First Educational Film on Synthetic Cannabis Launched
LONDON, July 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
The Angelus Foundation, the legal highs awareness charity, today launched the first ever educational film in the UK for young people showing the harms from synthetic cannabis. The film was made in conjunction with KCA Young Persons' Services and is presented by stand -up comic Jeff Leach - it portrays two young men, Jack and Will, who have had suffered physical and mental health harms from these substances.
Synthetic cannabis has been linked to many serious incidents when young people have collapsed from their overpowering effects. There have been several occasions where teenagers have smoked in school breaks and have been hospitalised. It is generally considered to be substantially stronger than strains such as skunk.
The film is launched immediately after a series of headshop raids in Kent last week when substantial amounts of synthetic cannabis were seized by police and Trading Standards.
The founder of Angelus, Maryon Stewart, said, "Young people who are not informed about these powerful substances are vulnerable to the effects which can be devastating. There have even been deaths linked to synthetic cannabis. The way they are marketed makes them appear as low risk when they are potentially highly dangerous and damaging. Our film, made with KCA, gives a dispassionate portrayal of what smoking these substances can do - young people need to know the risks and the consequences. "
Rick Bradley, NPS Lead for KCA Young Persons' Services, said: "In Kent, we have seen very localised problems with these legal highs and most notably from the potentially damaging effects of synthetic cannabinoids. This film, made in partnership with Angelus, is unique and will be shown to young people in schools, colleges, youth clubs and at festivals. Young people need to understand there are new and unpredictable harms from smoking these products and where to get help if things go wrong."
Notes to Editors:
1. Maryon Stewart lost her daughter to GBL and established the Angelus Foundation. It is the only drugs charity dedicated to combating legal highs and club drugs and has previously launched a national campaign including the website http://www.whynotfindout.org. There is also a site for families http://www.angelusfoundation.com
2. There are two film lengths (4m 30s and 1m 35s) and will be shown in schools with other Angelus films as well as 30 second short clips for social media. Synthetic Cannabis film link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvDU0opdyoA#
3. KCA has many years' experience of delivering innovative drug, alcohol & mental health services tailored to meet local needs.
Our services include:
Adult Substance Misuse Services, Young Persons' Services, Mental Health Services, Family Intervention Programme and Training and Workforce Development
We work through an established network of service centres in London and the South East and in partnership with a wide variety of agencies to ensure our services are as accessible and local as possible.
4. These substances are sold as products with names such Clockwork Orange, Exodus Damnation, and Psyclone and is manufactured by hand spraying untested chemicals onto vegetable matter which resembles herbal cannabis. It is sold online and from high street headshops for £25 for a 3g bag.
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