Weekly News

Drugs alert as 16-year-old Shellie Callaghan dies after party

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-37670315

This young girl had access to "ecstasy type tablets" at a house party in Midlothian (Scotland). Officers are now strongly urging people not to take the red pills known as "bugatti veyron" and  "purple ninja turtle". It's been reported that young people in the town were very concerned after the death. This news must have woken up a lot of drug-taking teens to the reality of illegal drugs. Rebecca Russel states "I'm really worried because they can pick them up so easily for almost nothing and they don't realise how dangerous they really are." This highlights how little knowledge teenagers have of illegal substances, they are unaware of the serious harm it can cause them.

News like this is very devastating and alarming as it shows how taking illegal substances at parties has been normalised. However, it also suggests that parents and teachers should be trying harder to show teenagers how unsafe illegal drugs like ecstasy are and that they could cost them their life. I also think more action needs to be taken towards the people who actually sell these drugs to teenagers who clearly have no idea of the side effects, they are illegal drugs for a reason and I think there needs to be more media coverage about it to raise awareness. Especially to people in the younger ages, so that heart breaking situations like this can be prevented.