? (Most adults
energy drinks – Family information sheet (refer to page 48) as use under 600 mg of caffeine per day so they may not
examples of the types of items required. be experiencing the harmful effects).

Activities
1. Display the collection of empty food and drink items that
contain various levels of caffeine. In pairs, have students
decide which items have the least caffeine content to
those that have the highest caffeine content and write
their guess on a piece of paper.
Distribute the items to the students then ask them to read
the ingredient list on the package or container to find the
caffeine content. Ask students to then place the items in
order from lowest caffeine content to highest caffeine
content. Have students check their guesses. Use the
following questions to process the activity.
Ask
• Were there any products that had a high caffeine content
that surprised you? Why?
• Were there any products that were low in caffeine that
surprised you? Why?
• Were you surprised to find that decaffeinated drinks do still
contain amounts of caffeine?
• Put the number of fingers up to show how often you would
eat or drink something with high caffeine content. Seven
fingers means every day of the week, one finger means
once a week and a fist means never. (Note the students
who identify high use of caffeine products).
• Do you think it is healthy to eat or drink caffeine products
every day? (Children under 15 years should not
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

consume products with high caffeine levels such as

energy drinks, as caffeine can affect a growing brain. It
is recommended that children stay well under 100mg
of caffeine per day which is approximately one can of
cola and a small chocolate bar).

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

42 © 2016 Mental Health Commission
 ACTIVITY sheet

Q A
Clued up on caffeine
#

Caffeine is a stimulant drug which means it speeds up the

messages travelling between the brain and the body.

What is caffeine? Caffeine is an ingredient that can be found naturally in the leaves,
seeds, nuts or fruit of more than 60 plants. Some of the most
commonly known sources of caffeine include coffee beans, tea
leaves, cocoa beans, kola nuts, and guarana plants.

Q A
#

Common foods and drinks that contain caffeine are coffee, tea, cola
What are some common foods drinks, chocolate, iced coffee, energy drinks and bars.
and drinks that contain caffeine? It is also found in some painkillers and cold and flu medicines.

Q A
#
These effects may be experienced between 5-30 minutes after
consuming caffeine and may continue for up to 12 hours:
• feeling more alert and active
What are the immediate • restlessness, dizziness
effects of caffeine on the • anxiety and irritability
body? • dehydration and needing to urinate more often
• higher body temperature

Q A
• headache and lack of concentration
• stomach pains.

Research shows that anxiety level for children aged 5-12 years
equates to a caffeine dose of 95mg per day (approximately 2 cans
of cola) and about 210 mg per day (approximately 3 cups of instant
How much caffeine is it okay to coffee) for adults.
eat or drink each day?
Challenges and Choices

Source: Food Standards Australia New Zealand (2015)

#
#

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 ACTIVITY sheet

Q A
Clued up on caffeine
#

Some people use caffeine because it:

• helps them to concentrate
• wakes them up
Why do some people use caffeine? • they like the taste
• it’s trendy

Q
• they are influenced by their friends and the media.

A
#

No. Caffeine does not help people sober up. Only time will help a
Does caffeine help people sober up? person get over the effects of alcohol. Caffeine does not help the
body get rid of alcohol.

Q A
#

Caffeine doesn’t help people lose weight. Caffeine dehydrates you

because it makes you pass urine more often. Any weight loss is
Can caffeine help people lose weight? only water and it is just temporary. Exercise and a balanced diet are
the best ways to control weight.

Q A
#

Guarana comes from a plant in the maple family that grows along
the Amazon and is common in Brazil. Its seeds – which look oddly
What is guarana? like eyeballs – contain twice as much caffeine as a coffee bean. It’s
been used for centuries as a tea by grinding the shelled seeds into
a paste and then mixing it with hot water and sugar.
Challenges and Choices

#
#

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 ACTIVITY sheet

Q A
Clued up on caffeine
#

There is no safe level of drug use. Caffeine affects everyone

differently based on many factors (eg drug use experience triangle)
Is caffeine safe for kids? such as size, weight, health, amount taken and used before.
Children and young people who consume energy drinks containing
caffeine may also suffer sleep problems, bedwetting and anxiety.

Q A
#
The Food Standards Code in Australia has restrictions on how
much caffeine can be added to cola drinks and energy. In cola type
drinks, the total caffeine content must not exceed 145mg per litre.
The maximum level of caffeine allowed in energy drinks is 320mg
per litre (including the guarana content).
How is caffeine in drinks and Foods containing added caffeine must also have a statement on
foods regulated in Australia? the label that the product contains caffeine. Foods containing
guarana must also be labelled as containing caffeine. This is to help
people avoid caffeine either for themselves or their children.

Q A
The Standards also require labels to advise when products are not
suitable for young children, pregnant or breastfeeding women and
people who are sensitive to caffeine.

#
Caffeine affects everyone differently however if a large amount is consumed
it could cause an overdose. If any of the following effects are experienced an
ambulance should be called straight away:
• tremors • nausea and vomiting
• very fast and irregular heart rate
Is it possible to have too much caffeine? • confusion and panic attack • seizures.
In small children, caffeine poisoning can happen if 1000mgs of caffeine
(equal to around 12 energy drinks) is consumed one after the other.

Q A
It is possible to die from having too much caffeine, but this is extremely rare.
This would usually only happen if 5000-10,000mgs of caffeine (or 80 cups of
strong coffee) were consumed one after the other.

#
Giving up caffeine after using it for a long time can be hard
because your body is used to having it. Withdrawal symptoms
usually start within 24 hours after the last dose or even with 6
hours for people who consume a lot of caffeine regularly. The
symptoms can last for around 36 hours or even longer for people
Is it hard to give up caffeine? who consume a lot.
Symptoms can include:
Challenges and Choices

• headache • tiredness • sweating

• muscle pains • anxiety and tension.

#
#

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 ACTIVITY sheet

Q A
Clued up on caffeine
#
Coffee is now the most popular hot drink in Australia with 2.1
billion cups bought from cafes and other vendors a year.
(Source: Roy Morgan Research, 2014)

In the last decade, coffee consumption by Australian adults has

Do Australians drink a lot of caffeine? declined slowly but steadily from 10.5 cups to 9.2 cups per week.
(Source: Roy Morgan Research, 2014).

Q
Sales of energy drinks in Australia and New Zealand increased from

A
34.5million litres in 2001 to 155.6 million litres in 2010.
(Food Regulation Standing Committee, 2014)

#
Energy drinks typically contain varying amounts of caffeine (the
main ingredient in energy drinks); taurine: guarana (an extract
from a plant that contains about twice the amount of caffeine as
coffee beans); theobromine (from the cacao plant and is found in
chocolate and many other foods); amino acids; vitamins; ginseng
(a substance that comes from a variety of plants); theophylinne (a
What are energy drinks?
drug used for the treatment of respiratory diseases and asthma)
and sugar.

Q A
Energy drinks are promoted as being beneficial in increasing
stamina, and improving physical performance, endurance and
concentration.

Drinking alcohol with energy drinks places the body under great
stress and ‘mask’ some of the effects of the alcohol. For example,
if a person combines energy drinks with alcohol they will still be
Should you mix energy drinks with alcohol? affected by the alcohol but may not feel as relaxed or sleepy. They
may feel more confident, take more risks and increase the chances
of experiencing alcohol-related harms such as drinking too much

Q
or being injured in an accident.

A
#

Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should avoid energy

drinks as high amounts of caffeine can increase the risk of
Should pregnant women drink energy miscarriage, difficult birth and delivery of low-weight babies.
drinks? Caffeine crosses the placenta so breastfeeding mothers are also
advised to avoid energy drinks.
Challenges and Choices

#
#

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
Activity 2 Monitoring caffeine intake 3. Working with a partner, have students design a poster
that provides information on products that contain
Learning intention caffeine and the effects of caffeine on the body. Suggest
• Students monitor their caffeine intake students create a slogan that encourages the reader to
reduce their intake of caffeine. Display the posters in
Equipment areas where other students and parents can read the
Be Ready student workbook – Clued up on caffeine – page 14 information.

Selection of measuring cups and a jar of instant coffee 4. Send a copy of the Family information sheet – Caffeine
and energy drinks home with each student to discuss with
Large poster paper and drawing materials – class set their family. Leave extra copies in the school foyer, library
and pick up areas.
Family information sheet – Caffeine and energy drinks –
photocopy one per student  

Activities
1. Students form small groups. Give each group a selection
of measuring equipment and a container of instant
coffee. Have students refer to the caffeine content of
drinks and foods in Be Ready on page 14. Explain that each
group is to choose one item from the table and represent
the caffeine content by measuring the same amount of
coffee. It will be easier for students to represent milligrams
as grams (eg one milligram of caffeine = one gram of
instant coffee).
Have students guess the item being represented in coffee
by each group. Discuss any observations and compare
the different levels of caffeine content.
2. Explain students are to survey the caffeine consumption
for the previous day of their group. They need to start by
filling in the chart on page 14 of Be Ready, listing their
caffeine consumption. Suggest that students refer to the
table on the sheet to calculate amounts. The total for each
group should be represented in grams and milligrams ie
1000mg equals 1 gram. Compare the amounts of caffeine
consumed by the class then use the following questions
to further the discussion.
Ask
• Were you surprised at the amount of caffeine your group
consumed in a day? Why?
• Did you think you were consuming caffeine even though
you don’t drink coffee?
• What did you learn about caffeine?
• How could you share this information with your family?
• What might you do differently now that you know more
about caffeine?
• What foods or drinks could you consume instead of each
of the items on the sheet that do not contain caffeine or so
much sugar? (eg carob, fruit smoothies, fresh fruit juices,
water, popcorn, dried fruit).
Have students complete the individual written reflections
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

on page 14 of their workbook.

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

47
© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 family information sheet

Caffeine and energy drinks

Do you know h
ow
Caffeine is one of our favourite legal drugs. But what does it do to our much caffeine
your
body and how much is too much? child is drinkin
ga
day?
Coffee and tea both contain caffeine which is a legal but habit
forming drug. Caffeine is found in a number of plants including tea, The daily recom
mended
dose of caffein
coffee beans and guarana berries. e for adults
is 200-300 millig
rams
With coffee and energy drinks becoming more popular in our society, however there
is no
the amount of caffeine, guarana and sugar we consume is on the recommended
dose for
increase. Did you know that in one cup of flat white coffee there is young people.
around 90gm of caffeine, and a 500ml can of Mother, Monster or
Rockstar contains around 150 milligrams?

Amounts of caffeine in food and drinks So, what’s wrong with caffeine?
Size / amount Caffeine content The effects of caffeine in large doses (more
than 600mg or eight average cups of
Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Bar 100mg 59mg coffee) can include:
Chocolate, Milk Chocolate Bar 55mg 3-20mg • increased alertness and energy
Chocolate, Milk 200mls 2-7mg • elevated blood pressure
Coca Cola 375ml 49mg • increased body temperature
Cocoa, Hot Chocolate 150ml 30-60 mg • insomnia
Coffee, Brewed 250 ml 80 (20-110)mg • nervousness and anxiety

Coffee, Cappuccino 100ml 101.9 • headaches

• diarrhoea
Coffee, Decaffeinated 150ml 2-4mg
• increased urination
Coffee, Flat White 100ml 87mg
• nausea and vomiting
Coffee, Instant 250 ml 60 (12-169)mg
• rapid heart rate, heart palpitations
Coffee, Long Black 100ml 75mg and related heart problems
Coffee, Short Black Espresso 1 standard serve 107 (25-214)mg • alterations to mood and even
Coke Zero 473ml 45mg delirium.
Dare Double Espresso® 500ml 177mg Caffeine, energy
Dare Espresso® 500ml 80mg drinks and sport
Diet Coke 100ml 9.7mg Players often say they are using caffeine
Diet Coke, Caffeine Free 250 ml 2mg or an energy drink to ‘give them more
energy’, but they seem to forget that
Kopiko Coffee Sweets One sweet 25mg caffeine is a diuretic that increases
Mother Energy Drink 500ml 160mg dehydration and can affect endurance. In
fact, the International Olympic Committee
Mountain Dew 100ml 15mg
has banned caffeine levels of the
No Doz 1 tablet 200mg equivalent of four strong cups of coffee
Pepsi Cola 375ml 40mg per day.
Pulse: Vodka, soda and guarana 300ml 21mg Energy drinks and alcohol
(alcoholic)
Mixing an energy drink with alcohol can
EDUCATING FOR SMARTER Choices

Red Bull 100ml 32mg increase the chances of a person drinking

Red Bull 250ml 80mg too much alcohol and taking risks. This
is because the caffeine (a stimulant) can
Rockstar Energy Drink 473ml 151mg
mask the effects of alcohol (a depressant).
Tea, Brewed black 250ml 27 (9-51)mg
Tea, Brewed green tea 100ml 12mg More information about
caffeine can be found on the
V Energy Drink 250ml 50mg Australian Drug Foundation
website www.adf.org.au
Source: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University NSW

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
TOPIC 3 How tobacco prevention is taught is as important as what is
taught. Ensure that students have both time and opportunity
to explore their own beliefs about smoking and also practise
Tobacco assertive communication and decision making in tobacco
related situations that may occur in their own social settings.
The secondary school experience is the time when young Give students many opportunities to consider when, where,
people are at greatest risk of smoking experimentation and how and by whom they may feel pressured to try a cigarette.
uptake. The 2014 ASSAD data states that 91% of 12 year olds Consider situations that involve both overt pressure from
and 87% of 13 year olds have never smoked. However, by the peers or family and also covert pressures where students put
age of 17 years, only 66% have never smoked (Department pressure on themselves to smoke, perhaps to please or be like
of Health, 2016). Therefore, conducting smoking education friends or family.
throughout the high school years is vital for educating
students to make positive health decisions.
Whole-school approach
Research tells us that the younger a person starts smoking, Find the school’s guidelines on smoking and, if possible,
the more likely they may become a regular adult smoker. ensure that the smoking incidents at school are managed as a
We also know that many young people who are aware of health and safety issue rather than a disciplinary issue.
the harms associated with tobacco still see it as okay to
‘try smoking once’ to satisfy their curiosity. It is therefore
important to readdress smoking in secondary health
programs, as attitudes towards smoking also change over Activity 1 What’s really in a
time.
cigarette and cigarette smoke?
Research on the predictors of smoking suggests that the most
promising school based approaches: Learning intention

• help children to develop negative attitudes to smoking • Students identify the chemicals and substances found in
cigarettes and cigarette smoke
• teach children how to cope socially while resisting peer
influences to smoke • Students discuss the physical harms of smoking

• encourage parents to quit while their children are young

Equipment
• have opportunities for students to participate in health
Packet of cigarettes – one per group
promoting activities
Activity sheet – What’s in a cigarette and cigarette smoke?
• prevent children from failing academically and becoming
– photocopy and cut into cards or use the products listed
alienated from school.
over the page
Key concepts Large sheet of paper with a drawn cigarette outline or a
• The number of young people who smoke has steadily been large label with the words What’s in a cigarette and cigarette
decreasing in Australia. In a recent ASSAD survey (2014), smoke?
only 19.5% of 12-17 year old students had smoked in their Be Ready student workbook – Tar is for roads, not lungs –
lifetime (Department of Health, 2016). page 15
• The younger a person starts smoking the more likely they Family information sheet – Helping your child be a non-
are of becoming a regular adult smoker. smoker – photocopy one per student
• Smoking cigarettes or smoking tobacco or cannabis using
implements such as shishas and bongs can cause lung Teaching tip
cancer and many other diseases. Make sure the displayed products are empty and placed in
• Encourage students to be ‘smoke free’ rather than a clear container when left unattended.
advocating that students simply ‘don’t smoke’. Encourage
students who have experimented with smoking to cut Activities
down or stop. 1. Give each group a cigarette. Have students pull the
cigarette apart then smell their hands (but not the
Teaching tobacco prevention programs
cigarette directly). Ask the following questions and record
Effective programs should not discuss smoking as a ‘deviant’ the students’ responses on the board.
behaviour as this may be the very thing that attracts some
students to take up smoking. Rather, focus on positive Ask
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

messages such as: • What ingredients do you think are in a cigarette?

• most young people don’t smoke • Which ingredients do you think are most harmful to a
smoker?
• young people who do smoke generally respect
those who decide not to • Which ingredients do you think makes people dependent
on cigarettes?
• young people can become addicted to smoking
even if they don’t smoke many cigarettes. However, • How do your hands smell?
the fewer cigarettes a young person smokes, the
easier it is to stop.

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

49
© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 2. This next part of the activity can be conducted either by 3. Use the following questions to process the activity.
giving students a product as shown in the list below or
cards from the What’s in a cigarette and cigarette smoke? Ask
activity sheet. Distribute one card (or product) to each • When we pulled a cigarette apart was it easy to guess all of
student (or pair). Ask each student to read the information the ingredients? Why?
shown on their card (or product) and then place the card
inside the cigarette outline (or by the label) if they think • Were you surprised by the number of chemicals and
it is found in a cigarette or cigarette smoke. Confirm with poisons found in cigarettes and cigarette smoke?
the class that all of the ingredients shown on the activity • Would you want to have any of these ingredients in
cards are found in a cigarette and cigarette smoke, and contact with your body?
that the main ingredient in cigarettes is tobacco which
• Would you want to have any of these ingredients inside
contains the drug, nicotine.
your body?
Ask the class to guess how many chemicals and poisons • Why do you think cigarette companies do not advise
can be found in cigarettes and cigarette smoke. Tell the consumers about the chemicals and poisons found in
class that there are over 7000 chemicals and poisons of cigarettes and cigarette smoke?
which 69 are known to be carcinogenic (a carcinogen
is something that causes cancer), and that if a person • Do other products we buy have to have the ingredients
actually ate a pack of cigarettes, they would become very they contain listed on the packet or container? (Yes. The
ill and could even die. Explain that some of the chemicals Food Standards Australia New Zealand requires products
are put in cigarettes to keep them burning or to make to be clearly labelled to show their contents).
them burn quicker.
4. Have students design their own cigarette packet cover
Have students draw and label some of the ingredients in giving warnings about the chemicals and poisons
cigarettes and cigarette smoke on Tar is for roads, not lungs contained in a cigarette and cigarette smoke.
on page 15 in Be Ready.

Ingredients in cigarettes Also found in… Suggested products

and cigarette smoke
Acetic acid Hair dye and vinegar Hair dye boxes, vinegar bottle
Acetone Nail polish remover Nail polish remover bottle
Ammonia Disinfectant Ammonia, window cleaner
Arsenic Rat poison Rat poison
Benzene Rubber cement Rubber cement tube
Benzoapyrene Tar Tar or jar filled with molasses or brown paint
Cadmium Batteries Old batteries
Carbon monoxide Car exhaust Tail pipe
DDT Insecticide Empty bug spray cans
Fibreglass Glass Glass jars
Formaldehyde Embalming fluid Empty formaldehyde bottle from funeral home or
empty bottle with label
Hexamine Barbecue lighter Barbecue lighter
Hydrogen cyanide Hydrogen cyanide Container with label
Lead Paints Old paint cans or empty spray cans
Methanol Rocket fuel Toy rocket or container with label
Methoprene Flea powder Flea powder
Naphthalene Moth balls Moth balls or Kool mints with ‘moth balls’ label
Nicotine Tobacco Empty cigarette packet
Nitrobenzene Phenol Fuel additive Empty petrol can
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

Polonium Radiation Danger radiation sign

Propylene glycol De-icer Windscreen de-icer or container with label
Stearic acid Candle wax Small candles
Styrene Styrofoam Styrofoam cups
Tobacco Tobacco Tobacco from one cigarette
Turpentine Turpentine Empty turpentine container
Vinyl chloride Plastic garbage bags Black garbage bags

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

50 © 2016 Mental Health Commission
family information sheet

Helping your child be a non-smoker You are a powerful influence

on your children’s decision
In our health program students are: learning about the effects to not smoke. Here are some
of tobacco; ways to avoid passive smoking; and that friends, tips that may help you have a
family, the media and laws can influence young peoples’ positive influence:
attitudes to smoking both positively and negatively. • Encourage your children to make
his/her own decisions.
The good news is that the longer your children delay trying
smoking, the more likely it is that they will remain smoke free • Be a healthy example, don’t
and healthy. It’s also reassuring to know that most children smoke. If you do smoke, quitting
who try cigarettes don’t go on to be regular smokers. will have a huge influence on your
children’s attitude to smoking.
• Make your home smoke free, or at
least, just allow smoking outside.
Taking the first step estions about
• Don’t ask your children to buy
ink th at th eir children will ask qu , cigarettes for you as this is illegal.
Many paren ts th . For several reasons
s wh en th ey ne ed to know something yo u to tak e
drug it’s up to • Ask your children why they think
take this first step so
many children don’t as yo u wo uld for any health-related some young people choose to
p jus t th e sa me
the first ste smoke (eg being part of a group, a
topic. with sign of independence, looks cool)
have experimented
ink your child may and talk with them about ways
Remember, if you th ov e of sm ok ing an d
, ma ke it cle ar th at you don’t appr sm ok ing . to achieve these things without
smoking ain or stop
yo u wi ll su pp or t them to not try it ag smoking.
that
out tobacco • When you see people smoking,
For information ab
o.adf.org.au/ talk to your children about how
http://www.druginf
undation) easily people become dependent
(Australian Drug Fo
g or quitting on nicotine and about the positive
ort about smokin
For advice or supp aspects of being a non-smoker
.gov.au/
http://www.quitnow such as saving money, no smelly
on 137 848
or call the Quitline hair or clothes, and a greater
fitness level.

You might like to rate yourself on the following attitudes and habits that can help your children remain a non-smoker.

Do you talk to your children

about the harmful effects of could 1 2 3 fair 4 5 doing
smoking? improve well

Do you have a smoke free

house or rules about smoking could 1 2 3 fair 4 5 doing
in your home? improve well

Do you make your children

aware that most people don’t could 1 2 3 fair 4 5 doing
smoke? improve well
EDUCATING FOR SMARTER Choices

Do you make sure you tell your

children you don’t want them to could 1 2 3 fair 4 5 doing
smoke, even if you smoke yourself? improve well

If you smoke, have you explained to

your children what you think about could 1 2 3 fair 4 5 doing
smoking or how hard it is to quit? improve well

Do you limit your children’s

access to tobacco products? could 1 2 3 fair 4 5 doing
improve well

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 ACTIVITY sheet

What’s in a cigarette and cigarette smoke?

#
Ammonia
Acetone This is used in disinfectants and
household cleaning products such as
Acetic acid It is a colourless, volatile, window cleaner or oven cleaner.
flammable liquid.
This acid is found in Cigarette manufacturers say it
vinegar and hair dye. Acetone is found in paint improves flavour and makes tobacco
stripper and nail polish more flexible.
remover.
Scientists say it helps deliver nicotine
to the brain faster.
#
Arsenic
Benzoapyrene
A toxic metal used in wood Benzene
preservatives, insecticides and One of the most potent cancer
rat poison. It is found in crude oil and rubber causing chemicals known.
cement.
Arsenic causes death from You find it in tar, coal, engine exhaust
multi-organ failure in high doses It can cause leukaemia and cancers. fumes, burnt food and tobacco
and headaches, diarrhoea and smoke.
weakness in low doses.

Cadmium
Butane Carbon monoxide
This is used in batteries. It builds up
This is used in the body and causes cancer. This is the gas emitted from motor
in cigarette
Cigarette smoking is the main cause vehicles through the tail pipe.
lighter fluid.
of cadmium exposures.

#
Formaldehyde
It kills most species of bacteria and
DDT Fibreglass is used to embalm dead people and
This is used in insecticide sprays. Found in glass. animals.
It causes cancer and is now banned
in many countries.

#
Hydrogen cyanide
Lead
It is a colourless and poisonous gas
that was used in the gas chambers A toxic metal that can be found in
Hexamine during World War II. paint.
This is found in barbecue lighters. The first symptoms of cyanide It can damage nerve connections
Challenges and Choices

poisoning are rapid heartbeat, and cause blood, kidney and brain
headache, and drowsiness - followed disorders in high doses.
by coma, convulsions, and death

#
#
#

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 ACTIVITY sheet

What’s in a cigarette and cigarette smoke?

#
Naphthalene Nicotine
Methanol It is the main This is the addictive drug found in
ingredient used in tobacco. It causes nausea, headaches
A main compenent moth balls. and increased blood pressure.
used in rocket fuel.
Most napthlalene is Nicotine is commonly used in
derived from coal tar. insecticides.

#
Propylene glycol
This is used in anti-freeze products.

Nitrobenzene Phenol Polomium Cigarette manufacturers say they

use this to keep the tobacco
This is found in petrol. This is also found in radiation. moist and flexible.
Scientists say it carries smoke
deeper into the lungs so more
nicotine is absorbed.

Styrene Tobacco
Stearic acid
This is used in the production of Tobacco is the dried leaves of
This is found in candle wax. polystyrene plastics and also found in the tobacco plant. It is the main
styrofoam cups. ingredient in a cigarette.

#
Toluene Turpentine Vinyl chloride
It is found in industrial solvents, Small amounts are used in
This is usually used as a paint thinner
added to fuel, paints, synthetic furniture and vehicle upholstery,
or stripper. In cigarette smoke it
fragrances, inks and cleaning wall coverings, housewares and
irritates the respiratory tract. High
products. It is also used in the automotive parts, plastic garbage
exposures cause kidney and nerve
production of nylon, plastic soft drink bags. It has also been used in the
damage.
bottles and cosmetic nail products. past as a refrigerant.

#
#
#

Challenges and Choices

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 Activity 2 What’s the harm? 2. Ask students to define the terms ‘second hand smoke’
or ‘passive smoking’ (eg smoke that burns off the end of
Learning intention a cigarettes and sometimes called ‘side stream smoke’).
• Students discuss the physical, social, emotional, Explain that when a cigarette is burned, the heat causes
financial and legal harms of smoking the concentration of some carcinogens to increase and
as ‘passive smoke’ or ‘second hand smoke’, this can harm
Equipment non-smokers who are nearby. Now have students tick
Be Ready student workbook – Tar is for roads, not lungs – the health harms on their lists that may also affect a
page 15 person due to passive smoking (eg lung cancer, breathing
difficulties). Discuss the harms identified by students.
Stress that there is no risk free level of exposure to
Activities
cigarette smoke.
1. Explain that despite the known health consequences
of smoking cigarettes, it still remains a health issue 3. As smoking harms that are negative, short-term and
in Australia. Also highlight that the number of young immediate have greater relevance to young people than
people who smoke has steadily been decreasing and in long-term effects, have students identify some of the
the 2014 ASSAD survey of school students aged 12 to 17 benefits of not smoking using the headings:
years, 80.5% of these young people had never smoked
• Social (eg not being dumped by a girlfriend or
(Department of Health, 2016).
boyfriend because you smoke, not being isolated,
For statistics on smoking rates in Western being part of the majority, smelling and looking
Australia refer to the Australian School great).
Students Alcohol and Drugs Survey results • Emotional (eg no fear of being caught, feeling good
on the Department of Health website about yourself, not worried about low fitness levels).
www.dao.health.wa.gov.au
• Financial (eg having pocket money to spend on other
In groups, ask students to brainstorm (refer to page things).
91) some of the short and long-term health harms that • Legal (eg not getting into trouble for buying
smoking can have and write these in the table on page
cigarettes, being able to go into places such as
15 of Be Ready. Listen to each group’s ideas and confirm
shopping centres, sports stadiums, restaurants,
the effects which are correct. Explain that the toxins in
tobacco smoke can go everywhere in the body that beaches where smoking is banned).
the blood flows causing harm to nearly every organ 4. Process the activity using the following questions.
and system of the body. Point out that there are some
immediate health effects such as shortness of breath Ask
and that some of the long term effects can take decades • Why do people try smoking even when they know it
to occur, and it is this time lag that often gives smokers is bad for them? (eg they think they will only smoke
a false sense of security. Have students add effects not occasionally and they can stop when they want to; to
already included on their list. fit in with the group; curiosity; to rebel; they believe
smoking makes them look older, more adult; someone
Possible short-term Possible long-term in their family smokes or they think that everyone does
effects effects it so it must be okay).

Stained fingers Stroke • Which three physical harms make smoking less appealing
to you? Why?
Less oxygen to the Blindness
brain • Do you have any other reasons that make smoking less
Gum disease/tooth appealing to you?
Bad breath loss
• If you were asked to create a health advertisement
Stained teeth Mouth/throat cancer
targeting young females and smoking, which physical
More coughs and Heart disease/heart harms would you focus on? Why?
colds attack
• Would your advertisement be the same for young males?
Increased heart rate Emphysema (walls of Why?
and blood pressure lung tubes collapse)
• Is it easy to stop smoking? (Smokers become dependent
Reduced fitness Lung cancer on the drug nicotine which is in tobacco and so it may
Shortness of breath Stomach ulcers take them several attempts to quit.
Dental problems Skin becomes dry, Explain that people who call the Quitline 137 848
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

Pregnancy discoloured and when trying to stop smoking have a better chance
complications wrinkled of quitting than if they try on their own.
Bladder cancer
Reduced fertility in
women
Poorer muscle tone
Atherosclerosis
Erectile dysfunction
Osteoporosis

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

54 © 2016 Mental Health Commission
Activity 3 Assessing harms Ask
from smoking • How would you show a friend that you are really listening
and concerned about their situation? (Active listening
Learning intention includes verbal and non-verbal responses such as
• Students assess the level of risk for the person smoking nodding your head, looking at them, asking clarifying
and others nearby in a range of situations questions, smiling, let them know when you agree with
• Students practise listening and offering support to a the things they say).
friend in smoking-related situations • What other skills would you need to use in this type of
situation? (eg empathy, courage, problem solving,
Equipment assertive communication, help seeking).
Strategy sheet – Risk cards – page 107 – photocopy one set 4. Invite two students to role-play (refer to page 94) the
Activity sheet – What’s the risk? – photocopy and cut into Zane scenario. Write the following questions on the board
cards and suggest that the ‘friend’ uses these to prompt Zane to
think about why he smokes and what he can do to quit
Teaching tip smoking.
Some students will live with people who smoke. For these • What are the things you like about smoking?
students it may be difficult to reduce their level of passive • What are the things you don’t like about smoking?
smoking so suggest strategies they can use such as being in
• How interested are you in quitting or not smoking as many
another room to the person who is smoking, and leaving their
cigarettes each week?
bedroom window open.
• What have you already done to quit or cut back?
Activities • Could you (suggest a strategy from the list) when you feel
1. Set up a risk continuum (refer to page 94) using the like having a cigarette?
‘high risk’ and ‘low risk’ cards. Distribute a Risk card to each • How can I help you?
group of three, and ask students to consider the situation
then place their card on the continuum according to the Watch the role-play then have the class decide how well
level of risk. the ‘friend’ listened, prompted Zane to think about why he
smokes and identify ways to quit, and made suggestions
Invite each group to read aloud the situation described to help Zane quit. Place students with a partner and
on their card then tell the class what they perceived the repeat the role-play as this will allow the performers to
harms to be. Include in the discussion information about include points learnt from the discussion.
passive smoking, smoking while pregnant affecting not
only the mother but the developing foetus, and that 5. Process the activity by using a fist of five (refer to page
cigarettes are not legally allowed to be sold to anyone 92) and the following questions.
under 18 years of age. Also highlight that people who Ask
start smoking when they are young are more likely to
smoke heavily, become dependent on cigarettes, and to • On a scale of one to five, how confident do you feel to be
be at increased risk of illness or death. When all situations able to help a friend with a smoking-related issue? Why?
have been discussed, invite the class to decide if they • On a scale of one to five, how likely is it that you will have
think any of the situations should be moved on the to help a friend in a smoking-related situation? (Remind
continuum (eg because the risk is actually higher or lower students that their friends will most likely talk to them
than first thought) and explain why. first about many health-related situations so having the
skills needed to deal with these times can help).
2. Now have students suggest ways that they might reduce
• On a scale of one to five, how confident do you feel to be
or avoid the harms for each situation. For example, Felix
able to refuse an offer of a cigarette? Why? (Ask students
could make sure that he stands upwind and well away
to share some of the refusal comments they have heard
from the people who are smoking.
or used in the past. Remind students of the ‘no name’
3. Explain to students that they are in a good position to rule).
help a friend who wants to quit smoking because young
people often talk to their friends first before anyone else.
Ask the class what they would do if Zane was their friend
and he mentioned that he was thinking about quitting
smoking. List some of the students’ ideas on the board
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

(eg call me when you feel like smoking and we’ll do

something together or talk until the craving goes away,
save the money from not buying cigarettes and use it to
buy a reward, call the Quitline, talk to an adult about their
smoking). Explain that when friends come to you for help
it is just as important to listen as it is to give advice.

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

55
© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 ACTIVITY sheet

What’s the risk?

#
Zane is a Year 7
Sally and Kate have
football player and
Ted is 13 years old and just taken up smoking
is trying to make
he has asthma. He and think that they
the A grade team.
occasionally smokes will be able to quit
He smokes at least
at parties. whenever they want
5 cigarettes with his
to.
mates on weekends.

Rani lives with her

Karly pretends she is
mum and dad who
smoking when she Daniel shares a room
are both smokers.
goes to parties so the with his older brother
They smoke at least
other kids think she is who smokes.
10 cigarettes a day
cool.
inside the house.

#
Heath has a part-
Felix catches the bus time job at Mr Long’s Will is in the top
to school every day mechanic shop. soccer team at school.
and often stands near Mr Long is a chain He often has a smoke
the bus stop where smoker and Heath is with his mates after
adults are smoking. often working near the game.
him.

#
Charlie often smokes
after school with
Mrs Carter is 6 months Mrs Riley owns the
some his mates.
pregnant and smokes local shop and often
He didn’t get in
four cigarettes every sells cigarettes to kids
the athletics team
day. under 18 years of age.
Challenges and Choices

because he can’t run

as fast as he used to.

#
#

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
Activity 4 Opinions about Activities
smoking 1. Explain that students need to know a range of ways to
refuse offers of cigarettes and other drugs such as alcohol
Learning intention and to have the confidence to apply these techniques
• Students clarify their own opinions and consider the requires practise. Invite six students to play a game of
opinions of others ‘Refuse Me’. Have five students stand in a line behind one
another. The other student is given a Light up card that
Equipment has an offer to smoke a cigarette. The student is to give
Strategy sheet – Agree, disagree cards – photocopy one set – the offer to the first student in line who must then refuse
page 106 the offer before moving to the end of the line. If a student
uses the same response or can’t quickly give a refusal,
Activities they are out of the game. The winner is the last student in
1. Explain that students are to listen to a statement about the line.
smoking then indicate their opinion by standing at a
Repeat the game with a new group of students and Light
position along the values continuum (refer to page
up card until all students have participated. Have students
97). Read one of the statements and allow enough
write some of the refusal comments they heard used
time for students to consider their opinion, move to the
continuum and share their thoughts with those standing during the game on page 16 of Be Ready.
near them. Invite students from various positions along 2. Explain how using positive self-talk can influence a
the continuum to explain the reasons behind the position person’s behaviour using the example on Thoughts,
on the continuum. Encourage students to comment or
feelings, action! on page 3 of Be Ready. (If students have
challenge other students’ responses and then if they want
not completed this activity, it may be useful to do so
to, change their position on the continuum. Continue this
process with one or two other statements. now). In groups, have students discuss the three smoking-
related situations on page 16 of Be Ready and complete
Statements the table. Listen to the students’ answers for each
• Cigarettes should be banned in Australia. situation then ask the following questions.
• Increasing the price of a packet of cigarettes won’t stop Ask
people from smoking.
• How do you usually feel when your friends behave in a
• Tobacco and smoking education should be compulsory certain way and you think you should try be like them?
in all Australian schools for primary and secondary
students. • How difficult is it to resist someone when they won’t take
‘no’ for an answer or make fun of you or reject you?
• The government should let people make up their own
mind about smoking and stop putting bans on where • Does being confident in your opinion and standing by
you can smoke. your decision help you to refuse these pressures from your
• Young people only smoke to look cool. friends?
• What strengths do you possess that can help you to
Process the continuum activity by using the following refuse your friends but in a respectful way? (eg courage,
questions. forgiveness, honesty, kindness, perserverance).
Ask 3. Conduct a snap decisions (refer to page 95) using
• Were you surprised by the opinions of other students in the the scenarios listed on Light up on page 16 of Be Ready.
class? Why? Have two volunteers be either the ‘positive’ or ‘negative’
• Did listening to the discussion about each statement help thoughts person and stand either side of another
you to clarify your own opinion or did it make you change volunteer who is to listen to the comments provided by
your opinion? Why? these two students and then make a snap decision based
• Is it important for us to listen to other people’s opinions on only on the comments they have heard. Have the class
health-related issues like smoking or drinking? Why? watch and also make a decision based on the comments
• What skills or strengths did you use in this activity? (eg given. Ask the student in the middle what their decision
active listening, communicating, respecting others’ right would be and why. Check with the class to see if they
to have an opinion, courage to share their own opinion). made a similar decision and discuss why this may be (eg
often the fun element of a potentially risky situation may
take over our sense of what we know to be right and
Activity 5 Refusal strategies for therefore it takes a strong commitment to stand by our
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

smoking-related situations decisions and refuse offers from friends).

Learning intention
• Students identify effective ways to refuse cigarettes
• Students practise refusing offers of cigarettes in a range of
situations

Equipment
Activity sheet – Light up – photocopy and cut into cards
Be Ready student workbook – Light up – page 16
Be Ready student workbook – Thoughts, feelings, action!
– page 3

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

57
© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 ACTIVITY sheet

Light up
#

Just have one Everyone will

puff it won’t kill think you’re a
you. loser.

If you’re really
my friend you’ll I bought this just
have a cigarette for you.
with me.

Everyone’s
watching you. Light up.
You’ll love it.
Go on.
Challenges and Choices

#
#

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
TOPIC 4 When creating scenarios for students to practice decision-
making and assertiveness skills, keep in mind that research
has identified that home is the most common drinking
Alcohol place for 12-13 year-old students and that parents are the
most common source of alcohol for this age group (Szabo,
Hayman, & White, 2004).
Year 7 has been identified as a critical inoculation period in
students’ behavioural development when the intervention
effects of alcohol education are most likely to be optimised. It Key concepts
is at this age that most students will have experienced some • No alcohol for children and young people under 18 years is
exposure to alcohol. the safest option. This is particularly so for those under 15
years of age.
The transition from primary to secondary school is a period
when young people are at a greater risk of alcohol-related • Young people’s decisions about alcohol use can be
harm. 27% of children aged 12-15 years, who reported complicated. There are certain factors that influence their
drinking in the last week, engaged in unsupervised risky decisions such as: what they know about alcohol, reasons
drinking. By age 16-17 this had risen to 36.6% (MHC, 2016a). why people choose to drink and not to drink, the short-
term and long-term effects of alcohol on the body and the
Young people usually overestimate how often and how much mind, myths surrounding alcohol use, and WA laws aimed
their peers drink alcohol. Research indicates that there is an at reducing alcohol-related harm.
association between perceived peer usage and individual
drug usage (McBride, 2003). It is important to stress to • There is a link between how a person thinks and feels and
students that most school aged students do not use alcohol their decisions about alcohol and their drinking behaviour.
and that most adults use alcohol sensibly and safely.
• There are a range of harm reduction strategies that may
reduce the risk in situations where alcohol is being offered
Teaching alcohol prevention education or used.
Almost three-quarters of 16 to 17 year-old students (73.4%)
and just under half of 12 to 15 year old students (48.4%) Whole-school approach
expect a positive experience after consuming alcohol.
Ensure that your School Drug Education Guidelines include
Differences in attitudes appear across age ranges and
procedures for managing alcohol-related incidents and
genders. For example, 40.9% of males aged 12-15 years say
provide intervention support for students involved in these
it’s okay to get drunk sometimes as long as you don’t lose
incidents that consider their health and safety, and not only
control whereas 45.6% of females aged 12-15 years say it’s
punitive responses.
okay (MHC, 2016a). Alcohol education in the early secondary
years needs to promote negative attitudes towards regular
intoxication.
Research on the predictors of problematic alcohol use
suggests that the most promising school based approaches:
• help children to develop negative attitudes towards
harmful alcohol use or binge drinking
• teach children how to cope socially and emotionally and
resist peer influences to engage in risky use of alcohol
• engage parents and families in school based alcohol
education programs as they have a strong influence on
young people’s use of alcohol
• have opportunities for students to participate in health
promoting activities
• prevent children from failing academically and becoming
alienated from school.

Give students many opportunities to consider when, where,

how and by whom they may feel pressured to use alcohol
or be harmed by others’ alcohol use. Consider situations that
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

involve both overt pressure from peers or family and also

covert pressures where students put pressure on themselves
to drink, perhaps to please or be like friends or family.

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

59
© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 Activity 1 Consequences of 4. Define the term ‘binge drinking’ with the class. (Binge
alcohol use drinking can be defined as - drinking too much alcohol
on a single occasion of drinking with the intention
Learning intention of getting drunk. A single occasion of drinking is a
• Students investigate short and long term effects of sequence of consuming drinks without the Blood Alcohol
alcohol on the body, laws associated with alcohol, and Concentration reaching zero in between). Have students
Blood Alcohol Concentration complete the activity All about alcohol in Be Ready, page
17. Explain that Jenni is 16 years old. The answers are
Equipment provided here.
Strategy sheet KWL – page 102 – photocopy one per group
Access to the internet Jenni drinks a Jenni binge Jenni drinks a
small amount of drinks lot of alcohol
Be Ready student workbook – All about alcohol – page 17
alcohol (high levels, every day
Family information sheet – Talking with your teenager about
(low levels, short-term (long-term
alcohol – photocopy one per student
short-term effects may effects may
effects may include) include)
Activities include)
1. Have the class answer the question – What is alcohol?
(Alcohol is made through fermenting different types of Slow reflexes Can’t concentrate Increased risk of
grains, vegetables and fruit. Pure alcohol has no taste or Coordination is Blurry vision cancer
colour. To make different types of alcoholic drinks, other affected Problems with
Slurred speech
ingredients are added which give the colour and taste). memory and
Feels drowsy Gets upset more
thinking
2. Using a KWL sheet (refer to page 93 and 102) have each Talks loudly easily
group write what they know about alcohol in the ‘Know’ High blood
Feels more Feels sick and
column, using the following headings as a guide to their pressure and
relaxed and vomits
discussion. heart problems
confident Feels sleepy or
• Which parts of the body are affected by alcohol? Inflamed pancreas
Giggly goes to sleep
• What happens to your body when you drink alcohol? Nerve damage
Less inhibited Gets aggressive
• What are the laws about alcohol? Liver damage
Hurt because of
• What are some of the good things about alcohol? poor coordination Brain damage
• What are some of the bad things about alcohol? Can’t remember Reduced fertility
• Do all young people drink alcohol? things
• Do all cultures drink alcohol? Unconscious
Stops breathing
Listen to feedback from each group and clarify any
and dies
misconceptions students have about alcohol. Ask groups
to complete the ‘What I want to know’ column then share
their questions with the class. Remind students that no alcohol for those under 18 years
of age and women who are pregnant is the safest option.
3. Explain that while alcohol and cigarettes are legal drugs in
Australia, they are the drugs that cause the most harm. 5. Ask students to tick three short-term and three long-term
effects of alcohol that would stop them from drinking
View the video clip Under Constructions:
alcohol from the list on page 17 of Be Ready.
Alcohol and the Teenage Brain at http://www.
turningpoint.org.au/Education/Schools-and- 6. Watch the clip What you need to know about
Young-People/Under-Construction.aspx. alcohol on the Alcohol Think Again website
Suggest that groups record any new information http://alcoholthinkagain.org.au which discusses
the video clip gives about alcohol on their KWL some of the possible short and long term
sheet. effects.
After viewing the clip, explain that alcohol like any other 7. Send home a copy ofthe Family information sheet –
drug can affect different people at different times in Talking with your teenager about alcohol with each student
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

different ways. This is because drinking alcohol depends to share and discuss with their family.
on the combination of factors such as:
• how much alcohol is consumed (how many standard
drinks)
• how the alcohol is consumed (quickly or over a long
period of time)
• what experience the person has previously had with
alcohol
• the gender, body weight and age of the person
• the general wellbeing of the person and their emotions
at the time.

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

60 © 2016 Mental Health Commission
family information sheet

Talking with your teenager about alcohol

It is important to talk to your child about alcohol or any other drug use before it happens, just as you
would with any other health related issue. Make it clear what your expectations are about alcohol
and have a plan for your teenager so they know what to do if they or a friend gets into difficulty after
drinking alcohol.

What parents can do

Talk to your teenager about the effects of alcohol on their developing
brain – even if they don’t drink alcohol. Explain the risks and harms
associated with drinking at a young age. Be clear, confident and
consistent. Point out that some of your teenager’s goals may be less Remember you are not the
achievable if they choose to drink alcohol from an early age. only parent
trying to work out how best
Watch Under Construction: Alcohol and the Teenage Brain to talk
to your teenager about alcoh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=163&v=g2gVzVIBc_g ol and
drugs. These websites and
call lines
Use examples of alcohol use problems portrayed in the media to can help.
start a conversation with your teenager (eg violence, glassing and car
crashes). SDERA sdera.wa.edu.au
Drug Aware drugaware.com
Some parents think they can control the amount of alcohol their .au
teenager drinks by providing it for them. There is little evidence to Australian Drug Foundation
support this belief and in fact in many cases, young people may drink
www.adf.org.au
what their parents have given them plus more. Giving alcohol to
teenagers can give them the message that you approve of underage Alcohol and Drug Suppor
t Line
drinking and that it’s okay to drink alcohol. Phone: (08) 9442 5000
Country callers: 1800 198 024
Talk to the parents of your teenager’s friends and set some rules E-mail: alcoholdrugsupport@
mhc.wa.gov.au
about alcohol not being allowed at gatherings.
Parent and Family Drug Sup
port Line
Talk about how other people’s drinking might affect them. Help Phone: (08) 9442 5050
your teenager come up with some responses that they can use as Country callers: 1800 653 203
a reason to refuse alcohol or other drugs. This will help them to stay Email: alcoholdrugsupport@
mhc.wa.gov.au
safe in a number situations and respond and cope with any pressures
to drink, defuse a possibly violent situation, and avoid getting in a Aboriginal Alcohol and Dru
g
vehicle with an intoxicated driver. Being able to tell their friends why Service
they don’t want to drink and ‘save face’ can make your teenager feel Phone: (08) 9221 1411
more confident eg ‘Mum and Dad will ground me if I do that!’

Keep talking with your teenager so that they feel comfortable to talk
to you about the things they are worried about. Parents and
‘Look after your mate’ is a message to give your teenager, especially
families are stro
if their friend has consumed too much alcohol. Show your teenager
how to place someone in the recovery position. Tell them why it is ng
important for them to call for help and explain that even though influences in w
some young people think that calling an ambulance means the hat
police will arrive too, that this is not the case. The police will only
attend if ambulance staff feel threatened or the patient dies at the young people
scene. Book into a St John Ambulance first aid course with your
teenager.
think about
EDUCATING FOR SMARTER Choices

If you drink alcohol, your children will be watching what you do.
Drink responsibly and within safe limits. alcohol and how
they use it.
If you don’t drink alcohol, explain to your children why you have
made this decision.
Watch the video clip Teach teens to play it safe with alcohol
on the Alcohol Think Again website in the ‘What parents
need to know’ section http://alcoholthinkagain.com.au/

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 Activity 2 Australian 4. Tell the class that up until 1970 the legal drinking age in
guidelines to reduce health Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia was
21. Explain the one minute challenge (refer to page 93)
risks from drinking alcohol is to write a response to the following statement from
Learning intention either the positive (for) or negative (against) viewpoint.
• Students investigate the Australian guidelines for alcohol Statement
use • If the legal age for drinking alcohol was raised to 21 there
would be fewer problems in our society.
• Students investigate preventative health practices to
manage and avoid harm from alcohol use Divide the class and nominate which group will argue for
and the group that will argue against the statement. Have
Equipment each student write their response within the one minute
allocation then share their ideas with other members of
Be Ready student workbook – Under 18 - No alcohol is the
their group.
safest choice – page 18
Ask one person from each side of the argument to
Family information sheet – A teenager’s brain and alcohol – present their group’s view to the class. Students from the
photocopy one per student same group can add information after their representative
has spoken. Open up the discussion to the whole class.
Activities Remind students that all viewpoints should be considered
1. Explain that in 2009 the National Health and Medical even those that don’t support their own.
Research Council of Australia developed the Australian
5. After the discussion, ask the class to consider all sides
guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol. Read
of the argument and then indicate their decision using
four of the guidelines on Under 18 – No alcohol is the safest
thumbs up, thumbs down (refer to page 96) to show if
choice in Be Ready, page 18. These guidelines are aimed at
they agree (thumbs up) or disagree (thumbs down) to the
helping adults to make more informed decisions about
statement.
alcohol consumption. The guidelines refer to a standard
drink which is 10gms of alcohol regardless of what type of 6. Send a copy of the Family information sheet – A teenager’s
drink it is. brain and alcohol home with each student to share with
2. Allocate one guideline to each group. Have students their family. Leave extra copies in the school foyer, library
discuss the specific types of health harms that their and pick up areas for other parents to access.
guideline is trying to prevent and why. Use the toss a die
strategy (refer to page 96) to hear responses from each
group. Ensure that discussion around Guideline 3 is robust
as this is the guideline that targets young people under
the age of 18.
Explain that the brain has three critical periods of
development – the foetal period, early childhood and
just after puberty. The brain can be harmed during any
of these critical periods of development. Explain that the
longer young people delay drinking alcohol, the best
chance they give their brains to develop fully and reach
their full potential in life. It used to be thought that the
teenage brain was the same as an adult brain, in that it
had already reached full development. Now research
shows that from 12 or 13 years to the early twenties, the
brain is in a state of intense development and is growing
and forming all the critical parts it needs for learning,
memory, and planning. It’s for this reasons that Guideline
3 has been introduced. Have students complete the
questions in their workbook then discuss their answers.
3. Have students imagine that they have travelled ten years
into the future and write a list of goals they may have
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

achieved such as relationships, sport and hobbies, travel

and employment. Ask students to now cross out the goals
on their list that they may not be able to achieve if they
drink alcohol in large amounts and from an early age.
Have students explain why they crossed out the goals on
their list. (Point out to students that many employers have
a zero alcohol policy eg mining companies and high level
sporting groups).

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

62 © 2016 Mental Health Commission
 family information sheet

A teenager’s brain and alcohol

Australian teenagers live in a world where alcohol is regularly promoted and consumed. So parents
often ask ‘What is a safe level of alcohol consumption for my teenager?’
It used to be thought that the teenage brain was the same as an adult brain, and that it had already
reached full development. Now we know that from the age of 12 or 13 years through to the late 20’s,
the brain is still in a state of intense development and hardwiring, growing and forming all the critical
parts it needs for learning, memory and planning. Alcohol has the potential to disrupt this crucial
window of development and can lead to learning difficulties, memory impairment and emotional
problems like depression and anxiety1.

The Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol2 give clear advice on how to
minimise the harmful health consequences of alcohol consumption for adults and young people.

GUIDELINE 1 GUIDELINE 3B
For healthy men and women, drinking no more For young people aged 15-17 years, the safest
than two standard drinks on any day reduces the option is to delay the initiation of drinking for as
lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease long as possible.
or injury.
GUIDELINE 4A
GUIDELINE 2 For women who are pregnant or planning a
For healthy men and women, drinking no more pregnancy, not drinking is the safest option.
than four standard drinks on a single occasion
reduces the risk of alcohol-related injury arising
GUIDELINE 4B
from that occasion.
For women who are breastfeeding not drinking is
the safest option.
GUIDELINE 3A
Parents and carers should be advised that children These guidelines are based on the best available evidence
under 15 years of age are at the greatest risk of about alcohol related harm and young people. Drinking
harm from drinking and that for this age group, not alcohol from an early age can contribute to harms which
drinking alcohol is especially important. range from antisocial behaviour and injury through to
violence and even suicide.

Watch the video clip Teach teens to play it safe with alcohol on the Alcohol Think Again website in
the ‘What parents need to know’ section http://alcoholthinkagain.com.au/

‘No alcohol’ is the safest choice for

those under 18 years of age.

Delaying your child’s alcohol use

and encouraging negative attitudes
towards ‘binge drinking’ can protect
EDUCATING FOR SMARTER Choices

your child from the likelihood of

alcohol-use problems.

1
Hayes. L., Smart. D., Toumbourou. J.W., and Sanson. A. (2004). Parenting influence on adolescent alcohol use, report prepared by the Australian Institute of Family
Studies for the Australian Government Department of Health and Aging, Canberra.
2
National Health and Medical Research Council (2009). Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved from
http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/publications/attachments/ds10-alcohol.pdf

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 Activity 3 Responding to influences 3. Review Module 1 Topic 2 Activity 2 Thoughts and feelings
to use alcohol influence behaviour (page 17) that explains how the way
we think can influence what we do and say.
Learning intention
• Students identify refusal strategies for alcohol-related Event or Thoughts Feelings Action or
situations situation (positive or behaviour
negative
Equipment self-talk)
Activity sheet – Tricky situations – photocopy one per group
Die – one per group
Cards or strips of paper – one per group
Empty tissue box or similar

Teaching tip Brainstorm some helpful thoughts students could have to

help them deal with the internal pressure they may feel when
Access Underage drinking: rating the risk by
faced with these situations. Name these the ‘helpful thoughts
clicking on Alcohol related resources at
to use in tricky situations’. For example:
www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/
programs/drugeducation/tchlearnteach.htm • I don’t need to do this to be cool.
• If they don’t like me because I don’t do this, then they’re
Activities not real friends.
1. Ask the class to share what they know about standard • I want to stay healthy to play sport.
drinks and the interacting factors that may affect a • I don’t want to upset Mum or Dad.
person’s Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC). • I might do something embarrassing.
2. Brainstorm (refer to page 91) a list of situations where • I could do something that will hurt me or others.
students may have felt pressured into doing something • What they are suggesting is illegal.
they didn’t really want to. Discuss some of the ways
• I could get into trouble.
they have responded to or avoided these situations and
also saved face. (It may be appropriate to be prepared • I don’t want to waste my money.
to protectively interrupt during this part of the learning
4. In groups of six, students use a toss a die strategy
experience and use the ‘no name’ rule). Write a list of
(refer to page 96) to respond to the scenarios on the
the suggestions for dealing with these situations on the
Tricky situations activity sheet. Ask students to tell their
board. Some strategies could include:
group what they would do, say and think to help them
• avoid the situation in the first place respond to the tricky situation that corresponds to the
• say ‘no’ in a polite, firm voice number they rolled. Encourage students to use the listed
• ask them to stop doing what they are doing in a polite, strategies and positive self-talk. Hear feedback from the
firm voice groups.
• make a joke
• tell an adult or a friend
• run away or go to another room
• ignore the person
• say your mum or dad will ground you if you do this
thing
• change the subject
• give a reason why you can’t do it right now – delay
things
• plan ahead
• say you feel sick
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

• hang out with other friends

• always have an excuse ready.

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

64 © 2016 Mental Health Commission
ACTIVITY sheet

Tricky situations

Tricky situation 1 Tricky situation 2

All of Lucy’s friends are going on Libby’s friend is drinking a can of
the school camp and have told her Dad’s beer and offers some
her to bring along a few cans of to her. Libby doesn’t want her
pre-mixed drinks. Lucy feels friend to think she is a wimp but
nervous and doesn’t want to be she doesn’t want to drink the
dumped by her friends. beer.

Tricky situation 3 Tricky situation 4

A friend asks Kale to take a Anna is at her Year 7 graduation
bottle of vodka home for a few party and some kids have started
nights and look after it until the passing cans of beer around
weekend because he thinks his the circle. Her best friend says,
parents suspect he has been “Come on Anna, you have to
experimenting with alcohol. This have some!” This makes Anna
makes Kale feel worried. feel really anxious.

#
Tricky situation 6
Tricky situation 5
Eddie is at his friend’s place for
Paul is at his football windup. a family BBQ. His friend’s dad
Paul’s older brother and the has drunk a lot of alcohol. He
other boys are drinking and keeps telling Eddie to have an
several keep offering Paul a alcoholic energy drink. He says
bottle. Paul knows it’s illegal they are just like cool drink and
for him to drink alcohol and okay for kids. Eddie knows his
in a public place. He feels very parents would not approve but
Challenges and Choices

uncomfortable. he doesn’t want to offend his

friend’s dad.
#
#

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 Activity 4 Managing 4. Students reflect on the following issues by completing a
alcohol-related situations think-write-pair-share (refer to page 96).
• What would your parents like you to decide about
Learning intention
underage drinking of alcohol?
• Students identify ways to respond to alcohol-related
• What would your friends like you to decide about
situations
underage drinking of alcohol?
Equipment • What have you decided to do if you are offered a drink
Family information sheet – Alcohol and the law – photocopy of alcohol when you are underage?
one per student • Do you think your decision will change as you get
older? Why/why not?
Family information sheet – Talk and plan around alcohol –
photocopy one per student 3. Send home a copy of the Family information sheets –
Alcohol and the law and Talk and plan around alcohol with
Activities each student to share with their family.
1. Asks groups to create their own ‘alcohol-related situation’
and write this on a card. Place the cards in a tissue box.
Groups take turns to select a card and suggest ways to For more information on Secondary Supply
deal with the situation. legislation, head to: www.druginfo.adf.org.au

2. Explain that rehearsing the things to do, say or think  

when faced with a tricky situation will help students to
remember them and feel more confident to use them in
real life. Rehearsing will also help students decide which
strategies will work for them.
3. Have students act out a tricky situation using a fishbowl
role-play (refer to page 95), where students outside the
fishbowl observe the effectiveness of the strategies. Pause
the role-plays frequently and ask students on the outside
of the fishbowl to suggest possible helpful thoughts
that a performer could have to help them deal with the
situation, or unhelpful thinking that may make things
even trickier.
After the role-plays, use the following questions.
Ask
• Was your tricky situation caused by internal or external
pressure to use alcohol?
• Which type of influence or pressure do you think you would
find easier to handle? Why?
• What do you think were the most effective ways of dealing
with these tricky situations?
• Have you ever been in a similar situation? How did you
feel?
• How might you feel if this situation happened to you in real
life?

Rotate students through performing and observing roles.

Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

66 © 2016 Mental Health Commission
family information sheet

Alcohol and the law

Alcohol is the • It is illegal for young people under 18 years of age to drink, buy or
most commonly obtain alcohol in a public place or on licensed premises.
used legal drug in • It is illegal for anyone to drink alcohol in public, such as on the street,
Australia and the park or beach.
drug that causes the • It is illegal for L or P plate drivers or riders to have a Blood Alcohol
most harm to young Concentration (BAC) of more than zero.
people. Make sure • Fully licensed drivers must not drive or ride a vehicle if their BAC is
that your teenager over 0.05.
understands the
• Police can issue on the spot fines to young people who break the
laws about alcohol. laws. Police also have the powers to seize any alcohol, open or
unopened, in certain situations.

Many parents ol
d about alcoh
are concerne have
ct that it can
and the impa 8 ’s, no
. For under 1
on their child .
safest choice
alcohol is the
on
e most comm
Parents are th ir
ohol to the
supplier of alc and
n a g e rs. Th e family home
tee
s are the most
friend’s home
ces for
common pla
ke
drinking to ta
place.

Can a young person under 18 years of age be given alcohol in a private home?
Under Section 122A of the Liquor Legislation Amendment Act 2015 (WA), it is illegal to
supply alcohol to people under 18 years in a private home without the consent of the
parent or guardian. It is an offence to supply alcohol to people under the age of 18 if the
parent or guardian giving consent is drunk or otherwise unable to act in a responsible
manner. Offenders are liable for a fine of up to $10,000 for each underage drinker involved.
EDUCATING FOR SMARTER Choices

If you are about to have a party for a group of teenagers you might like to read the brochure
Hosting a party for teenagers – facts to consider
http://www.alcoholthinkagain.com.au/Portals/1/Media/Pdf/Hosting-A-Party-Final.pdf

For more information on alcohol visit the Alcohol. Think again website
www.alcoholthinkagain.com.au

For more information on Secondary Supply legislation, head to:

www.druginfo.adf.org.au

Note: This information was

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION
current at time of publication. © 2016 Mental Health Commission
 family information sheet

Talk and plan around alcohol

Socialising with friends is a

normal and important part
of growing up for teenagers.
However, parents are often
concerned about the things
that can happen when alcohol
and other drugs are involved.
Here are some tips for parents:

Talk to your children and share your Limit their access to alcohol. Talk about the
expectations about their use of alcohol and other maximum number of drinks (ie safer limits of
drugs. Stress that drinking alcohol under 18 years alcohol use) you would be okay with if you think
of age can affect their brain development. not drinking isn’t a realistic option.
Set a ‘getting home plan’ in place before your Talk about basic first aid and what to do in an
children go out to parties and other places where emergency. Explain that anyone who has been
alcohol may be used. drinking and is unconscious should not be left
alone and needs to be watched until medical
Talk about calling you or another responsible assistance arrives.
adult whenever your child feels unsafe or when
things get out of control. Let your children know that you would be
more disappointed in them not seeking help
Know where your children are and who are than calling to tell you that they or their friends
their friends. Have a list of your teenager’s friends have been drinking.
and their or their parents’ contact details.
Talk about some of the consequences of
binge drinking such as violence, verbal fights,
sexual vulnerability/unsafe sex, drink driving and
embarrassment. Need help?
Alcohol and Drug Support Line
Talk about how your children can avoid some of
Phone: (08) 9442 5000 or
the harms from alcohol such as: 1800 198 024 (country callers only)
• having excuses at the ready when others E-mail: alcoholdrugsupport@mhc.wa.gov.au
offer alcohol to them - i have a footy game Live Chat: www.dao.health.wa.gov.au
tomorrow and the coach won’t let me play if A free 24-hour, state-wide, confidential telephone service
he knows i’ve been drinking where you can talk to a professionally trained counsellor
about your own or another’s alcohol or drug use.
• drinking non-alcoholic or low alcohol drinks
Parent and Family Drug Support Line
• drinking slowly
Phone: (08) 9442 5050 or
• not leaving drinks unattended 1800 653 203 (country callers only)
• being assertive and standing by their decision E-mail: alcoholdrugsupport@mhc.wa.gov.au
EDUCATING FOR SMARTER Choices

to not drink alcohol A free alcohol and other drug information and
support line for parents and family members. Talk to a
• avoiding topping up drinks and drinking professionally trained counsellor about alcohol and other
games drugs. Talk confidentially to another parent for strategies
• avoiding driving home with people who have and support.
been drinking Aboriginal Alcohol and Drug Service
• avoiding walking or riding home if they have Phone: (08) 9221 1411
been drinking. Provides a range of culturally secure services, including
treatment, education programs and yarning.

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
TOPIC 5 • Smoking cannabis using a bong or shisha will not reduce
the likelihood of diseases such as lung cancer.

Cannabis Whole-school approach

Ensure your School Drug Education Guidelines are not just
Year 7 has been identified as a crucial time to implement punitive and include procedures for managing cannabis-
effective cannabis education as the number of students who related incidents and providing intervention support for
have used is low and most young people have not been students that address their health and safety.
exposed to the possibility of using cannabis (Midford, Lenton,
& Hancock, 2001).
In a recent survey, about one in twelve 12 year old students Activity 1 Clued up on cannabis
had ‘ever used’ cannabis compared to about one in eight
13 year old students. The increase of cannabis use in the Learning intention
following five age groups to one-third of 17 year-old students • Students explore facts about cannabis and its effect on
having ‘ever used’ cannabis and one in three ‘having used’ the body, cannabis use statistics and cannabis laws
within the last year (Mental Health Commission, 2016b) is
another strong rationale to start cannabis education in early Equipment
secondary years of schooling.
Be Ready student workbook – Clued up on cannabis –
Although the percentage of early secondary school students page 19
who use cannabis is small; many others may be exposed to Activity sheet – Clued up on cannabis – photocopy one set
and affected by cannabis use in the family and community. of cards per group
These students often form positive attitudes and opinions A4 paper – one sheet per group
about cannabis at an early age. School-based cannabis
Family information sheet – Cannabis – photocopy one per
education provides a supportive environment to challenge
student
these positive attitudes and opinions that may lead to later
cannabis use. Family information sheet – Synthetic cannabis –
photocopy one per student
Cannabis prevention education
Teaching tip
Setting clear ground rules about discussing teacher or
Remind students to respect a person’s privacy and to
student drug use experiences before commencing on
use the ‘no name’ rule when talking about cannabis. Be
cannabis-related learning experiences is the best strategy.
prepared to protectively interrupt any disclosures from
Encourage students to respect a person’s privacy by not using
students.
names when talking about experiences and be prepared
to protectively interrupt those students who may disclose
sensitive information. Activities
1. Have students work in groups to brainstorm (refer to
When creating scenarios for students to practice problem page 91) responses for the Clued up on cannabis questions
predicting, decision making and coping strategies, keep in on page 19 of Be Ready.
mind that research has identified that ‘at a friend’s place with
a bong or pipe’ is the most common context for cannabis use • What is cannabis? Cannabis Sativa is a flowering plant.
for young people. Common forms of cannabis are marijuana (dried plant
leaves and flowers which are the most potent forms
Give students many opportunities to consider when, where, of the plant), hashish (small blocks of dried cannabis
how and by whom they may feel pressured to use or be resin from flower of female plants) and hashish oil (oil
harmed by others’ cannabis use. Consider situations that extracted from cannabis resin and is more potent than
involve both overt pressure from peers or family and also the other forms of cannabis). It is a depressant.
covert pressures where students put pressure on themselves
to use cannabis, perhaps to please or be like friends or family. • How is cannabis used? There are several forms of
cannabis including:
Inform parents that the purpose of the chosen learning Marijuana which is usually smoked in a water pipe
experiences is to provide students with facts about the (bong), pipe or hand-rolled cigarette (joint)
harmful effects and consequences of using cannabis so they Hashish which can be added to tobacco and smoked or
are able to protect themselves around others who may use baked and eaten in hash cookies
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

cannabis and also make informed decisions about cannabis Hash oil which is usually spread on the tip or paper of
use. A parent information session may also promote greater cigarettes and then smoked.
parent-child discussion about cannabis.
• What are some other names for cannabis? Marijuana,
Key concepts pot, dope, gunga, yarnie, mull, joint, weed, Mary Jane.
• Cannabis, like all drugs, has the potential to cause harm.
• Synthetic cannabis use, because of its unknown plant
products and research chemicals, is dangerous and can
have serious physical harms such as heart attack and death.

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

69
© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 • What can be some of the immediate physical effects paper. Students then check their cards to see if they have
of using cannabis? Tell students that how a person the answer to the question. The person with the answer
may feel when using cannabis can differ greatly due card reads aloud the information for the rest of the group
to many factors eg the drug use experience triangle. to hear and then takes the next question card from the
Some people may use cannabis for the first time and pile. The process is repeated until all questions have
feel ‘high’ and relaxed, while another person may been answered. Check that groups identified the correct
have an anxiety or panic attack. Other general effects answers.
can include dizziness, relaxation, nausea, giggling,
headaches, increased appetite, difficulty concentrating, Ask
red eyes, loss of coordination, loss of memory, loss of • What is one new thing that you now know about
inhibitions, hallucinations. cannabis?
• Are there any other long-term effects or • Did you correctly answer the questions about how many
consequences of using cannabis? Once again not students actually use cannabis?
a simple question to answer, but can include mood • Why might young people think that ‘everyone is smoking
swings, memory loss, lack of motivation, prone to dope’? (Students often over estimate other students’
injuries because of poor coordination and reflexes, cannabis use. These perceptions are influenced by the
mental health problems, regular colds and flu, conflict media, their attitudes, family and peer attitudes, and by
with family and friends, financial problems, fines and the fact that teenage drug use is often seen in public
other legal problems. places).
Listen to class responses and correct any misinformation • How might thinking that more young people use
as it is suggested. Explain that accessing correct cannabis than actually do, influence a young person to try
information about cannabis and other drugs is important cannabis? (Those young people who perceive cannabis
as it can ensure that the decisions people make about norms to be higher are more likely to experiment or
drug use are based on fact. become regular cannabis users).
Ask • Why do you think most young people don’t use cannabis?
(eg because most of their friends don’t use cannabis,
• What did you learn about cannabis?
the legal consequences and impact on future
• If you already knew the answers to some of the questions employment and travel goals, risks to mental and
about cannabis, where did you learn this information? physical health, effects on friendships and family
(Remind the class of the ‘no name’ rule). relationships, financial costs).
• Surveys tell us that most young people get information • Why do you think people still use cannabis even when they
about cannabis and other drugs from their friends. Why know it can be harmful? (Those who use cannabis often
do you think young people ask their friends for drug don’t consider the possible long-term effects such as
information? lung cancer. Some of the short-term effects such as
• Do you think that friends are always a reliable source of feeling relaxed or being part of a group may be more
information? Why? (Discuss the importance of accessing important to the person. They may also be dependent
factual, reliable information when making decisions on cannabis and find it difficult to not use).
about drug use as friends may not always have the
correct answers). 2. Students complete the 3-2-1 reflect (refer to page 96)
• Where else can you get reliable information about in their workbook by writing three facts they can recall
cannabis and other drugs? (eg parents, teachers, health about cannabis, two things about cannabis that are
promotion information, doctors, police, pharmacists, relevant to them, and one question they still have about
government websites, telephone advice services cannabis. Place students in pairs to share their reflections.
like Kids’ Help Line, Alcohol and Drug Support Line Record the generated questions and discuss these.
and Alcohol and Family Drug Support Line, National
Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre https:// 3. Send a copy of the Family information sheets – Cannabis
ncpic.org.au/, documentaries, reference books at and Synthetic cannabis home with each student to share
libraries. Stress that students should have conversations with their family.
with their parents about drugs and that if their parents Suggest students refer to https://ncpic.org.au
don’t know the facts, they may know where to find
(National Cannabis Prevention and Information
information).
Centre website for more information).
2. Distribute a set of question and answer cards from Clued
up on cannabis and a sheet of paper to each group.
Explain that the questions cover topics such as cannabis
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

facts and myths, statistics about cannabis use and the

legal consequences that can arise when young people
are in the company of others who are using cannabis.
Using the question partners strategy (refer to page 94),
groups place the question cards in a pile and deal out
the answer cards. Students take turns to read a question
card. As a group, students first guess what they think
is the correct answer and record this on their sheet of

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

70 © 2016 Mental Health Commission
ACTIVITY sheet

Clued up on cannabis
#
Fact or myth?
Answer: Myth
About 25% of WA students aged between 12-
Most young people don’t ever use cannabis. Only
17 years have used cannabis in the last week. 5.6% of WA students (12-17 years) used cannabis
in the last week.
Source: (MHC, 2016b)

#
Fact or myth? Answer: Fact
Eleven in twelve 12 year olds and seven in About one in twelve 12 year old students and
eight 13 year olds have never used cannabis. about one in eight 13 year old students have used
cannabis in their lifetime. That means that eleven
in twelve 12 year olds and seven in eight 13 years
have never used cannabis.

#
Fact or myth?
Answer: Myth
About 30% of WA students aged between
16-17 years have used cannabis in the last Most 16-17 year old WA students do not use
month. cannabis. Only 14.8% of these students had
used cannabis in the last month. That’s means
85% of these students had not used cannabis!

#
Fact or myth?
It is okay for someone to carry small amounts Answer: Myth
of cannabis for personal use. This is not okay. Anyone carrying small amounts
of cannabis for personal use is committing an
offence.

#
Fact or myth?
It is legal to grow cannabis in a suburban Answer: Myth
backyard for personal use.
It’s not legal to grow cannabis for personal use,
possess it or sell it in WA. No exceptions.
Challenges and Choices

#
#

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 ACTIVITY sheet

Clued up on cannabis
#
Fact or myth?
Answer: Myth
In public, police always need a warrant to
Police don’t need a warrant. If there is reasonable
search for drugs like cannabis or ecstasy.
grounds for suspecting that a person has an illegal
drug, police can search them and their vehicle
without a warrant.

#
Fact or myth? Answer: Fact
Cannabis comes from a plant. Cannabis comes from the hemp plant Cannabis
Sativa. Marijuana comes from the leaves and
flowers of this plant, hashish comes from the resin
in the flowering tops of female plants, and hash oil
comes from the resin.

#
Fact or myth? Answer: Fact

Cannabis is a depressant drug and slows THC (the chemical in the cannabis plant that
causes the ‘high’ or ‘stoned’ feeling) acts as a
down parts of the brain used for memory, depressant and slows down parts of the brain used
coordination and concentration. for memory, coordination and concentration.
If a large amount is used, it can make a person see
and hear things that are not there (hallucinations).
#
Fact or myth? Answer: Fact
Cannabis is more harmful than tobacco as it
Cannabis is more harmful than tobacco. contains more tar and cancer – causing agents. It
can cause cancer of the mouth, tongue and lungs.
People who use cannabis, even small amounts, may
develop mental health problems or have problems
remembering things. This risk increases the earlier
you start using cannabis and the more you use.
#
Fact or myth?
Answer: Fact
It’s illegal to drive a car after using
Driving under the influence of cannabis or
cannabis.
any other drug is illegal. Drug testing has
shown that cannabis is involved in about
Challenges and Choices

10% of traffic accident-related deaths.

#
#

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
ACTIVITY sheet

Clued up on cannabis
Fact or myth? #
Answer: Fact
Young people who use cannabis are more
13 to 17 year olds who use cannabis are three times
likely to experience depression than those more likely to experience depression compared to those
who don’t. who don’t. This risk increases the earlier you start and
the more you use.
Source: Lawrence et al., 2015

#
Fact or myth? Answer: Myth
Synthetic cannabis isn’t harmful. Synthetic cannabis can have harmful effects just
like naturally produced cannabis. However because
the chemicals and the plant products are both
unknown there may be different harms and risks
for the user. There have been heart attacks and
several deaths linked to synthetic cannabis use.
#
Fact or myth?
Answer: Myth
Synthetic cannabis is legal.
Synthetic cannabis is not legal in Australia.
Anyone caught with these drugs can be
charged for possession, selling, supplying
or intent to sell or supply.

#
Fact or myth?
Answer: Myth
Cannabis doesn’t affect your driving as
Cannabis and other drugs all affect your ability to
much as alcohol.
react quickly, assess hazards and concentrate and
make responsible decisions. It is illegal to drive a
vehicle while under the influence of cannabis.

#
#

Challenges and Choices

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 family information sheet

Cannabis

What is cannabis?
Cannabis comes from a variety of hemp plants called
Cannabis Sativa. Marijuana is the most common form of
cannabis and is made from the leaves and flowers. It has
many street names eg weed, grass, mull, dope, gunja.
Hashish and hashish oil come from the resin of the
flowering tops of the female plants.
Cannabis, like alcohol, is a depressant drug which means
it slows down the nerve messages to and from the
brain. The immediate physical effects of a small dose
can include a feeling of wellbeing, loss of concentration,
increased appetite, red eyes, poor balance and
coordination. Larger doses can cause hallucinations
making people see and hear things that are not there,
and panic attacks. For more information
about cannabis
Some of the long-term effects can include increased
risk of bronchitis and lung cancer, lack of motivation, Drug Aware drugaware.com.au
lowered sex drive and hormone production. Those
who use cannabis, even in small amounts, may develop National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre
mental health conditions or have problems with their ncpic.org.au
memory and mood swings. This risk increases the earlier Australian Drug Foundation www.adf.org.au
you start and the more you use.
Alcohol and Drug Support Line is a free 24-hour, state-wide,
Why cannabis education for your confidential telephone service where you can talk to a
professionally trained counsellor about your own or another’s
children? alcohol or drug use.
Phone: (08) 9442 5000
Cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug in
Country callers: 1800 198 024
Australia. Cannabis is also the drug that many young
E-mail: alcoholdrugsupport@mhc.wa.gov.au
people in WA use.
Parent and Family Drug Support Line is a free alcohol and
Some parents may have concerns about providing
other drug information and support line for parents and family
information about cannabis to their teenager. However,
members. Talk to a professionally trained counsellor about
research shows that being taught about the harmful
alcohol and other drugs. Talk confidentially to another parent
effects of using cannabis before they are exposed to it
for strategies and support.
through either their own use or other people’s use, can
Phone: (08) 9442 5050
have a positive effect.
Country callers: 1800 653 203
Email: alcoholdrugsupport@mhc.wa.gov.au
What will your children learn
Aboriginal Alcohol and Drug Service provides a range
about cannabis in their classroom of culturally secure services, including treatment, education
program? programs and yarning.
Phone: (08) 9221 1411
• The possible harmful effects and consequences of
using cannabis.
• The WA laws about cannabis and synthetic cannabis. It is against the
• How to use refusal strategies in situations where other law
to possess, use,
EDUCATING FOR SMARTER Choices

people may be using cannabis.

What you can do? supply, grow or

Having negative attitudes towards cannabis can also
import cannab
help to protect your teenager from using this drug and
protect them from the harms of other people’s cannabis
is in
use. Talk to your teenager and let them know what
you think about cannabis and the rules you have about
Australia.
cannabis use in your family.

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
family information sheet

Synthetic cannabis

Synthetic cannabis, or
plants sprayed with
unknown chemicals,
are dangerous and
unpredictable.

Is synthetic cannabis safe? No.

Products sold as ‘synthetic cannabis’
contain a plant like mixture that has been
sprayed with unknown chemicals which
are often classified as ‘research chemicals’.
This means they are experimental
chemicals that are not for human consumption. Because of the unknown plant materials
and chemicals, the risk of harm is high for the user.

What is synthetic cannabis called on the street?

Synthetic cannabis keeps appearing on the market under different names. This name
change is usually to try and stay ahead of the law. Some of the well-known products include
Kronic, Voodoo, Kalma, Kaos and Mango Kush.

Is synthetic cannabis legal in WA?

Synthetic cannabis is banned in Australia because so little is known about the actual
ingredients of these drugs and the possible health consequences. Anyone caught with
these drugs could be charged for possession, selling, supplying or intent to sell or supply.
EDUCATING FOR SMARTER Choices

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 Activity 2 Consequences of use cannabis, often young people are affected by their
cannabis use friends and family).
• Does cannabis affect everyone the same way? (No. Remind
Learning intention students of the drug use experience triangle).
• Students identify short and long term effects of cannabis • What effects do you think might cause young people not to
on the body, and other consequences of cannabis use use cannabis? Why?
• Students share their opinions about cannabis use and • What effects do you think might encourage a young person
appreciate that others’ opinions may differ to experiment with cannabis?
• What other ways can you achieve feelings of relaxation? (eg
Equipment
feeling relaxed – listen to music, go for a run, meet up
Be Ready student workbook – Cannabis messes with your with friends, walk along the beach).
body and your mind – page 20
Activity sheet – Cannabis consequences – photocopy one 4. Point out that the harms listed in the right hand column
of Cannabis messes with your body and your mind in Be
card per student
Ready page 19 do not just refer to physical and mental
Coloured marker pens or highlighters – one set per group health harms but also to harms that might affect the user’s
Fact sheet Cannabis – what’s the fuss? – download one copy relationship with their family and friends (social harms);
per student from www.somazone.com.au harms that may affect whether the user can stay at school
or work or travel overseas (livelihood harms); and harms
Teaching tips that may result in the user being involved with the police
Show Cannabis and paranoia flow chart video on and the legal system (legal harms).
the DrugAware website www.drugaware.com.au
Using a circle talk strategy (refer to page 91) give
under the cannabis link (or on YouTube) to
each student a card from the activity sheet Cannabis
highlight the mental health harms of cannabis
consequences. Explain that students need to consider
use.
the situation described on their card and then tell their
partner the answer to the following questions. (Write the
Activities questions on the board). Encourage students to use the
1. Explain to students that when a person smokes cannabis, Cannabis messes with your body and your mind page in their
THC which is the chemical in cannabis that causes a ‘stoned’ workbook as a reference and to consider the physical and
or ‘high’ feeling, is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream mental health consequences, and the social, livelihood and
through the walls of the lungs and a high is felt when the legal consequences of cannabis use for their situation.
THC in the blood reaches the brain. This can happen in
a few minutes and may last up to five hours. Explain that • What skills or requirements are needed to perform the
when cannabis is eaten it usually takes one to three hours activity on your card? (eg if the card was riding a bike or
for the THC to reach the brain. Have groups read Cannabis skateboard, you would need coordination, balance, good
messes with your body and your mind then: reaction times, ability to obey road rules etc).
• Use a green highlighter to identify the possible • What might happen and what harms may result if someone
immediate or short-term effects of cannabis. was under the influence of cannabis while performing this
activity? (eg while riding a bike or skateboard, the person
• Use a pink highlighter to identify the possible long-term
might: hit something or someone because of loss of
effects of cannabis.
coordination and balance, cause an accident because
• Use a yellow highlighter to identify effects that would of slower reaction times, get caught by police, do
mostly just harm the user (eg red eyes, increased something risky and hurt themselves or others because
appetite, coughing). of loss of inhibitions, upset family or friends because of
• Use a blue highlighter to identify effects that would the trouble they cause).
mostly harm or have consequences for others (eg
passengers in cars, family and friends, pedestrians, Process the circle talk using the following questions.
owners of property). Ask
• Use an orange highlighter to identify effects that you • What possible harms for the cannabis user were the same in
think would most likely cause young people not to use each situation?
cannabis or to quit or cut down their cannabis use. • Which situation posed more harms for the cannabis user?
Conduct a head talk (refer to page 93) to hear responses • Was death a possible consequence in any of the situations
from each group. Correct any misinformation by referring to discussed?
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

the fact sheet, Cannabis-what’s the fuss? • Did any situations pose possible harms for people other
2. Have students complete the questions on page 20 of Be than the cannabis user?
Ready then share their answers. Use the following questions • Has discussing how others can also be affected changed
to process this activity. your opinion about cannabis use? Why?
• What messages do you think health campaigns about
Ask
cannabis use should include? Why?
• Do you think a person’s cannabis use only harms or
has consequences for the user, or do these harms and 5. Have students write a letter to a friend explaining what
consequences affect other people too? (Explain that while they have learnt about cannabis, the effects of cannabis on
we know from the Australian School Students Alcohol the user and other people, and reasons why they would
and Drug survey that most students their age do not choose not to use cannabis.

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

76 © 2016 Mental Health Commission
ACTIVITY sheet

Cannabis consequences
#
Riding a bike or
Swimming at the beach
skateboard
#
Working in a take-away
Playing a team sport
food shop
#
Talking at a school
Driving a car
assembly
#
With your best friend at Performing in a school
their house play or musical
#
Catching public
Walking to school
transport late at night
#
Texting a message to a Posting a comment on a
friend social media page
#
Babysitting for a family
Hosting a party
friend
#
Front seat passenger
Challenges and Choices

Riding a quadbike
with a P plate driver
#
#

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 Activity 3 Cannabis and the law • How do these laws influence people’s beliefs about what is
right and wrong?
Learning intention • Why might the laws about cannabis change from time
• Students identify the laws associated with cannabis in to time? (eg existing laws may have little impact on
Western Australia and Australia drug use, may be difficult to police, may not be in line
• Students consider the impact of cannabis use on personal with new medical evidence about cannabis, may be
goals legalised for medicinal purposes).
• Which aspect of the cannabis laws do you think would
Equipment most likely influence a young person’s decision to not use
Be Ready student workbook – Cannabis – legal or illegal? – cannabis? Why?
page 21 • How do the laws aim to reduce cannabis-related harm for
Strategy sheet – PNI – photocopy one per group – page 103 everyone?
• What short-term goals would not be possible to achieve
Teaching tips
if a young person was convicted of a drug offence and
In Western Australia under the cannabis laws, which were received a criminal record? (eg not finish their education,
reviewed in 2011, if a person is found with a small amount lose their job, or lose their relationship with family,
of cannabis on them (10gms) their use has now become friends, team mates).
decriminalised. This means the person doesn’t get a criminal
• What long-term goals would not be possible to achieve
record but must attend an education session called a
if a young person was convicted of a drug offence and
Cannabis Intervention Session (CIS) within 28 days of being
received a criminal record? (eg anything that involves
caught. Stress that this is the only leniency around cannabis
getting a job, credit or visas for travel to some overseas
laws and that a person convicted of any other cannabis
countries).
offence (or any other illegal drug offence) will receive a
criminal record. This can make it difficult to get a job, credit or 2. Have students write two goals they would not achieve if
visas for travel. convicted of using cannabis on page 21 of Be Ready.

Cannabis laws and juveniles 3. Have groups choose one of the following statements and
list the positive, negative and interesting implications of
A person is eligible for a CIR if they are aged 14 years or over,
that statement on a PNI sheet (refer to page 93).
and are found using, or in possession of not more than 10
grams of cannabis, and/or found in possession of a smoking PNI statements
implement containing detectable traces of cannabis. An adult
• Cannabis should be legalised.
can only receive one CIR while a young person (aged 14 to 17
years) can be given a CIR on two separate occasions. A young • Devices should be fitted to cars to stop drivers getting
person who commits a third or subsequent minor cannabis behind the wheel ‘stoned’.
related offence will be referred to a Juvenile Justice Team, • Education about cannabis should be compulsory for
where appropriate under the Young Offender’s Act 1994, rather students our age.
than being charged. After completing the PNI, have groups share their
responses. Encourage students to question each other
The Drug and Alcohol Office’s booklet Cannabis
and justify their answers.
laws in Western Australia can be downloaded or
ordered online at www.dao.health.wa.gov.au and
outlines the 2011 WA Cannabis laws in more detail.

Activities
1. Explain that possessing, using, growing and supplying
cannabis are all illegal practices in Australia. In groups,
students discuss and complete the quiz questions in Be
Ready, Cannabis – legal or illegal? using the information on
page 21 of their workbook, the Cannabis laws in Western
Australia booklet (see teaching tip) and the suggested
websites. Discuss the answers to the quiz with the class
then process the activity using the following questions.
Ask
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

• Are there laws about cannabis? What are they? (Correct

any misinformation suggested by students).
• Why do we have laws about cannabis?
• Who are these laws meant to protect?
• Where did you learn about the laws associated with
cannabis prior to this lesson? (Remind students of the ‘no
name’ rule).

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

78 © 2016 Mental Health Commission
Activity 4 Assessing 2. Have students imagine they are a parent considering the
cannabis-related situations scenario and decide where the card would be placed
on the continuum. This will be useful if some students
Learning intention perceive certain effects or consequences to be less
• Students analyse cannabis-related situations and harmful than their actual potential.
identify possible harms and consequences 3. Repeat the values continuum activity by having students
• Students practise refusing offers of cannabis consider their card in terms of:

Equipment • possible harms to physical and mental health

Be Ready student workbook – It’s not just the drug – • possible harms to relationships with family, friends
Student Workbook page 13 • possible problems with school, part-time job, money
Activity sheet – Cannabis scenario cards – photocopy one • possible problems with the law.
card per student Time needs to be allowed between each continuum
Strategy sheet – Harm signs – photocopy one set of signs vote for discussion from students about their reasons for
– page 108 their placement. Process the activity using the following
questions.
Teaching tip
Ask
Review the drug use triangle on It’s not just the drug page
13 of Be Ready. • What harms do you think would most likely discourage
young people from using cannabis?
• What effects might encourage young people to use
Activities cannabis?
1. Set up a values continuum (refer to page 97) using the • What other ways might a young person achieve this
‘most harmful’ and ‘least harmful’ signs (refer to page 108). effect without using cannabis? (Discuss how to use
Distribute one Cannabis scenario card to each student. mindfulness, meditation and other activities to achieve
Ask students to place their card along the continuum the same levels of relaxation).
in response to the following question: How harmful is
the cannabis situation on your card? Stress that students • Why do all of these scenarios have potential legal
should consider the possible harms for the cannabis user consequences? (Because it is illegal to grow, use, possess
and also others. Have students discuss the placement of or supply cannabis or synthetic cannabis in Australia).
the scenarios and identify the potential harm using the • How might the legal consequences cause problems later in
following questions. life for young people? (Convictions may make the person
ineligible for certain jobs and for holiday travel visas).
Ask
• What are some ways that you can avoid or reduce possible
• What might happen in this situation to the cannabis user? harms from cannabis? (Students should understand that
• What might happen in this situation to bystanders or non-use is the safest option. Other examples include
others involved? not being with others who are using cannabis, knowing
• How could the harms in this situation be reduced? how to refuse offers of cannabis and having reliable
information about the drug and its effects).
• How could the harms in this situation be prevented?
• How does it feel to share your opinions about cannabis
• What might be the consequences of reducing the harm in
with others? (Suggest that knowing that most other
this situation?
young people do not use or condone cannabis use can
• Could changing the place (or environment) change the risk be empowering).
of harm in this situation? How?
• Has hearing others’ opinions and thoughts about
• If you or one of your friends was in this situation, what cannabis changed how you think about cannabis use?
could you do? Why?
• Who would you ask for help? • What might change your opinion about cannabis in the
future? Why? (eg peer group influences, involvement in
Discuss why young people hold differing attitudes about
a situation that involves cannabis).
the harms of cannabis use. If students express pro-
cannabis attitudes remind the class that: • What could you do to deal with pressure from others
(external pressure) to use cannabis? (eg practise using
• young people need to make informed decisions about
refusal comments, walk away, stand by your decision to
cannabis use
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

not use cannabis).

• cannabis is not a safe drug as there is no such thing as a
• What positive self-talk can you use to avoid the pressure
safe drug
you may put on yourself (internal pressure) to think you
• most young people their age do not use cannabis should use cannabis? (eg I want to stay healthy and safe.
• it is illegal to possess, grow, use, sell or supply cannabis I don’t have to use cannabis to be part of this group).
in all states and territories of Australia.

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79
© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 ACTIVITY sheet

Cannabis scenarios
#
Person: 13 year old boy Person: 16 year old boy
Person: 13 year old girl
with asthma feeling really sad after
Place: At home breaking up with girlfriend
Place: On a school camp
Drug situation: She does with 2 friends Place: At school
not smoke cannabis and her
Drug situation: Has never Drug situation: Buys some
parents smoke cannabis in the
smoked previously and shares ‘synthetic’ cannabis so he can
house
a joint with friends feel better

#
Person: 13 year old boy Person: 14 year old girl Person: 32 year old man
with two small children
Place: On a school camp Place: At a really loud party
with older boyfriend Place: At home
Drug situation: Not
smoking a joint but standing Drug situation: Not using Drug situation: Growing
near some boys who are cannabis but around lots of five cannabis plants for his own
smoking people who are use

#
Person: 17 year old girl who Person: 12 year old girl
Person: 10 year old boy
regularly uses cannabis
Place: On the school bus
Place: At football training
Place: At home before an
important exam Drug situation: Agrees to
Drug situation: Picked
put her brother’s joint in her
up by his Dad who has been
Drug situation: Has one school bag until the end of the
smoking cannabis
joint to calm her nerves day

#
Person: 16 year old girl who
has a history of mental illness Person: 12 year old boy Person: 11 year old girl
in her family
Place: At school Place: At home alone
Place: At the beach with
friends Drug situation: Tries to sell Drug situation: Eats a
his older brother’s cannabis to hash cookie left over from a
Drug situation: Tries a a friend party at her parents’ house
joint for the first time

#
Person: 21 year old man
Person: 15 year old boy Person: 13 year old girl with
who regularly uses cannabis
who wants to go on a school her older brother
Place: Just started a new job basketball trip to America
Place: At a music festival
on a mine site
Place: At the local park
Challenges and Choices

Drug situation:
Drug situation: Uses a
Drug situation: Smokes a Surrounded by people who
small amount of cannabis the
joint with his older brother and look like they have been using
night before his compulsory
his mates cannabis
drug test
#
#

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
Activity 5 Practising harm reduction
and refusal strategies
Learning intention
• Students practice refusal strategies in drug-related
situations

Activities
1. Explain that being confident and having a number of
excuses ready to use if situations arise where a friend or
someone else offers cannabis, is a strategy that can be
useful. However to feel confident and stand by a decision
to refuse offers of cannabis requires rehearsal and practise.
Ask for six volunteers to come and stand in a line in front
of a student who is role-playing their friend. Explain that
each student in the line must give an excuse to the friend
when asked ‘Do you want a joint?’ After giving the excuse,
which can be humorous, reasonable or creative, the
students are to move to the back of the line. Explain that
if an excuse has previously been used, the student is out
of the game and should sit down. The winner of the game
is the student who gives the most excuses. Process the
activity using the following questions.
Ask
• Which refusal strategies would you use if someone offered
you a joint? Have students share their answers with a
partner.
• Do you think the refusal strategies might have been
different if it was a stranger who offered you a joint? Why?
(eg sometimes it is easier to tell a stranger ‘no’ than a
friend who you want to maintain a relationship with).
• Which excuses could you use if a friend offered you some
alcohol or another drug? (Point out to the class that
excuses that take the decision away from them such as
‘my parents will ground me for a month’ can be used
across many situations).
• Do you think it would be easier to say ‘no’ to an offer of
cannabis than alcohol? Why? (Yes, because cannabis is
an illegal drug that has laws that can affect a person’s
future employment and travel goals. Alcohol is legal for
anyone over 18 years of age and more readily available
and the associated laws are not as stringent).

2. To personally reflect on this activity, students can

complete the following unfinished sentences.
• My current risk of harm from cannabis use is (very high/
high/moderate/low/very low) because….
• Ways that I could reduce my risk of harm or continue to
maintain a low risk of harm from cannabis are ….
• If I had a friend who was trying to make me experiment
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

with cannabis I would …

• If I felt pressured by a friend to use cannabis some
helpful or positive thoughts I could use to not feel
pressured would be…

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

81
© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 TOPIC 6 5. Have students view the Triple Zero website
www.triplezero.gov.au then conplete the
3-2-1 reflect (refer to page 96) on page 22 of Be
Help seeking for drug-related Ready. Listen to the students’ responses and
clarify the questions raised. Ensure that the class are
situations aware that calling for an ambulance in an alcohol or drug
related situation does not always mean that the police
will attend. This usually only occurs when the ambulance
Activity 1 Calling for help officers feel their own safety is in jeopardy or the patient
is deceased. Also point out to students that if they are
Learning intention concerned about sharing their identity with the operator,
• Students practice responding to an emergency situation they can choose to not give their name.

Equipment 6. If students in the class have mobile phones, talk about

Be Ready student workbook – What is your emergency? – having an ICE number (In Case of Emergency) entered
page 22 in their phone contact list. Discuss how this strategy can
Two phones (optional) help a person in the case of an emergency.

Access to the internet

Activities Activity 2 Practising the

1. Explain that being able to help someone who is unwell DRS ABCD procedure
or unconscious because of their alcohol or drug use
Learning intention
(or any other medical emergency) is important and
that sometimes it may mean the difference between • Students recognise signs that a person requires first aid
that person living or dying. Have students share • Students practice and apply basic first aid principles in
their experiences of dealing with an emergency and emergency situations
performing basic first aid. Remind the class not to use • Students practise and apply help seeking strategies for
people’s names when sharing their stories. themselves and others
2. Listen to the radio advertisements at http://
Equipment
www.triplezero.gov.au/Documents/radio_ads.
mp3 that promote the correct procedure for Be Ready student workbook – Tick tock – page 23
calling and using the Triple Zero service. Access to internet
Stress that it is important to stay calm in an emergency Empty tissue box and small cards (optional)
and always first seek help from an adult (if available)
before calling 000 or administering first aid. (The Triple Teaching tip
Zero radio advertisements are also available in nine Download DRSABCD fact sheet from the
languages – Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Italian, Korean, St John Ambulance website http://www.
Mandarin, Serbian, Spanish and Vietnamese at http:// stjohn.org.au/index.php?option=com_
www.triplezero.gov.au/Documents/cald_radio_ads.mp3) content&view=article&id=22:first-aid-
3. Read What is your emergency? on page 22 of Be Ready. information-introduction&catid=10:first-aid-
Remind students that calling 000 (or 112 as an alternative information&Itemid=34
mobile number) is only for emergencies and doing this
for fun means that an operator is spending time with their Activities
hoax call when they could be helping to save someone’s
1. Read the following scenario to the class.
life. With a student volunteer, model how to complete
the 000 call. Explain why it is important to give the Scenario
emergency operator the state in Australia they are calling • You’re at the beach with some friends. You notice a friend
from (many of the suburb names in Australia are repeated lying face down in the sand…tick tock…you know your
so clarifying which state they are calling from will avoid friend was drinking…tick tock, tick tock…hurry up, you
confusion). need to do something…but what?
4. Place students with a partner. Nominate one student in Ask the class what they would do in this situation. Write
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

each pair to be the emergency operator and role-play all responses on the board. Read through the DRS ABCD
(refer to page 94) calling the emergency number for a steps described on Tick tock page 23 of Be Ready and
friend in the following situation: check which of the steps were identified by the class.
Scenario
• You and your friend are at 33 Green Street, Maylands,
Western Australia. Your friend has been drinking a lot of
alcohol and is now unconscious on the floor. Someone tells
you that he/she also took a pill but they don’t know what it
was. Call Triple Zero now.

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

82 © 2016 Mental Health Commission
2. Have students watch one of the many Australian CPR Activity 3 Identifying and
videos on YouTube. Stress that students must always practising help seeking strategies
assess the situation for possible dangers and maintain
their own safety when helping others (eg being hit by Learning intention
passing vehicles if the emergency is on a road, avoiding • Students recognise symptomatic signs that can
contact with blood) and that doing something, rather indicate when a person is not coping
than nothing, can be the difference between a person
living or dying. Reassure students that performing first aid, • Students persuade someone to seek help using
in most cases, will not result in the person being further different communication techniques
injured as sometimes fears of spinal cord injury prohibit • Students share strategies for dealing with situations
bystanders from helping. where help is needed
• Students practice ways to communicate concerns
3. Place students in groups of three. Allocate one of the
about health to a variety of support people
following emergency scenarios to each group. Explain
that students are to create a role-play (refer to page 94) Equipment
for their scenario that includes the DRS ABCD procedure.
Activity sheet – Suggest a strategy – photocopy one card
Emergency scenarios per pair of students
• You go into a toilet block at the park and see a person lying Be Ready student workbook – I need help – page 24
on the floor. There is vomit near them and they have blood
on their head. What should you do? Family information sheet – Helping your teenager ask for
• You are at a party with your friend. Someone yells out help – photocopy one per student
‘there’s someone on the bottom of the pool’. What should
you do? Teaching tip
• Your think your friend has taken some drugs. They are lying If students disclose information or make statements that
on the ground and have started to fit. What should you raise concern about their wellbeing, follow up using the
do? support procedures that the school has in place. Continue
• Your friend is unconscious. There is a half empty bottle of to observe and monitor the student.
vodka on the ground near them. What should you do?
• You were a passenger in a car that has just crashed. The Activities
driver is unconscious and another passenger is bleeding 1. Explain that students need to be able to recognise
from their head. What should you do? symptomatic signs that can warn when they, or others,
are not coping. Brainstorm (refer to page 91) a list of
Process the role-plays and answer questions that students
symptomatic signs that may indicate that someone is not
may have about using first aid. It is important to highlight
coping. For example:
to the class that sometimes young people do not call
Triple Zero for alcohol or other drug-related incidents as • not sleeping or eating well
they are worried that the police will come. Explain that • feeling overwhelmed, anxious, afraid, defeated or
police are only involved when a person dies at the scene angry
or the ambulance workers feel under threat of violence. • often angry and fighting with others
4. Have students write an article for the school newsletter • not doing the things they usually do
promoting first aid or create a PowerPoint about DRS • withdrawing from family, friends, school
ABCD first aid procedures and present to another class.
• exaggerated moods, extreme highs and lows
5. Have students complete the St John Ambulance • participating in risky behaviours such as drink driving,
online first aid course – Click to Save at unplanned and unprotected sex, binge drinking, using
http://clicktosave.com.au/ or enrol the class in a drugs.
free First Aid Focus presentation at http://www.
stjohnambulance.com.au/firstaidfocus/home Remind the class that a person may show one or several
of these signs at different times in different situations.
6. Arrange a visit from the school nurse to talk to students Have students write some of these signs on page 24 of
about helping out a friend who has consumed alcohol or their workbook.
another drug and is unconscious. Prior to the visit, have
students write their questions and place these in a box. Suggest that asking for help can sometimes be difficult,
particularly when a person is feeling stressed or confused.
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

During the presentation have students take turns asking

the questions generated by the class. Ask the students to identify some reasons why a person
may not seek help and write these on page 23 of their
workbook. Some examples may include:
• think the problem will go away on its own
• feel afraid, ashamed or embarrassed to ask for help
• think that no-one will want to help
• think that others will judge them

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

83
© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 • think that others won’t understand Ask
• don’t know where to go to find help • Were any of the situations described on the cards
• there aren’t many support services in their area something that young people might have to deal with?
(Remind students to not disclose personal experiences
• think that getting help will be time consuming or
or name people when sharing responses).
expensive.
• Which situations were hard to find two useful strategies
Ask
for? Why?
• Why is it important to be able to recognise when you
• Who were some of the people identified as those to go to
or someone else you know needs help? (Point out that
for help?
being able to recognise these signs can be difficult and
that sometimes it is not immediately obvious when a • Would these people be useful to seek help from in all of the
person is not managing well). situations described? Why?
• What might stop a person from recognising that they need • Would most young people your age feel comfortable
help? (eg using alcohol or drugs to mask your feelings). talking to someone on a ‘help line’? Why? (Explain to
students that the person on the end of the phone is
• What can you do if you discover that a friend has a big
there to help them).
problem that needs more than your help? (eg talk to
a parent or another trusted adult such as a relative, • Asking another person for help can sometimes be difficult.
teacher, school counsellor). What are some ways to start a conversation when you
are feeling uncomfortable? (Acknowledge that knowing
2. Choose one of the Suggest a strategy cards and read it what to do is one thing but actually carrying out the
aloud to the class then ask the following questions. planned action is the real challenge. Discuss the term
Ask ‘courage’. Explain it is having the determination to
follow through on your decisions and using positive
• Who has the problem and what is it? (Remind students
self-talk to say ‘it will be okay’).
that some problems can be related to the way a person
perceives the situation ie negative thoughts rather than 2. Have students investigate the helplines and websites
being realistic and optimistic). that offer information and counselling on issues such as
• What self-talk might the character in the scenario alcohol and drug use, mental health and depression, and
be using? (Remind students that positive self-talk relationships. Some of the reliable sources suitable for
influences a person’s thoughts, feelings and subsequent adolescents are listed on page 23 of Be Ready.
actions and behaviours).
3. Have students create a contact list of sources of help on
• What will probably happen if he/she does seek help for page 23 of their workbook and then share this with a
herself/himself or the other person? partner. Ask students the following questions.
• What will probably happen if he/she doesn’t seek help?
Ask
• Who might be able to help the character now and in the
future? • Was it easy to write five useful sources of help? Why?
• Have you or someone you know, ever been in a similar • Do you think some of your ‘help contacts’ may be more
situation? What did you (he/she) do? Would you tackle it than useful than others? Why?
differently if you could replay time? (Remind students of • Which of your contacts do you think other students should
the ‘no disclosure’ rule when sharing their responses). know about? Why? (eg Kids helpline, school counsellor,
chaplain).
3. Set up a circle talk (refer to page 91). Give students • Why is it important to have a range of sources when you
standing on the outside circle a Suggest a strategy card need help?
to read to their partner. Students standing on the inside
circle must give at least two strategies that would be • Is it important to seek help for more challenging problems
useful for the person wanting to help. Suggest that the from more than one source? Why?
strategies can include immediate actions and also seeking 4. Send a copy of the Family information sheet – Helping
help from someone else such as a parent, another trusted your teenager ask for help home with each student to share
adult or friend, a teacher or school counsellor, or by with their family.
talking to a Helpline. Ring a bell after two minutes and ask
students to give their card to their partner. Have the inside
circle move on several places to meet a new partner and
read the card aloud. Continue the process several times
Challenges and Choices YEAR 7

to allow students to consider a range of situations and

identify help seeking strategies. Process the activity by
asking the following questions.

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

84 © 2016 Mental Health Commission
ACTIVITY sheet

Suggest a strategy

Your friend is often rude to A friend often brings

A friend who smokes, often
other people and can get cannabis to your house
tries to get you to smoke
angry very quickly. You like when your parents are out
cigarettes at parties. You
your friend but you don’t and wants you to smoke it.
don’t like smoking but you
like the way they talk and You like your friend but you
like your friend.
behave. don’t want to use cannabis.
What can you do?
What can you do? What can you do?

#
Your friend has been taking
weight loss pills and you You think your friend A friend has started taking
know that she is not eating steals money from other steroids and going to the
or sleeping properly. You students’ school bags to gym to ‘get cut’. They seem
are worried about her buy cannabis. to be agitated all the time.
health.
What can you do? What can you do?
What can you do?

#
Your friend’s dad always
A friend often starts fights offers you a lift after sports
Your friend worries a lot
with other students at training but you know he
about exams and often
school for no reason. You usually has a few drinks
takes tranquilisers to cope
like your friend but you at the club. You like your
and get to sleep.
don’t like his behaviour. friend but don’t want to get
What can you do? a lift with a drunk driver.
What can you do?
What can you do?
#
Your friend has been
Your friend has been A friend always gets drunk
drinking a lot of alcohol
saying and doing some at parties and it’s usually
lately and has been missing
weird things lately. You up to you to get them
school. You don’t want to
are worried that they are home without their parents
get them into trouble with
depressed. knowing.
their parents.
What can you do? What can you do?
What can you do?

#
A friend had sex while A friend has been binge
A friend keeps sending
drunk and now she is very drinking on weekends for
you text messages telling
upset and doesn’t want you quite a while and now they
you some bad stuff about
to tell anyone especially her are drinking during the
Challenges and Choices

another student at school.

parents. week.
What can you do?
What can you do? What can you do?

#
#

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission
 family information sheet

Helping your teenager ask for help

Many teenagers believe that they should be able to sort out their problems on their own.
They are often too embarrassed to talk to someone and can also be worried about the
confidentiality of information they give to a professional.
So what can you do as a parent? Firstly, keep talking to your children and let them know that
no matter what the problem is you will listen without judgement and help them to work out
ways to cope or solve the problem. Now this sounds easy but teenagers, even when they
know this, will probably choose to talk to their friends and not you.

• Make sure you know your teenager’s friends and their Where else can you
parents. Not so you can delve and discover, but so they
go for advice?
know you are approachable and if they feel that the
problem needs your involvement, they can talk to you SDERA sdera.wa.edu.au
openly and honestly. Drug Aware drugaware.com.au

• Listen non-judgementally. Now is not the time to give your National Cannabis Prevention and
judgement on a situation that your teenager has decided Information Centre ncpic.org.au
to share with you. Try to get as much information as you Australian Drug Foundation www.adf.org.au
can to help you talk about the issue – but don’t try too hard Alcohol and Drug Support Line is a free 24-
or you might push them away. hour, state-wide, confidential telephone service
where you can talk to a professionally trained
• Tell them you are concerned about them. Knowing that counsellor about your own or another’s alcohol or
you care and are willingly to listen will keep the lines of drug use.
communication open and encourage your teenager to talk Phone: (08) 9442 5000
to you when next they have a problem. Country callers: 1800 198 024
E-mail: alcoholdrugsupport@mhc.wa.gov.au
• Ask if they have thought about getting help. If your child
Parent and Family Drug Support Line is
has resisted getting help, ask them why.
a free alcohol and other drug information and
• Brainstorm the different people they could go to for help. support line for parents and family members.
Talk to a professionally trained counsellor about
Have a list of support services available in your area in case
alcohol and other drugs. Talk confidentially to
your teenager suggests seeing a professional. another parent for strategies and support.
Phone: (08) 9442 5050
• Check to see if your teenager is okay with you letting the
Country callers: 1800 653 203
school know there is a problem. This can help to explain Email: alcoholdrugsupport@mhc.wa.gov.au
changes in behaviour that school staff may have noticed.
Aboriginal Alcohol and Drug Service
• Offer to make an appointment for your provides a range of culturally secure
child to talk to a professional. Make time to services, including treatment, education
go to the appointment with your programs and yarning.
Phone: (08) 9221 1411
teenager, but check that they want
this to happen first. Reachout is about helping young people to
help themselves
www.reachout.com.au
EDUCATING FOR SMARTER Choices

Beyondblue is a national depression initiative

for young people
www.ybblue.com.au/

Kids Helpline is a 24 hour help line that can

be called on 1800 55 1800
www.kidshelp.com.au

Headspace and Yarn Space

www.headspace.org.au

A RESILIENCE APPROACH TO DRUG EDUCATION

© 2016 Mental Health Commission