Pubdate: Thu, 13 Mar 2003
Source: Marlborough Express (New Zealand)
Copyright: Independent Newspapers Limited 2003
Contact: 03 578 0497
Website: http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1008,0a4603,FF.html
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1139

DRUGS, ALCOHOL PART OF GROWING UP IN NZ - US PSYCHIATRIST

Drug and alcohol use is an accepted part of growing up in New Zealand, says 
an American child psychiatrist.

While most of the issues facing young people in New Zealand and the United 
States were the same, one obvious difference was the general complacency in 
the New Zealand society towards the use of alcohol and soft drugs amongst 
teenagers, Joe Babinski, who has just taken up a permanent position with 
the Nelson-Marlborough District Health Board, said.

Dr Babinski worked as a child psychiatrist in North Carolina for 14 years 
before moving to New Zealand in July last year.

"There seems to be a laissez-faire attitude in families and in the 
population in general towards alcohol and drugs. Alcohol and cannabis use 
is viewed as part and parcel of normal adolescent life," Dr Babinski said.

"In the (United) States I've seen third generation cocaine users. But in 
general, there is more of a hard line towards drug use."

Drug and alcohol use is widely acknowledged as a trigger for mental health 
problems and alcohol is a common cause of depression, both in adults and 
teenagers.

Last month Marlborough coroner Peter Radich described the link between 
cannabis use and youth suicide as "difficult to ignore".

Latest OECD figures show New Zealand has the highest rate of suicide in the 
developed world for young people under 25.

Drug Awareness Relief Movement (Drug Arm) Marlborough spokesman Paul 
Fletcher said he had noticed an increasing acceptance of drug and alcohol 
use over the last five years.

Many families were aware of drug use and many drunk young teenagers on 
Blenheim streets got their alcohol from parents, he said.

The ageing of the 1960s and 1770s generations meant increased acceptance of 
drug use across society, Mr Fletcher said.

"It's become socially acceptable to smoke dope in all age groups, even 
though it's illegal. I had a 55-year-old tell me the other day he watched a 
movie and didn't get much out of it so he had a joint and watched it again."

Mr Fletcher said the Government's approach increasingly seemed to be a case 
of "If it's too hard to sort out we will legalise it".

He argued a harder line, with prosecution and stiffer penalties for 
cannabis possession, was needed to prevent drug use from spiralling out of 
control.

Alcohol and Drug Association chief executive Paul Traynor agreed the level 
of social acceptance of drug and alcohol use was too high, including 
elderly dependence on pain relievers and prescription drugs.

However he believed the best way to tackle the issue was to provide 
positive role models.

"The only way we will see change is when our leadership starts to model the 
behaviour we want to see. Right across the board - at parental level, in 
schools, in the ministry. Everybody needs to wake up and say this is our 
problem. It's too often fobbed off as a youth problem."
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MAP posted-by: Beth