Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bangsar (Integrasi): July 2018

Students who are addicted to drugs often experience an array of problems, including academic failure, health-related problems (including mental health), poor peer relationships, and involvement with crime and delinquency. The cognitive and behavioral problems experienced by drug-using children not only interfere with their academic performance, physical development but also present obstacles to learning for their classmates as children who have developed drug dependency can turn out to be very aggressive and disruptive in class. Adolescent substance abuse can therefore result in serious consequences for family members, the community, and the entire society.

In recent years, there have been increasing accounts of illegal substance abuse among Malaysian students. As such, policy makers, school administrators, and teachers ought to make decisions about schoolbased drug prevention programmes for the purposes of prevention and control. According to Wilson (1998):

The fact is that schools do not have it in their power to stop smoking, drinking,

sex or poor eating patterns. They do have it in their power to improve student

knowledge and skills and to encourage the development of defensible values.

Equally, they should not be blamed when students engage in health behaviour

that is less than desirable. They should be blamed, or at least held accountable,

if students do not gain essential knowledge and skills regarding health, and

cannot articulate a value position.

Schools, therefore, play an essential role in giving lessons about drugs as these can change the behaviour of the students.

The Program Pendidikan Pencegahan Dadah (PPDa) or Drug Abuse Prevention Program was held in SMK Bangsar on 11 July 2018 in collaboration with PEMADAM (Persatuan mencegah Dadah Malaysia). PEMADAM is a not-for-profit organization established to help all those struggling with problems arising from drug use and to teach the public about the dangers of substance use and abuse. The objectives of the programme required that students should know:

· a. the definitions of drugs, drug misuse and abuse

· b. the laws relating to legal and illegal drugs

· c. that drugs can alter the way a person behaves and feels

· d. the consequences of unlawful and unsanctioned drug use

· e. the contribution of drug use to lifestyle diseases and associated social, emotional, legal and

economic costs

Our speakers for this special event were Encik Burhanuddin Disa and Encik Daniel Hiqmar Dato Hidzir. Also present were Encik Nazar and Puan Zubaidah from PEMADAM and Puan Zainab from the state Education Department. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff of PEMADAM, our speakers, and all those present for making this event a success for us. A special thanks to Encik Hairy of PEMADAM for organizing this programme so efficiently and effectively. Thanks again to PEMADAM for contributing so many presents to our students thus making the quiz session particularly interesting.