– We do experience friends being drugged in the city, but then we don’t quite know what to do because we don’t know the signs, says Andrea Gudbrands, who is leader of the youth council in Skien. She herself was present at the drug meeting in Halden recently, where several drugs were poisoned. It was no one she knew herself, but she has experienced similar episodes in the past. – I have experienced that friends have been drugged, and that we have had to be in contact with both the police and health personnel, she says. Andrea Gudbrans hopes their demands and wishes for better drug education in schools will spread to other schools and municipalities. Photo: Roald Marker / news Can be misinformed by friends The Youth Council in Skien believes that better knowledge about drugs will mean that more young people have a safe youth. – Young people often get information about drugs from friends or from the internet, but it is very up and down how good this information is, says Gudbrands. The young people will therefore learn more at school about how the drugs are used and how they work. Gudbrands believes that this is important when the use among young people is as widespread as it is. – Many young people find that there is mostly scaremongering about drugs in school. In some classes and at some schools, you get to know a little more since it might be something a teacher is passionate about, but most get to know too little. Being heard by the politicians There are now many indications that the young people in Skien are being heard and will soon get a better education program about drugs and intoxicants. After the youth council visited the municipality’s youth committee, a unanimous decision was made among the politicians. There they ask the administration to look at how best to teach about drug use in a realistic way, which includes, for example, the harmful effect, dosage, methods of use and the effect of simultaneous use of several substances. Fredrik Halsen is the representative of the Conservative Party in the education committee in Skien. Photo: Privat – You should not just run this intimidation education, which many young people feel you have had in the past, says Fredrik Halsen (H), who put forward the proposal in the committee. – Will not lead to more use He does not believe that increased knowledge will lead to increased use. – I think that all information about drug use is useful. We see that there are quite a few young people who try it anyway. Then I think it is important that you know a lot. Although the vision is of course that no one should do that, says Halsen. The right-wing politician in Skien remembers even from his time at school that the focus was mostly on the fact that you must never try this, and very little on what the drugs actually do. – The fact that the teaching is more trust-based means that you trust it more, says Halsen. The police: Must avoid that more people are tempted Head of the police’s preventive unit in Telemark, Tor Ragnar Steffensen, believes it is important to ensure that increased information does not lead to increased abuse. – It is important to avoid this becoming a matter of excitement for some young people. That they want to try. Tor Ragnar Steffensen believes that knowledge about drug use is preventive. Photo: Lars Tore Endresen / news He does not rule out that the police can contribute to a new teaching scheme. – If there is a desire, we can discuss it. It is basically positive with increased information about drugs, because it can have a preventive effect. The starting point must be that as few as possible should be tempted to try, but I take that for granted since it is the schools that will be behind this, says Steffensen. Believes the topic must be included in primary school Andrea Gudbrands envisions that knowledge of drugs can become a separate subject in school. And that you gain knowledge about drugs at a young age. – We also hope that some teaching about drugs starts as early as middle school, and not just at secondary school and upper secondary school, she says.
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Demands more honest drug education – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
