Pubdate: Fri, 13 Feb 2004
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright: 2004 Guardian Newspapers Limited
Contact:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
Author: Luke Harding

TEACHERS TREATED FOR EATING HASH CAKE

When teachers at Herder school in north Germany discovered a chocolate
cake outside their room, they suspected nothing.

Pupils had often brought in cakes to raise money for charity, so staff
sliced it up and tucked in.

But before too long, 10 teachers from the elite school in Lüneburg
started trembling, feeling unwell and suffering from hallucinations.

Police called in to investigate confirmed that the cake had contained
large amounts of hashish.

All 10 teachers were treated at a clinic after eating the cake on
Wednesday but were later released. The remains of the cake were being
examined, police spokesman Michael Düker said.

"The cake was left outside the room on Wednesday morning before the
break," the school's spokesman, Hans-Christian Höhne, told the
Guardian last night.

"Someone brought it in. A lot of people then had a slice and
three-quarters of the cake was eaten. About two or three hours later
they all started feeling sick. My colleagues were very afraid."

The teachers had suspected nothing because for the past six years
pupils had been bringing in cakes to support a radioactive measuring
station in Chernobyl, he said.

Mr Höhne added: "It's impossible to say whether a student or someone
from outside was responsible. Either way, it was a bad joke. In future
we'll insist that pupils put their names on cakes."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin