From The Daily Telegraph

February 28, 1999
et.letters@telegraph.co.uk
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
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.

(Marijuananews note: There are coffee shops all around the city – and even in most small towns, so the shops in the old quarter, which is not just a "red light district", are not necessarily typical. Shops generally reflect the make up of their neighborhood, like a neighborhood bar.)

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.
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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."

(Marijuananews note: This is a candid appeal for ignorance. Remember these are 16-yearolds.)
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"It is not without reason that marihuana can be bought in coffee houses in Holland.
The Dutch people are not really altogether stupid, you know."

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.

(Marijuananews note: The museum is in the "red light district" but it is just off the corner of a busy pedestrian street. There are also restaurants, shops, and hotels nearby.)
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More About The Cannabis College In Amsterdam

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.

(Marijuananews note: Are solvents also "best kept away from children?" Perhaps by abolishing modern technology. The contrast between the realism of the program and the absurdity of the prohibitionists could not be more clear.)
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"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 UKP 1,600 for four pupils and a teacher to go on the residential course and five-day visit, which Mr Haynes claimed was "very cost-effective". (Marijuananews note: The pound is around US$1.65)

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.

Copyright: Telegraph Group Limited 1999

From Reuters
DUTCH MINISTER TAKES HIGH TONE OVER MARIJUANA JOBS

LEEUWARDEN, Netherlands,
February 26, 1999
(Marijuananews note: Leeuwarden is a city of around 90,000 in the northern Netherlands. It is an agricultural and manufacturing center and is the capital of Friesland Province. Friesland actually has its own language, Friesian, which is spoken in addition to Dutch.)

A Dutch local authority has provoked a minor outcry by subsidising work experience for the unemployed in coffee shops selling marijuana.

(Marijuananews note: Holland has one of the lowest rates of unemployment, and perhaps the healthiest economy on the Continent.)

Soft drugs are technically illegal in the Netherlands but their sale in so-called coffee shops is tolerated under strict conditions, such as that marijuana should not be sold to minors.

Social Affairs Minister Klaas de Vries said this week he was astonished by Leeuwarden council’s decision to pay the wages of four people selling marijuana in some of the city’s coffee shops.

The council doesn’t see what the fuss is about.
(Marijuananews note: This gives a good idea of how widely accepted Dutch cannabis policies are. They are not just something supported by the big cities. Some towns that are too small to support a coffee shop have started one that is owned by the town. They don’t want the young people to have to leave town to have a good time.)

In a letter to the minister, it noted that his predecessor, Ad Melkert, had imposed no restrictions on the sectors qualifying for work experience subsidies.

"If the minister believes the subsidies are not intended for this sector, then the law should be changed (to reflect that)," the letter said.