Statement read on behalf of Turkey: Distinguished guests. I have started the Liberal Droga 2020 programme. This is apolitical and nonparty committee made of citizens and volunteers. We are gradually involving others in the sector to ensure an ongoing standard that distinguishes not only for new found beauty and inviting cleanliness and aesthetics. More and more are talking with attention and responsibility. This is evidence that something is changing. We are making a contribution by joining forces and achieving a good level of awareness.

Ms. Cigdem Bayram: Turkish Green Crescent society was founded in 1920 for combatting alcohol addition. Other types of addiction have joined regarding preventing activities. All programmes are developed under these heading. Today we are serving to the communities with 170 branches in many cities. Many at university level, 40 counseling centre. To combat addiction, more than 70 countries have assembled. Close collaboration with protective and preventing programmes. We are taking into account prevention with awareness training and counselling services with holistic approach. School-based intervention programme used guidance applied by counselling centres. It is focused on individual interviews and children guided by counsellors for a healthy lifestyle and sports activities. Some trigger factors- adolescence is a critical period in development of addiction. Onset of dependence in turkey is associated. According to effectiveness of awareness training since 2014, training cognitively effectively who have never used it. But the new programme is for those who have tried it. System functions fluently. In Turkey we prefer to send student using substance to another school, but this practice increased risk of other students and worstened the students situation. SBIP empowers the school and family. Programme has been implemented in last year. Decided to disseminate to whole country to focus on traing. We have a practitioners kit which has guidebooks, videos etc. We are giving technical assistance. Have 500 practitioners from all provinces of turkey. 60% at the school level. Developed a special software for practitioners which is the basis of the system. We focus on the communication skills mostly in the training programme. The most common cases are related to tobacco, alcohol and substance use. It was found that 17.3% of students who used to smoke quit smoking by 6 interviews. Student after the interview developed new skills and focused on healthy lives. It was found that 40% of students that used alcohol quit alcohol completely after the 3rd interview. Interview techniques and style are prepared for school-based programme. We care about learning from each other and shareing best practices. We have created special sessions for best practice in evaluation meetings. Very effective way to revise the programme and develop the software. Provided opportunity to learn. Finally, in first year of programme, practitioners came up with meaningful feedback and they feel more motivated to create protective factors. The family involvement, interview details and communication are really important as an output of the programme.

Chair: Thank you for your dedication to the protection and prevention of young people. Participation is the way out. Robert Galibert is going to speak about why we have to stay away from cannabis and why knowledge is key to protect the youth.

Robert Galibert: Share special light on cannabis. Carried in a gigantic propaganda campaign. Drug prescribed by real doctor, for a special condition? Cosmetic? Can we consider cannabis as therapeutic? Hippocrates gave the first principle- ‘do not harm’. Cannabis contains more than 400 different poisons, not all have been studied. The racial risk-benefit. The benefit is very small and the risk is enormous. Sometimes there are miracle links. Another fundamental principle is the placebo effect. We hear about miracle cures, but one has to take into account the placebo effect which is 30% of all healings. The product is toxic. Can cannabis be considered a medicine or a drug? We need to consider the cirteria of a medication. Duration must be defined by quantity and the weight of the person. With cannabis you don’t know how long the effect will last. The medicine acts in a particular function on the body. Because cannabis receptors are everywhere in the body, they act on multiple functions at the same time. Medication acts in a way that is specific and predictable. Cannabis has a contradictory effect, as it can be a pain killer or give you a migraine etc. And has unpredictable effect- not the same on everyone. It depends on the quality, quantity etc. It can be concluded that the effects are non specific and non-predicable. Cannabis does not meet any of the criteria of a medication. What about hemp products, CBD etc. We need to define what is a cannabinoid. It is a family of molecules that is present in cannabis that activate the cannabis receptors in the human body. These receptors regulate the majority of the body’s function. There is CB1, CB2. These receptions are cannabinoid receptors as discovered as the action on the body. In our body there is many cannabinoid receptors. We must know that there is a normal human endocannainoid system. The human system is distruped by phyto-cannabinoid. There are almost no receptors on the vital organs of the body which is why there is no cannabis overdose. The person becomes a zombie but the body is still alive which is why its called a soft drug. The more that drugs are fat soluble the more they accumulate in the fat tissues such as the brain, testicles etc. How much is a drug fat or water soluble? You see how much is stored in the water and how much in fat when a substance is mixed with water and oil. THC dissolves in the fat 99.9999999%. This is the most fat-soluble drug existing. There are more than 100 cannabinoids. We don’t know the effect of most of them. The ones studied most are THC and CBD. CBD is non-psychoactive and THC is psychoactive. As you can see they are very close in molecule. In some studies, in an acidic area, CBD can turn into THC. This may explain the side effect of CBD consumption which is sedative, dry mouth, dizziness, blood pressure, nausea, migraine, insomnia, increased tremor etc. Cannabis is prescribed to pregnant women and so the baby is already drugged before it is born. We must know that many studies showing that cannabis is associated with psychosis mainly schizophrenia. Cannabis can cause chromothripsis- explosion of the chromosome which can cause cancer in children age 3 and 4. When man and women make a baby, a part of chromosome of each. During this, a branch explodes and is reconstituted. This may explain the recent increase in child cancer. Cannabis had increased in potency 25 times more. Risk of irreversible genetic change that can destroy generations.

Chair: Why does cannabis sativa or indica is producing THC? We will discuss later. Cannabis is a psychoactive substance. Just another way of controlling people. We already know that from the past history. Education is the real solution. Leonardo Devinci said “it is ignorance that blinds and misleads.” Education is the ultimate tool to effectively highlight the sad reality of drug use. We finally will win the “war on drugs” for a happy and successful life. Look at cannabis- it creates a high to protect the species of cannabis for 5000 years, as the Chinese found out this. One animal which can call man. We are eating cannabis as they know that they will have a kind of high and not aware of the danger of the environment anymore. If the sheep is eating cannabis it would not run fast enough to escape the wolf. There is an animal which find it funny to smoke and eat and use cannabis.