Shared Responsibility

Colombian Ambassador warns Scots kids about cocaine

Written by STV News Tuesday, 23 February 2010 00:00

(To see the related video please click here.)

New scheme will see teenagers in Portobello taught about the impact the drugs trade has on the world's top cocaine-producing nation.

School kids in Edinburgh have been given a warning about the impact of the recreational drugs industry by a high-ranking official from the world's top cocaine-producing nation.

Colombia's UK Ambassador Mauricio Rodriguez Munera told teenagers in the capital about the social and environmental damage that cocaine has led to in his country.

Mr Rodriguez said the drug had left Colombia facing deforestation, pollution, corruption and violence.

And he used a visit to Portobello High School to unveil his government's "Shared Responsibility" project, which is aimed at educating the international community about the problems caused by illegal drug use.

The scheme highlights the plight of hundreds of Columbian families, displaced because 2.2 million hectares of forest have been destroyed to grow coca plants in the past 20 years.

Mr Rodriguez said: "To win the battle against drugs, we must significantly reduce both production and consumption. This is important for Scotland - to end the terrible public health threat.

"It is important for Colombia - to protect our rainforests and diversity and to improve employment and alternative opportunities for our people, particularly through the access to free markets within the European Union."

Mr Rodriguez was accompanied by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, who said: "Cocaine destroys families and communities, it funds criminal activity and it destroys our environment. The cost of cocaine isn't just measured in cash - it's measured in lives.

"Some might think that cocaine doesn't have an impact on their lives and that it's a harmless party drug. But we know different.

"Dealing with Scotland's drug problem isn't straightforward. It involves a combination of education, prevention, treatment and enforcement - and a shared determination."

Portobello High School will now become one of the first in Scotland to integrate the Columbian project into the curriculum for S1 and S5 pupils. The school will be working alongside Girvan Academy in South Ayrshire, which will be visited by Mr Rodriguez on Wednesday.

Portobello headteacher Peigi Macarthur said: "This is a tremendous educational opportunity for all of our pupils."

In 2008, 79 people in Scotland died from an overdose involving cocaine.