This section was co-written with Whāraurau in 2023.
It was informed by a workshop involving young people who use drugs, youth consumer advisors, and kaimahi.
Young people often first encounter information about alcohol and other drugs through social media, friends, family, and their school. Many find that what they see, hear, and experience is contradictory. Advice that focuses on abstinence as the only option or information that emphasises extreme depictions of harm tends to be seen as unrealistic and unrelatable, leading them to disregard the information and look for sources they feel are more honest and authentic.
“Young people aren’t dumb. We can think for ourselves, but sometimes need help communicating it. We want to learn, we just need help to find the info.”
– Young person
Young people are also at a stage of life where experimenting, trying new things, and testing their limits is common and expected. This can involve trying alcohol and other drugs. Information, tools, and support to help them do so in as safe a way as possible help to prevent problems.
“We came straight from school where we were told no alcohol, no drugs, and if you do any of them you have problems. Now we’re in a different city, trying to fit in at uni, and we’re told to drink responsibly, with MDMA and other **** at every party we go to. No one really knows … we’re just learning what to do or not do from having bad experiences or seeing someone else fold.”
– Young person
The following are some considerations when using a harm reduction approach with young people:
- Young people are in a life stage where meeting or socialising with large numbers of people is common. This sometimes means that relationships with the people they use substances with may be more fleeting and superficial than long lasting. In some cases, these relationships are centred more around the drugs themselves than forming meaningful connections with each other.
“I don’t feel much of a connection with anyone, just the drugs.” – A young person talking about their relationships with the people they use drugs with
- Many young people who use alcohol and other drugs do so in a social context. Take their friends into account when engaging with young people:
- Remember that the information that you share is likely to be shared with others. You might like to ask what information they might like to share with their friends.
- Consider how to set up a service that lets young people come with their friends.
- Provide space where young people can share different experiences, and information about how they and their friends can be safer, and explore how they might like to support their friends.
- Normalise looking out for friends.
- Most young people who use alcohol and other drugs do so to have fun and feel good. Few of them use substances because they are distressed. This means that if the only way for young people to have conversations or access information about how to prevent problems from drugs in their area is from a treatment service, many will miss out on that information. The situation is more challenging if the service is based in a mental health team who focus on providing support to people in acute distress.
- Focus on the present rather than long-term risks. Some young people find it hard to see how their current situation may impact their future. Harm reduction conversations that focus on what they might experience the next time they use a substance and what they can do to prevent potential problems tend to be more engaging than conversations about how to prevent long-term risks (e.g., physical dependence on a substance).
- Support young people to learn how to think critically about their wellbeing and the messages about substances that they hear. Many young people have heard numerous warnings about drugs, but not a lot of information about them. This does not help young people to learn how to make sense of what they see, hear, and experience, and discern what information is accurate and useful for them.
“It causes us more harm than good if we don’t learn anything about it at all.” – Young person - A lot of young people acquire their drugs through social media. Some of these groups may include harm reduction information while others may not mention it at all. Social media can be a useful way for young people to connect with other people. Some young people feel like they will lose a lot of their social connections if they decide to spend less time on social media.