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TIPSA AGM- Wednesday 3rd March 2010

Hard as it is to believe it will soon be TIPSA Annual General Meeting time again. The project will be marking the passing of another year of hard work in Killymoon Golf Club, Cookstown on Wednesday 3rd March from 10am until 12pm. Food will be provided and a number of guest speakers are being arranged to give those in attendance a flavour of the work the project has been doing and the successful partnerships that contributed to another twelve months of education and prevention work in the Mid-Ulster area. Invites will be going out soon, but everyone is welcome, so if you have an interest in the work that has been going on please feel free to come along. We will also be holding elections again for committee members and would encourage anyone who feels they have anything to contribute to the project to consider putting themselves forward. It has been an exciting year for the project and things are getting even bigger, so help us develop and continue contributing to the community. Please confirm your attendance and if you intend standing for the committee by Friday 26th February. More details will be posted closer to the time.

"Legal Highs" now just "Highs"

As of the 23rd December 2009  a number of the stimulant substances known as "Legal Highs" have been made illegal by the Home Office. Substances including GBL (Gamma Butyrolactone which synthesizes into GHB when ingested) is now a Class C drug when intended for human consumption.

Synthetic cannabinoids such as "Spice"  are now Class B alongside cannabis.

BZP (Benzylpiperazine) (also known as PEP pills) and related variants are now Class C.

15 types of anabolic steroids and two growth promoters are also added to the Class C category. 

There have been a small number of deaths believed to have been related to the stimulants above although the exact role they had to play in the tragedies are yet to be fully established. Because these substances are relatively new, very little is known about their pharmacological effects, especially in relation to interacting with other substances.  The UK joins most of Europe and the US in adding BZP to the list of illegal substances and this move will hardly come as a surprise after the EMCDDA reports into some of these substances highlighted potential dangers and recommended banning them.

TIPSA has just finished running a ten session education and prevention programme for a group hosted by the NEELB in Magherafelt. To mark the completion of the course and to recognise the commitment and maturity displayed by the group, TIPSA organised a presentation meal that took place in Rossini's on the 16th December. Eugene and Marty would like to thank Shauna from the NEELB for contacting us and inviting us to work with the young people, and also thanks are due to the group for the high levels of participation and for engaging so well throughout the sessions.

NEELB group enjoy their meal

If you or your group (be they adults or young people) want to avail of the same services as Shauna and her group did, contact TIPSA.

The latest newsletter covering the most recent developments in the project and some future plans is available to download here. Copies will be posted out within the next fortnight.

 The winner of the "Alternative Highs" photo competition has been chosen after the judges returned their verdicts. The winner was Karolina Urbanska with her picture "Friday Night". The judges were impressed by the thought and preparation that went into setting up and taking the photo (below).

Karolina is now  the proud owner of a new 16GB iPod Nano,  which was presented to her by Sean O'Kane the Chairman of TIPSA, also in the photograph below is Martin McCann a Coordinator with the TIPSA Project . Commiserations to those who didn't win this time- you should feel proud that you gave the judges such a hard time making a decision. We hope to run something similar in the not too distant future so keep an eye out and try again.

TIPSA on Facebook and Twitter

TIPSA is dedicated to ensure that as many means of communication exist between the project and everyone else in the community- hence this website. To add to this we now have a fan page on Facebook. so if you are a member you can join our page and contribute to the goings on there.

If you want to be kept abreast of what is going on in the TIPSA office you can also follow us on Twitter . This will be a good way of being one of the first to find out any news or info that you may be interested in. Feel free to add us to your "followed" list.

We look forward to hearing from you, particularly with any suggestions as to how we can do things better or even for content you would like to see us post online.

TIPSA is developing and widening our remit. Following successful tender applications that were submitted in the latter part of 2008, the project will now have two distinct strands, which are basically two projects running concurrently. As ever TIPSA is the funded project to deliver alcohol and other drugs awareness for young people throughout the Mid-Ulster area, encompassing Cookstown and Magherafelt District Council areas. This aspect will be headed up by Marty, and we would like to emphasise that TIPSA's services are available to any group or organisation who have the concerns of young people at heart, be this a youth club, sports club, church group, an ad hoc group or whatever- contact TIPSA to find out what services you can avail of, normally at no cost.

Eugene will be responsible for the other strand of work that will come under the TIPSA banner. This will build on the work already done with adults, particularly those deemed vulnerable or at risk. Again TIPSA will work with anyone from any section of the community who feels that some adults they know could benefit from education and prevention work in relation to alcohol and/ or other drugs. 

It is hoped to launch a major publicity drive within the next few weeks to highlight the developments within the project. This will be on  the back of the information leaflet that every house in the district should have received within the past few months. If you did not get a leaflet or want more of them, contact us.

Introducing the Strengthening Families Programme

This is a programme which TIPSA will pilot in the coming months subject to sufficient interest from potential participants.

The SFP10-14 makes extensive use of video material portraying pro-social behaviours, and the programme is suitable for families from any background. The SFP10-14 has seven two hour sessions for parents and young people, who attend separate skill-building groups for the first hour and spend the second hour together in supervised family activities.

If you are a parent with children or an organisation who would like to find out more about the Strengthening Families Programme contact TIPSA for further details, either by email at the address on this site or by telephone on; 028 8676 3388

Do you use Hotmail to contact TIPSA?

TIPSA has been having issues recently sending and receiving e-mails to/from our info@cookstownhelp.com  from anyone using a hotmail.com or hotmail.co.uk address. If you are on our mailing list and have not received anything recently this could be the problem. We are trying to get this sorted but if you feel that you have been missing out on anything phone us or use tipsa@hotmail.co.uk until the issue is resolved.

As of Monday 26th January 2009, cannabis has been reclassified yet again. It has been moved back to Class B, from where it was moved to a Class C in January 2004. This move was brought about by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, despite recommendations from the Advisory Committee on the Misuse Of Drugs, who advise government on drug related policies, that it should remain Class C. 

It is planned to introduce a "three strikes" system for cannabis possession, starting with a warning, then an £80 spot fine for a second offence.

Only when a third offence is committed, will the person be liable to arrest and prosecution. 

It is important to note that while the media has concentrated on the reclassification as referring to Wales and England, it also applies to Northern Ireland. 

A Group of young people from Riverside Castledawson at a recent TIPSA session.

As of Monday September 1st 2008, it is now illegal for shop staff to sell cigarettes or other tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18. While this does NOT make it illegal for under-18s to smoke, more individuals should expect to be asked for ID when purchasing, since it will be an offence to provide anyone under that age with cigarettes. For more information check out www.tobaccoagechangeni.com. 

Gortalowry House Ltd., 94 Church St., Cookstown, Co. Tyrone BT80 8HX.
Tel: 028 8676 3388

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