Expected time of activity : 30 minutes for each . You may choose to do both activities one after the other , depending on available time .
Activity1 or Activity 2
Activity 1 : Ask participants to discuss stereotypical images of the drug user . Then examine the ’ differences ’ between a drug user and a nondrug user . The exercise requires that participants step into the role of a stereotypical depiction of a drug user . The goal of the exercise is to encourage participants to examine stereotypes of drug users and also to bring into discussion the reasons that some people use drugs .
Key points in the discussion :
o A drug user can be anyone in a society o Drug users are diverse ( e . g ., different ages , genders , cultural backgrounds , social statuses , incomes ) o Most drug users have friends , families , jobs , health problems , personal problems , etc ., just like people who don ’ t use drugs
Activity 2 : Form groups of four role-play four attitudes that illustrate the most common intervention models for addressing drug use . Depending on time , you may ask them to simply perform these roles with one another in small groups or pick four people to perform these roles in front of the whole group .
The four roles are :
1 . The drug user (” I am a victim of my peers ”) 2 . The police officer (” drug users are offenders ”) 3 . The doctor (” drug addiction is an illness like any other ”) 4 . The addiction specialist (” addiction has many causes and can only be solved through a multi-disciplinary intervention ”)
At the end of the activity , participants who played the different roles will present their feelings / states of mind during the exercise and will state one strong point and one weak point about the attitude they represented . It ’ s important that you facilitate a dialogue about the