2/17/16 West Middle School Prescription Drug Lesson

Today I my last presentation at West Middle School to present my final prescription drug lesson. Again when I walked in there were only three kids that showed up. Leigh (the Live Above Coordinator) warned me that these kids were a bit more wild and harder to control then the kids at the other schools. I showed them the first video and all of a sudden two of the three kids started crying because the video is somewhat emotional. However, I have never done a presentation where the students started crying. This was shocking for me because I didn't know how to comfort them and that I have never seen someone that impacted from a presentation. But now looking back maybe that is the reaction we need when kids watch this video, the video pulls at their emotions which makes them realize the severe impacts of prescription drug abuse. Leigh Fitch told me that the one little boy who was crying has parents and family members who abused prescription drug abuse. He was able to relate to the pain, which not many students were able to. This being my last presentation, I could see the culture change between the schools. Students at West had more of an experience and were able to relate to the lesson more so then the students at Grand Mesa or Mount Garfield. However, those are automatic judgments that I made based on the kids's reaction to the lesson.All though the turnout was very small at all these middle schools, we were able to get our message across to the teenagers which we were not able to get across at our event we put on at Palisade High School.

2/9/16 Grand Mesa Middle School Presentation

Today I had another presentation about the risks behind prescription drug abuse at Grand Mesa Middle School. I wasn't nervous because I had already presented to the Mount Garfield students. When I walked in there were only three kids one boy and two girls. Again I was disappointed with the small turnout, but I really do think by making these kids realize the negative effects they can advise their peers. All of the students were interested in the video, they asked questions about drugs that their family members take or that they take. Hearing these kids share their stories made it obvious that there are prescription drugs out there and they are easily accessible.

2/4/16 Middle School Presentation at Mount Garfield Middle School

Today I did a presentation to Mount Garfield Middle School about the risks behind prescription drug abuse and the negative effects on the brain. This lesson reached out to the students which we weren't able to accomplish through our presentation from Colter Church. I went in a bit nervous about the presentation, but during the presentation I found that the students had a genuine interest in what I was discussing. They were intrigued with the videos and were shocked that there are more deaths from prescription drug abuse then there is from drinking and driving.The only part of the presentation that was disappointing was again the turnout. There were only four kids that came to the presentation. I hope that they got something out of it that they can share with their friends. When we were discussing the problems with marijuana one of the kids mentioned that their father smokes marijuana. This was a difficult thing to address because I didn't want to offend her father. I considered ethical implications by thinking is it right for me to tell her that her father is hurting is body by smoking pot? Do I really have that authority to say what is right and wrong? On one hand I could tell her the facts that marijuana increases dopamine in the brain, and eventually he will become less interested in what he loves to do, however this could embarrass her. On the other hand I could ignore the question and try to get on a different subject but does that look like I am promoting marijuana use by not addressing the negative effects of pot? Since marijuana use is legal and he most likely is above the age of 21 do I have the authority to condemn him for smoking pot? I don't know what to do, I don't want to promote marijuana use but at the same time I don't want to embarrass this girl in front of all of her peers.We will not be able to change the lifestyle of everyone, which is not the goal.