An Auckland school has defended giving its students a pamphlet with instructions on how to use methamphetamine.
Massey High School runs a Level 3 health course for Year 13 students that requires them to "analyse a health issue", which in this case is meth use by 15- to 24-year-olds.
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On Tuesday students were given a pamphlet published by drugfree.org, which included a guideline about how best to use the Class A drug. It told them to keep less than five grams for personal use to avoid being prosecuted, and advised them that swallowing meth is safer than injecting it.
The pamphlet also provided tips about eating regularly and keeping hydrated while under the influence of meth.
A woman whose daughter was given the pamphlet posted pages from it on Facebook, which attracted outrage from others in the school community.
In response to the post, Massey High School principal Glen Denham told Newshub the situation has been "totally misconstrued".
"It's preposterous and absurd to think that any school would issue instructions to kids about drug use," he says.
"This misrepresentation of us handing pamphlets out to students is completely false."
He says the pages that were circulated on social media were "two out of literally hundreds" from a lengthy book containing material from a New Zealand Drug Foundation educational programme, which is funded by the Ministry of Health.
"It's been taken completely out of context."
In a statement Massey High School says the instructions on meth use were aimed at current users who want to stop, and that when taken in context of the rest of the pamphlet the dangers of the drug are apparent.
The school has taught the same material for the past four years, and Mr Denham says most secondary schools around New Zealand would have been provided with the same information.
The government-issued information is publically available on the internet.
Mr Denham says the health class in question of 22 students has been given a "plethora of resources", and the instructions on how to use meth were not explicitly taught.
"Methamphetamine use is a nation-wide issue," he says of the curriculum.
"It's important for our kids to understand the negatives of it."
He says he regrets the parent who posted the pages online did so before the school was able to discuss any concerns the mother had about the material.
Newshub.
