Talk show reporter to use illegal drugs on air
06:23 AM CDT on Thursday, September 22, 2005
Associated Press
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - A reporter for a new Dutch television talk show plans to use heroin and other illegal drugs on the air during a weekly program on issues concerning young people, producers said.
The announcement of "Shoot Up and Swallow," scheduled to premiere as a late-night show Oct. 10, has sparked an outcry. Even in the liberal Netherlands, where marijuana is sold and used openly, the proposed drug use by reporter Filemon Wesselink is illegal.
"This is dangerous and it sets a bad example," said Pieter Heerma, spokesman for the governing center-right Christian Democrat party. "We're going to ask the justice minister for his view on what the law says about this, and his view on the dangers and risks involved."
Justice Ministry spokesman Ivo Hommes said it was not immediately clear whether Wesselink could be prosecuted. Possession of any amount of heroin is illegal, but police usually do not arrest anyone with less than a half gram.
The show's in-studio host, Sophie Hilbrand, will interview guests about drug use and abuse, while Wesselink appears in segments taped in the field as he experiments with drugs and liquor.
Another reporter, Ties Van Westing, will do segments about engaging in sex acts, but not on camera.
