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By Eli J. Ridder | @EliRidder

School, board and SafeLink Alberta responses to safe illicit substance consumption pamphlets

Dec 14, 2023 | 4:21 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Medicine Hat High School received backlash on Thursday after students saw instructions for how to safely prepare illicit substances for consumption earlier this week.

The school principal, superintendent and the organization involved with distributing safe illicit consumption brochures to Medicine Hat High School students earlier this week all issued responses to the incident.

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Here’s what each of them said:

Letter to parents on Wednesday

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Students and families,

We wanted to connect with you to address a concern that has been brought forward to our administrative team.

Yesterday we hosted a wellness fair that was intended to connect youth to resources and supports that are available in our community. We do this each December, to make sure youth have an awareness of the types of supports that are available over the winter break when schools are closed.

We want families to be aware that one agency shared information in their display materials that was not appropriate for a school setting. Administration quickly identified the inappropriate materials and had them removed immediately. We will use this situation as an example when we connect with our community partners to reinforce our school standards and the importance of sharing age-appropriate materials. To be clear, we are not okay with this content being shared in our school and are committed to doing better. We want to share a sincere apology with our students and families.

We are dedicated to the wellness of our students and will continue to offer resources to students and families, and we value our partnerships with community agencies.

I am happy to address your questions and concerns. Please connect with me at 402.527.3371

— Dean Brown, principal of Medicine Hat High School

—

Thursday afternoon SafeLink statement

To Whom it May Concern,

SafeLink Alberta has been made aware of concerns expressed by parents of students who attended a Wellness Fair at Medicine Hat High School on December 12, 2023 relating to education materials distributed by our team. Materials distributed included two pamphlets on safer substance use practices published by CATIE, a leading source of free, publicly available, and evidence-based information on sexually transmitted and blood borne infections in Canada. Secondary and post secondary use of substances such as off label amphetamines is not uncommon in southern Alberta; in sharing this information, our intention is not to promote substance use, particularly in youth. but to support anyone already using substances to make informed decisions that prevent further harms, including overdose death and disease transmission, and to support access to recovery and treatment information where needed.

Intentions aside, we recognize that this information may be alarming to parents who are
unaware of substance use trends in youth and who would prefer to be made aware of the
resources being offered to their children in advance. We apologize for any
miscommunication with Medicine Hat High School about the specific content of the
substance use education materials that were requested for this event. Our team confirms that less than 10 of each brochure were distributed at the event, and that the materials were immediately removed upon request within the first hour.
If there are consenting parents who would like more information on substance use or sexual activity in youth, please visit safelinkalberta.ca or connect with us at info@safelinkalberta.ca.

—

Thursday afternoon statement from the school division

“As a father, educator, superintendent, and member of our community I was angered by the materials SafeLink displayed for students at Medicine Hat High School’s wellness fair.

These materials were not reviewed ahead of time by staff. When school administration became aware they acted immediately to have them removed.

While we believe that SafeLink plays an important role in our broader community, we are not able to reach an agreement regarding what is appropriate in a school setting.

As a result of this incident, we are redoubling our efforts to ensure all outside agencies understand the need for caution, respect, and sound judgement when they are guests in our schools.”

— Mark Davidson, superintendent of the Medicine Hat Public School Division