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RECOVERY ROCKS!
MEDIASAVVY
WHO’S BEEN SAYINGWHAT..?
The man who played the beloved sitcom character Chandler Bing,
Matthew Perry, went head-to-head on Monday's
Newsnight
with the
man who plays maligned pantomime villain Peter Hitchens… Perry and
Hitchens leading the national debate on drugs policy is the logical
conclusion to most of the UK media’s reporting of anything medical or
scientific; an end-of-days scenario that could only be improved if Matt
Le Blanc stepped in for Perry, in character as sandwich-loving ladies’
man Joey Tribbiani.
Oscar Rickett,
Guardian
, 17 December
While I feel a wave of hatred beating against me whenever I walk into
a BBC studio, it is never so strong as when I have come there to argue
against the weakening of the drug laws. In fact they have pretty much
stopped asking me to discuss this at all, since I dared to give a hard
time to their favourite advocate of drug law relaxation, Professor
David Nutt (how long before he gets his own show?). Drug abuse, you
see, isn’t just a minor fringe activity. It is the secret vice of the whole
British Establishment.
Peter Hitchens,
Mail on Sunday
, 1 December
The news that government advisers want ketamine reclassified from a
class C to B drug is more fiddling while the crack pipe burns. The drug
wasn’t banned until 2006, but someone who gets caught with it will now
face up to five years in prison instead of two. A heavy price, one feels, for
the person who wants to anaesthetise themselves of an evening. Send
them to prison where drugs are
the
currency? It's almost as if
government advisers don’t live in the real world.
Suzanne Moore,
Guardian
, 11 December
Policies are not made in isolation… Law, economics, politics and public
opinion are all important factors; scientific evidence is only part of the
picture that a policy maker has to consider. Most of the major policy
areas that consistently draw opprobrium from scientists are far more
complicated than just scientific evidence: energy, drugs and health, to
name just three.
Chris Tyler,
Guardian
, 2 December
Will I feel sorry for Nigella [Lawson] if these allegations – which she has
denied – turn out to be true? Not really. Habitual and dangerous drug use
can be sorted – if people want it to be.
Carole Malone,
Sunday Mirror
, 1 December
Until we get a government that is more concerned about the health of
the population than that of the drinks industry, and an NHS prepared to
tackle alcohol-related harm with the same vigour which with it tackles
cardiac disease, we can only expect the problem to get much worse.
Dr Nick Sheron,
Observer
, 8 December
I’m not a liberal on drugs policy and I don’t believe in legalisation: why
make it easier for people to escape reality on yet more addictive, health-
wrecking substances, when alcohol already triggers a crippling social and
health burden our nation can hardly handle?... Yet we need to recognise,
too, the deep and pervasive illogicality of our society – on almost every
level – around questions of mood-altering substances.
Jenny McCartney,
Telegraph
, 7 December
Recovery |
Media Savvy
10 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| January 2014
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
AS IN RECOVERY ITSELF
, many hurdles
had to be overcome by Recovery Rocks,
Nottingham’s first celebration of recov-
ery and local music. There were issues
with bands pulling out and venue
availability, but in the end partnership
working between two of the city’s local
partners showcased local musical
talent and celebrated recovery. SCUF,
formerly the Shared Care User Forum
and until Nottingham’s recent treat-
ment reconfiguration, a user-led health
campaign group, came together with
Double Impact, an aftercare service and
a partner in the new Recovery In
Nottingham service, to make the event
a success.
Having been involved in recent
award-winning anti-stigma campaigns, SCUF members also took the
opportunity to do some groundwork for their current campaign ‘Labels’, which
will be presented at upcoming events as part of their continued work to
highlight stigma and the effect it may have on someone’s treatment journey
and mental health and wellbeing.
As experiences and research have shown, many people still don’t engage
with treatment services or take full advantage of the support on offer for fear
of being looked down upon or stigmatised – not only by people in treatment
and healthcare but also by society in general.
A particular service or department can leave them feeling low and
reluctant to engage because of how others see them. Often many other areas
of their life are intertwined with their substance misuse or are a cause of it,
such as mental health and homelessness.
Recovery Rocks aimed to raise funds to provide sleeping bags for those
unfortunate enough to find themselves homeless in Nottingham over the
festive period and also towards the start-up costs of SOBAR, Nottingham’s first
alcohol-free bar, venue and restaurant.
Singer-songwriter Marc Reeves opened the evening’s proceedings,
followed by a collection of artists including Sleeping Soldier and rock poet
Miggy Angel, before the crowd were mesmerised by the melodic Rebecca King.
Up-and-coming rock and blues artist John Lennon McCullagh, who recently
signed to Alan McGee’s new record label 359, performed in front around 200
people and a raffle was held to raise further funds.
Feedback from the event was that it was an enjoyable evening and an
excellent opportunity to raise awareness of addiction while highlighting harm
reduction, with an alcohol-free bar upstairs as well as alcohol for those who
wished to drink safely. This worked really well, with no reported incidents of
drunkenness or trouble.
Following the success of this first event there are already discussions for it
to become an annual event. The money raised after expenses has been split
evenly between Double Impact and SCUF’s representatives the homeless
team, to provide sleeping bags at a homeless breakfast event.
SCUF and Double Impact would like to express their gratitude to all those
who helped organise the evening, the artists, and those who attended, for
their support.
Lee Collingham is a service user activist in Nottingham
A local partnership involving service users
brought Nottingham’s first celebration of recovery
and local music, as
Lee Collingham
reports