December 30 2002 The increase of regular cannabis use by teenagers as young as 14 has prompted the State Government to launch an advertising campaign to highlight the negative effects of the drug. The Special Minister of State, John Della Bosca, said yesterday the aim was to raise young people's awareness about the harm the drug can do. "Many young people mistakenly view cannabis as a healthy drug, a drug without consequences," he said. "They need to know that's not the case, there are risks associated with their actions." The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre warned yesterday that the number of young people using the drug was growing and many wrongly perceived it as harmless. The centre's information manager, Paul Dillon, said more young people were using bongs, or water pipes, instead of joints to smoke cannabis. Bongs forced more smoke into their lungs, possibly increasing the risk of cancer. "Cannabis is perceived by many young people as a benign, harmless drug and as such more and more young people are using it," Mr Dillon said. "A growing number of them are using it regularly [and] they're using it in a more dangerous way." Mr Della Bosca said government research showed that more than a third of 14 to 19-year-olds had used cannabis. Prolonged use of the drug can have social impacts, such as relationship difficulties and impaired driving. The Government campaign will show images of young people at a party, playing sport and at the school formal, emphasising the drug's negative effects. Ads will appear in the toilets of cinemas and shopping centres. Mr Dillon, who was involved in the development of the campaign, said past drives had focused on the long-term effects of cannabis. This campaign would focus on the social impacts, which were more important to young people, he said. The executive officer of the Youth Action and Policy Association, Kristy Delaney, said research had shown young people wanted more information about drugs. She said they needed easy and private access to such information and health services and that school drug education was not sufficient. AAP This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/29/1040511259335.html
I'm sorry..... but anybody who thinks that bongs are worse for you than joints is stupid. I think we all know why, so I won't go into it.
Yeah it's about time that the govt's of the world woke up and smelled the coffee.....i have never known a stoner to be violent, or use it as a gateway drug.....drink does far much more damage and has but 1 use.....grass has a lot of uses...fuel...rope...etc.....Peace out...Sid
all i know is i scrap alot less and i shut the fuck up in class when im ripped, and nobody's compained to me yet about my being stupid when im high
fucking propaghanda ... now they are saying joints are more harmful than bong rips ... fuck off ... it also pisses me off when they bring up the fact that its more potent thses days.. saying it like its a bad thing... and fuck.. stoners are too lazy to get their asses up .. and beat someone ... u gotta think about the walk to get to that person .. then the fight itself ... i'd much rather forget about him and smoke another bowl...
"u gotta think about the walk to get to that person .. then the fight itself ... i'd much rather forget about him and smoke another bowl..." Well said!! Well said.
i was thinking more like... getting high enables me to pursue a higher thought process in which it becomes apparent that fighting is useless bullshit... but u kno.. same shit different pile