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High school defends pamphlet advising students how to take meth

A New Zealand high school has defended it’s choice to provide students with instructions on how to use meth, after a “revolted” mother shared pictures to Facebook of the drug guide given to students as a resource.

Senior students at Auckland’s Massey High School were on Tuesday given a pamphlet published by drugfree.org, which included 10 tips on using meth, as part of a Level 3 health course.

The government-issued fact sheet told the class of 22 to never carry more than five grams of the illicit drug which is the threshold to be classified as personal use.

The pamphlet also provided tips on cleaning pipes used to smoke meth and not using the drug after 3pm if you were intending to sleep.

A high school has defended it’s choice to provide students with instructions on how to use meth, after a “revolted” mother shared pictures to Facebook of the drug guide given to students. Source: AAP
A high school has defended it’s choice to provide students with instructions on how to use meth, after a “revolted” mother shared pictures to Facebook of the drug guide given to students. Source: AAP

A mother was outraged by the resource, sharing pictures of the pamphlet to Facebook on Tuesday.

“Im revolted at this. This is school curriculum WTF!” she wrote.

“APPARENTLY this isnt curriculum but a resource. Still dont agree. Was never informed. Would never have consented to this.”

In response to the post, Massey High School principal Glen Denham told Newshub the fact sheet was taken out of context and had been “totally misconstrued” by the student’s mother.

The resource was reportedly provided to the Year 13 students who were tasked to “analyse a health issue”, which in this case is meth use by 15 to 24-year-olds.

Mr Denham said the health class was given a “plethora of resources” for the project, and the instructions on how to use meth were not explicitly taught in class.

A mother was outraged by the resource, sharing pictures of the pamphlet to Facebook on Tuesday. Source: Facebook
A mother was outraged by the resource, sharing pictures of the pamphlet to Facebook on Tuesday. Source: Facebook

“It’s preposterous and absurd to think that any school would issue instructions to kids about drug use,” he said.

“This misrepresentation of us handing pamphlets out to students is completely false.”

He said the pages shared on Facebook were “two out of literally hundreds” from a lengthy resource from a New Zealand Drug Foundation’s educational program, funded by the Ministry of Health.

“It’s been taken completely out of context.”

Defending the school’s use of resources, the principal added that methamphetamine use was a widespread issue and it was important for students to understand the negatives of it.

The school said in a statement the instructions on meth use were aimed at current users who want to stop, and that when taken in context of the other pages of the booklet, the dangers of the drug were apparent.

Mr Denham said he regretted that the parent shared the pages on social media before raising concerns about the material directly with the school.

Massey High School said the pamphlet provided to senior health class students was taken out of context. Source: Facebook
Massey High School said the pamphlet provided to senior health class students was taken out of context. Source: Facebook

Drug Foundation executive director Ross Bell said the information sheet was usually provided to prison inmates, specifically for current meth users, but supported the school in using it as a resource.

“I applaud Massey High School for using it in the context that they used it in,” he said.

Despite the school’s response and the Drug Foundation’s backing, the mum disagreed and said the information was an obvious guide on drug use.

“It reads through, very clearly, on ways to do meth and how to hide meth.

“I am all for drug education and keeping our children aware but to blatantly publish a step-by-step guide on how to clean your pipes, swallow instead of injecting … in a way is disturbing,” she told Stuff NZ.