Drugs. Legal highs.

What seemed to stop most of my friends taking them when we were teenagers was the cost and relative scarcity. They were all being imported from abroad. Now, they are synthetic, home-made and cheap. You only need to look at glue-sniffing to see that it will be well-nigh impossible to regulate use, but the shops should not have been encouraged.

I have heard an argument that sounds pretty terrible, which is, let them do it, and those who die, die, so be it. Those who remain will be stronger either physically or mentally. There are plenty of flaws in that - what about all the poor people who have substances slipped into their drinks or food, for a start. Not long ago a friend of mine's non-drinking sister, with her at a fairly sedate hen party, started dancing on their table. It was a while before they realised what must have happened, she was completely unlike herself. Just because someone thought it would be funny.

You have made my blood run a bit cold with your reference to the possible problems re regulation as regards glue sniffing.

Your second paragraph, first half. How awful. A dreadful thing for them to say.
Second half. The same thing nearly happened to me when younger, Luckily I stopped someone doing it.

I don't think so-called legal highs were available when I was a teenager – I must be a lot older than you janerowena. There was plenty of dope around, which wasn't particularly expensive, and acid, also pretty cheap, was as ubiquitous as Smarties in some places. Both, of course, were illegal.

Yes, anyone could get hold of cannabis in my youth, too - although it wasn't as potent as the skunk commonly used today.

I do remember a group of us trying to smoke banana skins when I was still at school because that was supposed to be a 'legal high', but I think it was an urban myth!

Thankyou Soontobe and JessM

My DGD is improving well at the moment. She volunteers at a school for disabled children one day a week and is coping living in supported accomodation, I think we are now getting somewhere.

She still has one or two ''bad moods'' but is now drug free completely, apart from prescribed medication from her doctor.
She is now no longer the volatile girl she was 6 months ago.