Source: The Daily Telegraph (UK)



Pubdate: 28 February 1999





ubject: Anger as police take pupils to cannabis cafes

By Linda Jackson 



SIXTY schoolchildren are to visit cannabis cafes in Amsterdam's red light

district as part of a drugs education project run by police which has angered

parents and teacher groups.



Police believe the teenagers need to have a rounded picture of drug-taking,

even if that means taking them to places where drugs are legal and taken

freely. Downing Street's Social Exclusion Unit has been briefed on the

scheme, which is the brainchild of Bob Haynes, schools liaison officer for

Thames Valley Police.



But news of the project has provoked an angry reaction. Last night the

National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations described the

project as "highly irresponsible" and "dangerous". A spokesman, Margaret

Morrissey, said: "There is a danger that in giving children too much

information about drugs, we encourage them to experiment.



"Youngsters don't need to know all the effects a drug has on the body. They

just need to be taught they are dangerous and how to say no." During a

series of visits in July, the 16-year-olds will also speak to drug offenders

about the problems associated with drug-taking.



There will also be a chance to visit a cannabis museum, which extols the

virtues of the drug tolerated in parts of Holland. On their return to

Britain, the

children will give presentations to younger pupils as part of a project called

Helping Young People by Peer Education. 



Peter Stoker, director of the National Drug Prevention Alliance, described

the programme as a "limp approach which typifies too much of what passes

as drug education. Drugs are best kept away from children. One person's

drug use could be a lot of people's harm," he said.



Mr Haynes defended the scheme, saying children learned best from their

peers, who had to be in a position to answer a wide variety of questions

about drugs and drug-taking. "Through their involvement in the project, the

children learn all about the different ways of taking drugs. This means they

are in a position of knowledge if they are asked about a particular form of

solvent sniffing, for example," he said. 



"If necessary they can advise on a safer way, thus minimising potential harm.

Eventually the more people know about drugs, the more they will understand

they are not an answer to their problems." He said the trip to Amsterdam

was a "reward" for the children after completing a residential weekend and

evening sessions.



"We have a residential weekend in Reading, where children are given

information about drugs, the positive and negative effects, and the methods

of use. They also have to attend three evening sessions," said Mr Haynes.

"The trip to Amsterdam is a reward for going to the classes. It also gives the

children a chance to look at drugs from a different approach.It is up to them

to make their own judgments about whether drugs should be legalised or not.

We don't ask them for their views."



Mr Haynes said there were now 15 schools in Berkshire involved in the

project, which began with a handful of pupils two years ago. Although he

admits there was some initial opposition, he said the scheme soon gained

support.



Schools are charged UKP1,600 for four pupils and a teacher to go on the

residential course and five-day visit, which Mr Haynes claimed was "very

cost-effective". The children are accompanied by police and stay in a

conference hotel on the outskirts of Amsterdam. Question and answer

sessions are held at the end of each day.