As the inquiry into the deaths of young people at music festivals continues, listeners have shared their own experiences with illicit drugs.

A coronial inquest into the deaths of six people at NSW music festivals is underway after a string of drug-related deaths over the last two years.

Steve Price weighed in on the debate, prompting a huge number of calls about how young people can be educated about the risks of taking illegal drugs.

These astonishing calls put the entire drug debate into perspective. This isn’t theoretical, these are real Australians facing real battles.

Jessica

Jessica tells Steve her 47-year-old daughter’s life has been ruined by her recreational drug use in the 70s.

“She was a perfectly normal, vibrant young woman, and for the last 15 to 20 years we have experienced her two suicide attempts. She has permanent brain damage which doctors have attributed to her ecstasy taking. She takes anti-psychotics, she takes anti-depressants.”

Jessica says she hopes young people might reconsider taking drugs if they understood the long-term risks.

“If they think that their life will be ruined from these drugs by permanent brain damage, and trust me it does happen, then maybe we can get through to them.”

Click PLAY below to hear Jessica’s call

Greg

Greg has a different point of view, telling Steve he took a fair amount of ecstasy in the 90s and hasn’t suffered any long-term effects.

“I hold a very responsible job, I’m totally lucid, there’s nothing wrong with me. And I’m not saying that taking illegal drugs is safe, because it’s not safe, you just have to be aware that people are going to take them.

“There’s always gonna be a risk with that sort of thing… you try and do your best to mitigate it as opposed to putting your head in the sand.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full story

Debbie

But Debbie says she’s horrified when she hears calls like Greg’s because she knows first-hand how drugs can destroy lives.

“There is no safe way to take illegal drugs.

“I’m actually raising my two granddaughters because their mother passed away three years ago from a drug overdose.

“In my opinion, we have to do massive ad campaigns like we did with the Grim Reaper, like we’ve done with cigarettes… we have to change the culture.”

Click PLAY below to hear Debbie’s story