Drug problems

    If you're worried about your own or someone else's drug taking or misuse, it's good to know the facts.

Why take drugs?

    Drug users don't start using drugs with the intention of becoming addicted. But many drugs contain addictive substances(物质) and even people who use them occasionally can become dependent and need to use them regularly.

    Reasons why people start using drugs can include: to escape problems they may be having in other parts of their life, peer pressure and fitting in with another group of people, being curious about the effects of drugs.

    If you start to use drugs on a regular basis, or if you become dependent on them, it can affect your family and friends as well as having a serious impact on your own physical and mental well-being.

    Drug overdoses can be fatal. You can die instantly from misusing substances and drugs that you can buy over the counters.

Signs of drug abuse and misuse

    There is not a common list of symptoms that you can use to tell if you or someone you know is misusing drugs. That's because drug use affects different people in different ways, depending on the type of drugs they're using.

    Although anxiety, tiredness and a change in sleeping habits can be signs of drug use, they can also be caused by changes in your body, stress or other problems.

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    Drugs are categorised into three classes based on their overall level of harm. Class A drugs are the most dangerous, however, all the drugs in all three classes are harmful and addictive.

    Remember that all drugs are illegal, even Class C drugs like cannabis(大麻烟). If you're caught selling them to other people, or carrying a small amount in your pocket, it's likely that the police will get involved.

    If you're found guilty of any of these offences, you may face a fine or time in custody(拘留), with Class A drugs carrying the most severe sentences.

Worried about a friend?

    If you think that one of your friends or relatives is misusing drugs, you may want to approach them and talk about it. It's not your responsibility to make them stop, but you can tell them about how their behaviour is affecting your relationship.

    If they ask for help with their problem, then it's important to listen and help them find the right information and treatment.

National Drugs Helpline

    If you're worried about drug abuse and addiction you can call the National Drugs Helpline on 0800 776 600 for confidential advice—lines are open seven days a week. Calls are free and they won't show up on your phone bill, but you may be charged if you use a mobile.

More useful links

Information about addictions from need to know

Information about drugs, the law and human rights

    A few years ago I had an “aha!” moment regarding handwriting.

    I had in my hand a sheet of paper with handwritten instructions on it for some sort of editorial task. It occurred at first that I did not recognize the handwriting, and then I realized whose it must be. I finally became aware of the fact that I had been working with this colleague for at least a year, maybe two, and yet I did not recognize her handwriting at that point.

    It was a very important event in the computerization of life-a sign that the informal. Friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails. There was a time when our workdays were filled with little letters, and we recognized one another's handwriting the way we knew voices or faces.

    As a child visiting my father's office, I was pleased to recognize, in little notes on the desks of his staff, the same handwriting I would see at home in the notes he would leave on the fridge—except that those notes were signed “dad” instead of “RFW”.

    All this has been on my mind because of the talk about The Rise and Fall of Handwriting, a book by Florey. She shows in her book a deep concern about the fall of handwriting and the failure of schools to teach children to write well, but many others argue that people in a digital age can't be expected to learn to hold a pen.

    I don't buy it.

    I don't want to see anyone cut off from the expressive, personal associations that a pen still promotes better than a digital keyboard does. For many a biographer, part of really getting to know their subjects is learning to read their handwriting.

    What some people advocate is teaching one of the many attractive handwritings based on the handwriting of 16^th-century Italy. That may sound impossibly grand-as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings. However, they have worked in many school systems.

    This is a true story that happened in Japan. In order to repair the house, a Japanese tore open the walls. Japanese houses normally have an empty space between the wooden walls. When pulling down the walls, he found that there was a lizard（蜥蜴）staying there because a nail（钉子）from outside was hammered into one of its feet. He saw this, feeling pity and curious. When he checked the nail, he found it was nailed 10 years ago when the house was first built.

    What happened? The lizard had survived in such a position for 10 years! It has been in a dark wall partition（夹层）for 10 years without moving! Then he wondered how this lizard survived for 10 years without moving a single step—since its foot was nailed! So he stopped his work and observed the lizard: What has it been doing? What and how has it been eating? Later, he didn't know from where another lizard appeared, with food in its mouth. Ah! He was astonished and touched deeply. The free lizard had been feeding it for the past 10 years.

    Such love, a beautiful love! Such love happened with this tiny creature… What can love do? It can do wonders! Just think about it: one lizard had been feeding the other for 10 long years, without giving up hope on its partner. If a small creature like a lizard can love like this, just imagine how we can love if we try.

    It is often necessary to release a fish, that is, set it free after catching, because it is too small, or you just don't want to take it home to eat. In some cases, releasing fish is a good measure that will help keep fish variety and build their population size. The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) encourages fishermen who practice catch-and-release fishing to use a few simple skills when doing so. The advice provided below will help make sure that the fish you release will survive to bite again another day.

    —When catching a fish, play it quickly and keep the fish in the water as much as possible. Don't' use a net in landing the fish and release it quickly to prevent it from dying.

    —Hold the fish gently. Do not put your fingers in its eyes. Don't wipe the scales (鱼鳞) off the fish because it might cause it to develop a disease and reduce its chance of survival.

    —Remove your hook (鱼钩) quickly. If the hook is too deep or hooked in the stomach, cut the line and leave the hook in. The hook left inside will cause no serious problem to the fish.

    —Take good care of the fish by moving it gently in water. Release the fish when it begins to struggle and is able to swim.

    —Do not hold fish in a bucket or some other containers and later decide to release it. If you are going to release a fish, do so right away.

    With a little care and by following the suggestions given above, you can give the released fish a better chance of survival.

    Australia is a developed country and the future of its solar industry is looking bright after a record 3.5m panels (嵌板) were installed on rooftops last year, giving the equal output of a medium-sized coal-fired power station. The record 1,057 MW of capacity (生产能力) in small-scale systems installed across the country broke the previous record set in 2012, figures from the Clean Energy Regulator showed on Tuesday.

    Australia's solar power prosperity could almost double capacity in a year. The data also revealed that the average system size has also doubled since then from three to six kilowatts as average prices continued to fall. A fully installed 5KW system costs an average of $5,930 in Australia, according to the energy broker Solarchoice. net. au. Its records show that the price has roughly halved in many capital cities since 2012.

    The regulator's executive general manager, Mark Williamson, said there was increasing interest in renewals as a way to take control of electricity bills. But more importantly, he said it was also good news for reducing carbon emissions.

    “We are seeing a wide cross-section of Australians-households, community centers, schools, and small businesses-receiving rewards under the small-scale renewable energy scheme,” Williamson said. “Our data shows consumers are embracing renewable energy to take control of their electricity bills.”

    In 2017, there was a 41% increase in installing renewable energy capacity across all states and territories compared to 2016. Queensland led the way with installed capacity at 295MW, with the Australian Capital Territory taking top place for the biggest annual increase by 57%. “The data collected by the Clean Energy Regulator in 2017 reflects the industry is going from strength to strength. It looks like 2018 will be another big year for the solar industry.”

    The total of installed capacity for last year is expected to rise to 1,070MW when all the data is collected. A large coal-fired power station such as Loyd Yang A in Victoria's Latrobe Valley has a capacity of 2,200MW.

    Let us begin by saying what causes our dreams. Our dreams do not come from another world. They are not messages from some outside source. They are not a look into the future, either.

    All our dreams have something to do with our feelings, fears, longings, wishes, needs and memories. If a person is hungry, or tired, or cold, his dreams may include a feeling of this kind. If the covers on your body, such as a quilt or a blanket, have slipped off your bed, you may dream that you are sleeping on ice or in snow. The material for the dream you will have tonight is likely to come from the experience you have today.

    So the subject of your dream usually comes from something that has effect on you while you are sleeping（feeling of cold, a noise, a discomfort, etc. ）and it may also use your past experiences and the wishes and the interests you have now. This is why children are likely to dream of fairies, older children of school examinations, hungry people of food, homesick soldiers of their families and prisoners of freedom.

    To show you how this is happening while you are asleep and how your needs and wishes can all be joined together in a dream, here is the story of the experiment. A man was asleep and the back of his hand was rubbed with a piece of absorbed cotton. He would dream he was in hospital and his charming girlfriend was visiting him, sitting on the bed and feeling his hand gently!

    There are some scientists who have made a special study of why we dream, what we dream and what those dreams mean. Their explanation of dreams, though a bit reasonable, is not accepted by everyone but it offers an interesting approach to the problem. They believe that dreams are mostly expressions of wishes that did not come true. In other words dreaming is a way of having your wishes carried out.