What’s the Rush was put together by a drug and alcohol counsellor who works in the Education Department in a Tasmanian college, in consultation with teenagers and a professional web company.

The philosophy behind the creation of the website was for there to be a resource, accessible via the Internet that provided accurate, up-to-date information and facts about drugs and alcohol, including safety and risk information, where to get help and links to other great websites – specifically aimed at teenagers. Hopefully it is also a site that parents and teachers and other service providers will also find very useful and informative.

The majority of young people do not drink at unsafe levels, nor do they use drugs – this is great! In fact many young people tell me frequently that there is much more to life than drinking and drugs…

However -  there are young people who will choose to use drugs or drink at dangerous levels and engage in risky, unhealthy behaviours… and I use the word choose, as there is always a choice – you don’t have to drink or take drugs – it is an individual decision.  Having said that – there are many reasons why young people may decide that they will drink or take drugs, so it is essential that these young people have access to accurate, informative and up-to-date information – it may save their life or their friend’s life.

There is new research happening all the time, particularly relating to drugs such as Ecstasy and Ice and issues relating to mental health and drug taking – this information is vitally important – and young people need to know about it – it may help them to recognize when things go wrong or aren’t right and then what to do – or it may even make them choose not to try drugs, or drink unsafely, particularly if new research shows there is an even greater risk to taking certain substances than what it first appeared.

I have added alcohol in that last sentence, as more and more people are becoming polydrug users, that is they take more than more drug at the same time – this greatly increases the risk of harm to the user – and one of the substances most often taken with drugs, is alcohol. Alcohol has so many risks on its own when used in an unsafe and unhealthy manner, let alone taking it along with other drugs.

I have met quite a few people who tell me that I should just be telling the young people I work with – ‘don’t take drugs’, just say no – they don’t approve of the ‘Harm Minimisation’ approach… if a young person is already using drugs/ drinking unsafely or thinking about doing this – then the just say no approach will only serve to alienate them from possible help and information and be closing the door on any conversations in the future – when they may decide to change their behaviour or get help.

Young people have the right to excellent information about drugs and alcohol, so they can then make informed choices about their behaviours and decisions – they may not always be the best choices – however they will at least have knowledge about safety and risks and what to do when things go wrong and where they can get help if and when they need it. The 'just say no to drugs' is not as applicable in today’s society, a society that is often complex and complicated.

One of the main things that I hope this website does is to assist in enabling parents and teenagers to have open conversations about drugs and alcohol and for there to be a greater understanding of the risks and harms associated with drug and alcohol usage and for teenagers to realise that it is ok to choose not to drink or take drugs – in fact it is more than ok…it is great.

I would also like to acknowledge the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) and the Australian Drug Foundation (ADF) - some of the drug information in the website has been sourced from booklets from these two wonderful organisations. So thankyou...

I hope you enjoy ‘what’s the rush’,

Thankyou for taking the time to explore the website.