When parents send their children to school, they expect their kids to receive a good education. They want their offspring to learn more about topics such as math, geography, and history. However, for one Canadian parent, her 13-year-old son’s drama lesson at school was more akin to a narcotics project.
Delight Greenidge, of Ontario, was shocked when she learned her son had come home with instructions on how to cook crystal meth. Speaking to CBC News, Greenidge first discovered her son’s unusual assignment when the Grade 8 youngster asked her how to make a tourniquet.
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According to the stunned parent, when she asked her son why he needed to know that, he told her that his drama lesson assignment was on how to make and inject crystal meth. Aghast with shock, Greenidge says that she “popped a blood vessel” at the time.
School board astonished at shocking revelation
Greenidge’s son, who asked not to be identified, is a student at Erin Mills Middle School in Mississauga, Ontario. The boy claimed that his drama class teacher handed out the printed instructions for his group as part of an assignment.
The group was initially meant to make a skit about an old television program using emotions. At the time, the team’s idea didn’t come to fruition. Greenidge says that her son’s drama class teacher then suggested a crystal meth sketch instead.
The Peel District School Board shared Greenidge’s concerns when she brought the revelation up with Erin Mills Middle School. They have confirmed that the teacher in question handed out the crystal meth cooking instructions. But, they would not comment further except to say that the teacher has been suspended on full pay pending a full investigation.
Carla Pereira, the communications manager at the school board, says that they share Greenidge’s concerns. She also added that the teacher had downloaded the instructions from the Internet for the group in his drama class.
Seth Fletcher, a counselor with Canadian Centre for Addictions, adds that giving Grade 8 students such material (crystal meth cooking instructions) is dangerous. He also says that the perception of someone in the classroom thinking that it’s okay to take drugs is just as bad as being told how to take them.
The Peel District School Board is unlikely to make the results of the investigation public, stating that it’s a “personnel issue.”
What is crystal meth, and why is it a growing problem?
Depicted by TV programs such as Breaking Bad, crystal meth, also known as “ice” or “glass” is a colorless, odorless, powerful, and highly addictive synthetic psychostimulant. It gives users a long-lasting euphoric effect and produces similar effects to cocaine, boosting dopamine levels by 1,500%.
Often smoked in pipes, crystal meth has become a growing problem for Canada in recent years. According to official statistics, almost 5% of the population have admitted trying crystal meth, with 70% of crystal meth abuse happens during “rave” parties. Further, the country is also a big producer of the substance, with much of the drug exported to Europe and Japan.
