Drug lesson goes awry

– Melissa Meehan
STUDENTS at a local secondary school have been told how to “safely” take drugs by a social worker visiting the school.
Pakenham Secondary College principal Ray Squires has agreed the speaker may have been “too frank” in answering a question from a student and assured parents it would not happen again.
Mr Squires said the comment, if taken in isolation, was clearly out of context with the intent of the talk, which warned students of the dangers of drug taking.
Worried mum Melissa Holden said a social worker went to the school on Thursday to talk about drugs to Year 11 and 12 students.
“They were given advice about how to take drugs safely,” she said. “Including inserting them anally … I am disgusted. I was not asked permission. Where have our rights as parents gone?”
Another parent, Suzanne Schaarschmidt, said her daughter, a Year 10 student, was also present during the discussion.
Mr Squires told the Gazette yesterday that the school relied on external expertise because it was vital that students learned about the harm associated with drugs.
“Unfortunately, in this instance the drug and alcohol expert was too frank in answering a question from a student,” he said.
“We have discussed this incident with the agency and he has assured us this would not happen again.”
A Department of Education and Early Childhood Development spokeswoman said the matter was taken very seriously and the department wanted to assure the public that this was not part of the standard approach to drug and alcohol education in Victorian schools.