Helen Anderson, a police community support officer in Henley-on-Thames, made the local news recently for finding what she thought were 32 wraps of cannabis laying on the pavement outside Gorvett and Stone Chocolatiers in Duke Street. PCSO Anderson was quick to tell the Henley Standard that “if a dog or small child had found the drugs and eaten them it could have been fatal”.
As soon as the picture of the “cannabis wraps” went out, the Henley Standard found its readership, who are obviously more aware than the PSCO in question, telling them that the photo was in fact 32 “fun snaps”, the kind which kids buy to throw on the floor and make a popping noise.
I really don’t know where to start with this one, evidently nothing much goes on in Henley if this is making the local news. I don’t know what to be most horrified at, the complete lack of knowledge PCSO Anderson displays (most primary age children would have worked out what they were), or the fact that she believes herself to be an expert on cannabis, when she clearly knows nothing.Saying that if a dog or child ate it, it would be fatal is complete rubbish. She is obviously unaware of William Brooke O’Shaughnessy’s experiments with cannabis in India in the mid 1800’s where he administered cannabis to dogs and found it impossible to deliver a lethal dose. It is irresponsible of her to say something which is untrue considering her position within the community in Henley.
“if a dog or small child had found the drugs and eaten them it could have been fatal”.
Maybe the fact that they were outside the chocolate shop made Anderson think that someone had dropped them on a munchie run? Whatever the reasons it is clear that Anderson is not fit for duty and is in fact a liability. Scare mongering and lies should not have a place in policing.
The Henley standard seems to feel the story is worth some attention and is not above having a bit of a dig at Anderson, and rightly so.
“Within minutes of the Standard publishing a picture of the wraps online, readers were quick to point out that they were fun snaps, novelty fireworks, which are available from Bagatelle in Bell Street.
Police have reopened their investigation. It would appear they are now on the lookout for a litter lout rather than a drug dealer.”
All in all PCSO Anderson comes out of this looking like a bit of an idiot. It is important that the people who are supposed to protect us actually know what they are talking about when they speak to papers and journalists; and I would like to see PCSO Anderson clued up on the facts about cannabis.
By Clark French
