I'm Hugh Murray

I did research in my honours; right now, I’m trying to publish that work. I did a lot of my inquiry on young adults who use cannabis – a topic of huge contention. A lot of research is focused on medicinal use, but I wanted to find out the impact of the use of recreational marijuana on a young adult. Studies have shown that young people perceive cannabis as a drug that bears little harm to the recipient, and even though the studies go against this notion, this perception continues to rise.

It is why I am passionate about this. I see the harm that it does; marijuana does lead to poorer outcomes for the user. People are more at risk of psychological harm such as schizophrenia or even small things like feeling more down or anxious than you used to be, especially for long term users. My project was trying to understand young and long-term users, finding out how different each and every user truly was. I found that half of prolonged users suffer psychological impediments in their life. In science, we look at the facts. But right now, there is no screening process for each individual in regards to the effects of the use of cannabis, unlike the use of tobacco or alcohol.

Users and the public are still refuting that there is nothing wrong with marijuana, but when you ask them to show their evidence they tell you the story of someone or anyone that they know of; sometimes that story is of themselves. But as you study science, you start to become more skeptical of these ideas, but sceptical doesn’t mean pessimistic, you just don’t accept things on face value. You question everything.

Unfortunately, questioning everything is not something the public does, just like anti-vaxxers. It’s hard to tell someone how they should decide on certain issues. Even if you could reach them, even if you showed it to them, they don’t necessarily understand it nor do they believe it.

Young people can be so harsh on scientists; the belief that they only focus on the negative impacts of drugs. But we do focus on the positives. Look at the legalization of the medical use of marijuana in Victoria. But it’s the street drug that concerns us most and it is the street drug that is of interest. We want to know exactly what is wrong with it, so we know exactly what component is harbouring the worst side effects of marijuana and maybe then we can treat people more effectively.

I left school when I was in Year 10. Aside from health problems, my teen years were always challenging; my mother was very strict when I was a child and I was always disciplined. I didn’t have a lot of friends growing up in Moe. Many kids treated me as an outsider. Maybe that’s why I didn’t blend in, and why I hated it so much: I could sense myself not being able to fit in with everybody else. But ever since I moved to Melbourne, things have gotten better.

Before selling magazines, I had a job at Docklands Lockwood for 18 years but the place had changed so much I chose to leave of my own accord. Full-time jobs these days seem to need CVs and resumes, which meant often I could barely get my foot in the door let alone achieve an interview. It was why I only managed to gain casual employment here and there but jobs like those never last. I needed something long term.

When I was really struggling, I got in touch with The Big Issue. It’s really helped me get back on my feet: financially and socially. I’ve always been nervous and that’s why I sometimes tick when trying to sell their magazine. So far, I’ve done art, writing and acting courses with the organization, which helped me find the passion I needed to keep going and develop better communication skills. I’ve been selling the big issue here for 6 years now, and I’ve met a few students along the way. But after a while, they all tend to disappear…

If you’d like to meet Gordon, he sells The Big Issue within Campus Centre, Mondays and Wednesdays. Every $7 Big Issue Magazine you buy helps Gordon take that extra step to get back on his feet.