Amy McCoy, a representative from Caron Treatment Centers, came to talk to the members of Hawthorne High School’s Peer Leaders about substance abuse on Thursday, January 31, 2013.

McCoy educated students about the five most commonly used substances: tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, inhalants, and over-the-counter and prescription drugs. She used interactive lessons to describe the effects that these substances have on the brain. In one lesson, she had one student represent the part of the brain that sends out messages and another student represent the part that receives messages. Then, other students symbolized some harmful substances and their effects on the brain. Calvin Graham, sophomore at Hawthorne High School, volunteered to act out the effects of a drug known as ecstasy on the brain. He had to scream at the two students that represented the brain to hurry up. The other reenactments were just as informative and as easy to understand.

McCoy also explained the four stages in the cycle of addiction: the learning stage, the regular use, the harmful use, and the dependence stage. In addition to teaching the students everything she had planned for the day, McCoy also left plenty of time to answer questions the students had about the five main substances and also other substances as well. At the end of her presentation, she handed out some literature regarding substances, substance abuse, and substance abuse resources.

“Ms. McCoy was an excellent guest speaker,” said Vanessa Garces, junior at Hawthorne High School. “Not only was she extremely informative but she was also very approachable and easy to talk to. I was not afraid to ask the questions I had about substances and substance abuse.”

McCoy is a representative from Caron Treatment Centers. These are nationally recognized chemical dependency treatment facilities that offer addiction treatment services and also student assistant services and prevention.