Drugs education would save young lives

WITH the recent untimely death of singer Amy Winehouse firmly in the media spotlight, why aren’t teenagers being educated on drug abuse?

Winehouse had a very public battle with drugs since her rise to fame in 2003.

Often she was portrayed badly in the media but on occasion she was highligthed in an aura of rock and roll superstardom, drugs and all. This message is the wrong one to be sending out to young people.

I attended secondary school until I sat my Leaving Certificate in 2009 and not once was I taught about the dangers of drugs. I know the hazards involved are quite obvious but when drug-taking celebrities are perceived as successful and popular, teenagers may obtain a warped sense of acceptability to drugs.

We were taught French and mathematics, business and geography, but students need to be prepared for the real world. A hard-hitting education programme on substance abuse could be easily brought in at minimal cost.

Teenagers can be easily led down a dark path in the awkward years when they start socialising in pubs and clubs around the time of leaving school. This method of education could save lives.

Justin Kelly

Edenderry

Co Offaly