2. UK prince smoked canabis
UK prince smoked cannabis
Before you start reading, study the following vocabulary:
Attend
Admit
Deny
Godchild
Treatment
Expose
UK prince smoked cannabis
The youngest son of Prince Charles has attended a drug rehabilitation clinic after he admitted smoking cannabis.
Royal officials did not deny information published in a tabloid newspaper on Sunday that Harry, third in line to the British throne, told his father that he smoked marijuana and drank heavily at a pub near Prince Charles's Highgrove country estate in western England last summer, when he was 16.
In Britain, possession of cannabis, a class B controlled substance, is punishable by up to five years in prison, although the government has proposed making possession a non-arrestable offence. The legal age for buying alcohol is 18.
But a Buckingham Palace spokesman said the prince had never used stronger drugs and had not taken any substances since then. A spokesman for St James's Palace, Prince Charles's official residence, said: "This is a serious matter which was resolved within the family, and is now in the past and is now closed."
Harry had experimented with marijuana over a two-month period at Highgrove, at a nearby pub and at private parties held by friends. Charles was often away on business and Harry's brother Prince William was away travelling on a "gap" year between leaving school and starting university, the newspaper said.
Harry's visit to the rehabilitation center lasted a couple of hours. "He was friendly and relaxed, and the residents received him warmly," said the head of the center.
Scandals involving drink and drugs have dogged the circle of friends of Prince Harry and his elder brother William, whose mother died in a car crash in 1997.
Last year, Nicholas Knatchbull, one of Prince Charles's godchildren received treatment at a drug rehabilitation clinic. Tom Parker Bowles – another godchild and son of Prince Charles's partner, Camilla Parker Bowles – was exposed as a cocaine user two years ago. His cousin, Emma Parker Bowles, admitted in 2000 that she had been treated for drink and drug addiction.
Questions
What do the following phrases mean?
- "Non-arrestable offence" means:
- "This is a serious matter which was resolved within the family" means:
- "Gap year" means:
- "Drug addiction" means:
- "Scandals involving drink and drugs have dogged the circle of friends" means:
Are the following statements about the text correct?
1. Harry told his father he smoked marijuana.
2. Harry had to stay at the rehab clinic for one week.
3. Harry experimented with marijuana for a long period of time.
4. Harry is the only person of the Royal Family who had some drug problems.
5. If you have cannabis in Britain, you can go to prison for five years.