By Community Correspondent Sofia Popov

Recently, schools in the Sutton borough have had students expelled for drug possession and police have raided local parties catching many youths smoking a joint. What we have to think about is whether these youngsters truly know the harms of these drugs on their lives; if, by luck, these poisonous chemicals don’t harm your health, the implications of being captured possessing such drugs will surely still ruin your life.

The general teenage attitude to drugs is split: on one hand, drugs are seen as ‘cool,’ an indication of status and how ‘hard’you are. Diversely, drugs are illustrated and accepted as what they truly are: an illegal class B drug that can cause serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia in the long-term. In short,cannabis will affect coordination and many different systems in the body, including the heart as it increases the heart rate and can affect blood pressure. If you’re caught with even a small amount of cannabis the police will confiscate the drug and you can be arrested and the maximum penalty for possession is five years in prison plus an unlimited fine.

Ultimately, remember that breaking the law leads to a criminal record. A criminal record effects job prospects and even whether you can go on holiday to some countries. Having one spliff could negatively affect your whole life; how fun would that be?