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Joint Project Informs Youth About Cannabis
An exhibition in Basel is setting out the facts about cannabis to Swiss young people – a quarter of whom smoke dope.
Philippe Kropf | swissinfo | 12/02/2004

“Cannabis – quo vadis”, which is aimed mainly at schoolchildren, comes after a study revealed that Swiss teenagers smoke more joints than their peers in other European countries.

One in four Swiss teenagers smoke cannabis, which is socially widely accepted in Switzerland and generally considered to be harmless.

Susan Schärrer, an actress and social worker with the cantonal education department of Basel City, has been working in addiction counselling for more than 15 years.

“We do not want to wag our finger at teenagers but instead to provide useful information about cannabis consumption,” she said of the exhibition.

Schärrer explained that the exhibition was aimed at teenagers aged 13 to 18 and that experts would take school classes on guided tours.

Interactive

Organised in an interactive way it is meant to encourage visitors to learn about the soft drug, its effects as well as the legal aspects and consequences of cannabis use, she added.

Hans Martin Tschudi, a canton Basel City parliamentarian, says the exhibition is a good way of preventing young people from developing a dope habit. He says it could also make young people take a more critical attitude towards cannabis and drugs in general.

“After seeing the exhibition teenagers know about the effects of cannabis, so they can decide whether or not to keep away from drugs,” Schärrer agreed.

Prevention

The exhibition is part of a prevention project entitled “School and Cannabis”. It was organised by a forum of experts from Germany, France and Switzerland.

Organisers said that preparations for the bilingual exhibition, currently on show in Basel, started two years ago and that it would move to France and Germany next year.

“The exhibition has aroused great interest,” said canton Basel official Marc Flückiger. “More than 100 school classes from Basel have signed up.”

Teacher Werner Laschinger remarked that it was the right time for his class to deal with the issue.

“Not many of my pupils smoke cigarettes, but I do not know how many of them consume cannabis,” he explained.

He added that cannabis consumption was an issue at his school and that it occasionally happened that pupils were under the influence in class.

Daily joint

The Swiss Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Addiction says many Swiss teenagers smoke a joint every day.

A survey conducted in 2000 found that a quarter of teenagers aged 15 to 24 admitted consuming cannabis on a regular basis.

Visitors to the exhibition are invited to anonymously disclose whether and how often they have smoked cannabis.

By encouraging the pupils to participate, experts hope to get information about cannabis consumption among teenagers in Switzerland, Germany and France.

“Yes, I have smoked cannabis in the past,” one pupil told swissinfo, “except for one person, everybody in my class took dope.”

Unlawful

Switzerland, like the Netherlands, is considered to have a liberal attitude towards soft drugs.

Last June parliament decided against legalising cannabis, a move that could have made it easier to control drug trafficking.

Susan Schärrer observed that many teenagers did not know the law on cannabis possession and use.

“Many [young people] believe that the possession of cannabis for personal use is legal,” she explained.

But the exhibition makes it clear that “a person caught possessing, dealing or growing [cannabis] can expect to be reported to the police”.

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SacredJellybean

Wah-hay!! What a brilliant idea! Now, when will we civilized Americans come up with the same idea? When will we grow the brains to realize that we're only confusing children when we show alcohol as a socially acceptable drug, then shamelessly hype up the adverse effects of a much less harmful drug, like pot?

It's so depressing, sometimes... But at least it's refreshing to read about countries like Switzerland that have some sense in them. If only our leaders would follow their example...

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"Every age has its peculiar folly and if Charles Mackay, the author of the 19th century classic, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds were alive today he would surely see 'cannabinophobia' as a popular delusion along with the 'tulipmania' and 'witch hunts' of earlier ages. ... I also believe that future historians will look at this epoch and recognize it as another instance of the 'madness of crowds.'"
~Dr. Lester Grinspoon