Cannabis - what every parent should know: CFN newsletter Week 87

CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK NEWSLETTER 87

> 20 reasons why the Government is wrong on cannabis - and the evidence no parent should ignore
> News:
> Co-op in fair trade chocolate boost
> Christian group backs striking London teachers
> Christmas friendship for international students
> Toy shops to distribute J John seasonal booklet
> Sites:
> Share the facts about St Nicholas with your kids
> WonderZone - bible-based fun
> Marriage MOT: Security - what does it mean to you?
> You've got to laugh: Proverbs in the hands of children
> Members' Zone latest

Dear All

I thought I knew a fair amount about contemporary drug use, but the House of Lords consultation on cannabis I attended last week gave me a real shock.

I heard a father and a grandmother speak movingly about their experiences of a son and a grandson who had encountered the drug. The former is dead, killed by an overdose two months before his degree finals. The latter spent his 18th birthday in the secure unit of a mental hospital, and has been told he may never recover from the psychosis the drug triggered in him.

We'll be keeping a close eye on this issue - and we'd love to hear your views, and your experiences. Most parents, and particularly Christian parents, believe it won't happen to their children. This campaign might just begin to bring about an approach on drugs in this country that works. Let's pray so.

Also in this update

• the challenge to the Church to meet the need for schools digital resources
• the Manchester mum leading other mothers in a bid to change gang law in their city
• why we're more blessed than we know
• humour: things only women know and - are you a heavy thinker?
• proverbs completed as only children can ...
• PLUS the latest family news, events, websites worth a visit, humour, marriage tips and more.
• AND see below for our great Christmas giveaway

Christian Family Network is here to direct you to the best in parenting, marriage and family resources; to link you up with other Christian families up and down the UK; and to help you make the most of life as a follower of Christ - at home, at work, at school and college, at play and online. Your feedback, positive and negative, enables us to develop CFN in the way that is most useful for you - so please tell us if we're off the rails or on the button!

And don't forget - if we can pass on material (sample copies of Families Together, leaflets) which will help you tell your friends and your church about CFN, just mail Lyn Bedford at marketing@christianmedia.org.uk and she'll be glad to help you out.

Hang on to the peace of Christ amid the Christmas rush ...

Russ Bravo
Christian Family Network
info@cfnetwork.co.uk
http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk

ANALYSIS

20 reasons why the Government is wrong on cannabis

• RUSS BRAVO reports on a campaign led by Christians in Parliament to oppose the Government's plans to reclassify cannabis - and gives the evidence every parent needs to know about a drug that is far from 'harmless'
  

A high-powered consultation in the House of Lords last week, chaired by Lord Alton and organised by the Maranatha Community, has vowed to fight the Government’s plans to change the law on cannabis.

A succession of specialists from medical experts to educationalists, legal practitioners to drugs rehabilitation workers, plus police representatives, sociologists, parents of those who have died through drug use, and former drug users, spoke to the invited audience, underlining their opposition to the Government’s intention to reclassify cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug.

Announced in July, the proposal came at a time when the police adopted a ‘soft’ approach to cannabis as part of the 'Lambeth Experiment'. Hailed officially as a success, the residents of the London borough tell a different story: increases in open daytime drug-dealing and drug use, including not only cannabis but cocaine, heroin and synthetic drugs.

And Lambeth GP Dr Clare Gerada spoke passionately to the consultation, telling them: “Health issues are being hidden behind a smokescreen”.

She said that in speaking out on the health risks of the drug and the prevailing ignorance about it: “I have been accused of exaggerating, lying and being reactionary. I do not want to go headlong into another public health epidemic – have we not learnt from 60 years of tobacco?”

New studies have given stark warnings of the health risks of the so-called ‘harmless’ drug: the British Lung Foundation has called for a national health campaign to warn of the dangers of serious chronic lung disease and cancers through cannabis smoking, and studies published by the British Medical Journal from Australia, New Zealand and Sweden have pointed to clear links between cannabis use and mental disorders including schizophrenia, psychosis, depression and anxiety.

The consultation heard movingly from Geoffrey Davies, whose son Philip died of a drugs overdose two months before his finals at Birmingham University. He had moved on from cannabis to cocaine: “I think that Philip would be alive now if he had never started smoking cannabis”.

Mum of two Tara O’Brien gave her testimony that finding God filled the hole in her life and helped her kick her addictions: “It is now 12 years since I have used any drugs and I am still waiting for withdrawal. I am in a happy state of sobriety, but I believe that if I had not started using cannabis I would never have used any other drug.”

And grandmother Margaret Martin spoke about her grandson Ian, for whom smoking cannabis led to spending his 18th birthday locked in the secure ward of a mental hospital. Doctors say it has triggered psychotic tendencies “from which he may never recover”.

To find out the health facts on cannabis, why the Government's recent 'Lambeth Experiment' was illegal, and 20 reasons why the proposed drugs policy is wrong, go to the rest of this article in our Advice section at http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/advice.asp

> GIVEAWAYS

We've got stacks of books and CDs we need to clear from the office before Christmas so ... the first 10 CFN members to mail us with "our biggest challenge as a family in 2003 will be ..." will receive a goodie bundle! You can either mail us at info@cfnetwork.co.uk, or post your response on the Bulletin Board. Don't wait - mail us while you think of it, and you could receive an early Christmas present!

> THIS WEEK'S NEWS

> Christian group backs striking London teachers

The Association of Christian Teachers (ACT) has backed striking London teachers, and called on the Government "to put education first" by awarding them a pay deal that truly reflected the cost of living in the capital.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story

> Christmas friendship for international students

Christmas can be one of the loneliest times of the year – particularly for international students in the UK. But a Christian ministry is hoping to change all that.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/resources.asp for the full story

> Fair trade chocolate boost from the Co-op

Hooray for the Co-op! The supermarket chain with a strong ethical base is switching its entire range of own-brand chocolate bars to Fairtrade in 2,400 stores nationwide.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story

Toy shops to distribute J John Christmas booklet

Christian toy shop chain owner Gary Grant will be giving away 150,000 copies of J John’s Christmas booklet, Cool Christmas, in all of his 36 Entertainer stores across the country this week.

> MARRIAGE MOT

> Check out our archived marriage tips in the Members' Zone, plus stacks more marriage resources at http://www.2-in-2-1.co.uk .

What makes you feel secure?

Have you ever stopped to consider what makes you feel secure? Perhaps it’s about a life where little changes, where you know just where you are. Perhaps you need to feel in control of things or to be constantly reassured of your partner’s love. Perhaps it’s linked with money or your career. Maybe it’s about your faith in God. Or perhaps it’s about having a sense of purpose.

Why not talk to your loved one about what makes you feel secure and find out what makes them feel that way? If you dare you could begin to explore what makes each of you feel insecure. Often our behaviour is affected by insecurity as we seek to protect ourselves or to hit out defensively in our words. It helps to know what makes us feel insecure, because then we can understand why we react in certain ways and take steps to support and help one another when we’re under pressure.

.......................................................................
Please rate this Ezine at the Cumuli Ezine Finder
http://www.cumuli.com/ezines/ra20836.rate
.......................................................................

> EVENTS

Head for our Sites home page in the Resources section where you'll find:

• recommended evangelism sites Who is Jesus Really? and Now try God
  
• free family content for your website
  

> YOU'VE GOT TO LAUGH ...

Proverbs as you've never heard them ...

A first year primary school teacher collected old, well-known proverbs. She gave each child in her class the first half of a proverb, and had them come up with the rest. Here's what they managed ...

As You Shall Make Your Bed So Shall You ... Mess It Up.
Better Be Safe Than ... Punch A 5th Grader.
Never Under Estimate The Power Of ... Termites.
You Can Lead A Horse To Water But ... How?
Don't Bite The Hand That ... Looks Dirty.
No News Is ... Impossible.
A Miss Is As Good As A ... Mr.
You Can't Teach An Old Dog New ... Maths.
If You Lie Down With The Dogs, You'll ... Stink In The Morning.

Head for our Resources section for the rest!

> CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK THIS WEEK
(MEMBERS' ZONE) - http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/default.asp

> Advice

> Cannabis - what every parent should know

> Resources

> a challenge for the Church to provide digital resources for schools
> the Manchester mother taking on inner city gangland, backed by an army of mums
> why you're more blessed than you know
> things only women can tell you
> children on proverbs you thought you remembered

> News

> Co-op in fair trade chocolate boost
> Christian group backs striking London teachers
> Christmas friendship for international students
> Toy shops to distribute J John seasonal booklet

> Top sites this week

> WonderZone - bible-based fun for kids
> Discover the story of St Nicholas
>recommended evangelism sites Who is Jesus Really? and Now try God
> free family content for your website

> Reviews: the latest books and music

> Events: More of what's on near you

> Webwatch Index: more than 500 sites at your fingertips
> Site Search Engine: the easy way to trawl our 500-page plus archives

Christian Family Network, Christian Media Centre, Garcia Estate, Canterbury Road, Worthing, West Sussex BN13 1EH, UK (01903 821082; subscriptions 01903 602100)

HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS NEWSLETTER

Just send an e-mail to leave-cfn-newsletter@cfnetwork.co.uk

© Christian Family Network
is run by CPO, supported by
Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting,
Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.