A woman whose mother was killed by a driver on drugs says 90 per cent of fatal crashes involving drugs will not be prosecuted under new legislation. Today she will begin a 140-hour hunger strike to protest against what she says are apparent loopholes one hour for each person killed by drugged drivers on New Zealand roads each year. Rachael Ford's mother, Mary Radley, died in a crash in 2004 after a drugged driver ploughed into her car at Koromiko near Picton. [continues 447 words]
I take issue with Murray Hunter's comments and your earlier article. It is unwise to take the word of anonymous sources, especially when their assertions are incorrect. No-one entering a prison is exempt from search. The minister through to the youngest visitor can be searched. Every staff member and prison visitor is subject to a criminal conviction check. Staff must bring their possessions into prisons in plastic bags so that they can be searched easily. We work constantly to keep contraband out of prisons and have had great success in seizing contraband, including drugs, and having would-be smugglers apprehended. [continues 102 words]
A man briefly lit up a cannabis joint in Parliament before being nabbed by security yesterday. The man lit the joint in the public gallery about 5.30pm during the second reading of the Resource Management (Climate Protection) Amendment Bill. He was quickly grabbed by security and removed. There was no indication it was any sort of protest, said Parliamentary Services spokesman Warren Inkster. Apart from breaking drug laws, the man would have broken Parliamentary codes of conduct surrounding behaviour in the chamber, Mr Inkster said. Parliament's premises were also non-smoking. The matter had been handed over to police, he said. Parliamentary police were unavailable for comment and Wellington police were unable to provide any further details. [end]
Driving under the influence of drugs is "at least as big a problem" as drink-driving, with drug users admitting to potentially deadly behaviour behind the wheel, a study has found. Massey University's illicit drug survey, made public today, comes as a bill to give police greater powers to catch drugged drivers is set to be debated in Parliament next week. It is the first time in-depth drug-driving data has been collected in New Zealand. Most of the 404 frequent drug users interviewed by the university's Centre for Social and Health Outcomes in Auckland said they drove under the influence. [continues 534 words]
A senior prison manager charged with dealing cannabis to inmates was running one of the toughest units in Rimutaka, and an alleged accomplice is a career criminal who once beat a guard. Jeffrey Mark Reid, 43, was arrested on Thursday and charged along with three prisoners and two women outside the wire following a month-long investigation, Operation Wire. Police say Reid was part of a fledgling drug ring that was growing cannabis outside the prison and smuggling it inside to give to inmates. [continues 383 words]
A Rimutaka Prison unit manager, three prisoners, and two other people are facing a range of cannabis-related offences following a police and Corrections Department bust. Four men - one of whom is the Rimutaka unit manager - and two women will be charged with more than 20 offences relating to cannabis supply, cultivation and conspiracy. The unit manager was charged yesterday, and the three prisoners are due in court later today. The joint police and Corrections Department investigation named Operation Wire had ended today with the execution of search warrants at the prison and a number of addresses in Wellington city and the Hutt Valley, said Detective Senior Sergeant Darrin Thomson. [continues 177 words]
If there's a good side to the incident at Hospital Hill, it's that there are decent people in cynical times. That goes for the people who kept an eye on each other, helped police, looked after elderly neighbours, and fed people's pets as the hours dragged on. It's reassuring that we still rise to the occasion. Since everybody's an armchair expert on policing, though, there will inevitably be a downside. An intimation of that was the flat near the gunman where three kids refused to listen to police, and finally had to be arrested and taken into custody for their own good. They were charged with obstruction. [continues 609 words]
A 62-year-old beneficiary who admitted growing cannabis primarily for his terminally ill wife got some mercy from a judge but was still packed off to prison. Appearing for sentencing in Tauranga District Court today on charges of possessing cannabis for supply and cultivating it, Richard Gary Alp got six months behind bars. "Drug dealing is insidious and drug dealers go to jail," said Judge Thomas Ingram, who allowed Alp's adult son to step forward from a group of supporters sitting in the back of the court and plead leniency for his father. [continues 315 words]
Health officials want one of the main ingredients in new-generation party pills restricted after four users became seriously ill. Advice to the Government highlights concerns about DMAA (dimethylamylamine), a derivative of geranium oil, which is a "psychoactive substance" that reportedly gives users an adrenaline rush. DMAA is included in several new-generation party pill substances, including Sunrise and Hummer. These flooded the market when BZP varieties were banned and were now being sold nationally in stores, including dairies, without age restrictions. [continues 433 words]
A new breed of powerful cannabis and ballooning costs in treating its health effects have led to calls for urgent action, including drug education for primary school children. The information, in a National Drug Intelligence Bureau report obtained by The Dominion Post under the Official Information Act, shows that cannabis, the most widely used illicit drug, creates more than $30 million a year in hospital bills. The report the first of its kind to use information from Customs, health and police officials warns that the drug is likely to become more harmful. The threat posed by high-potency "re-engineered" cannabis has been steadily increasing, it says. [continues 451 words]
Napier's Springhill Addiction Treatment Centre is closing and a new centre is planned for Hastings, however residents say it will be next to a city park that is "a known drug-dealing area". Hawke's Bay District Health Board plans to move its residential addiction treatment services to a former rest home in Tomoana Rd, beside Cornwall Park. The Springhill Addiction Treatment Centre has been home to the services since 1980 but is being closed as the health board feels it is no longer fit for the purpose. [continues 309 words]
Changing attitudes to cigarette smoking are being linked to a reduction in the number of teenagers smoking cannabis, drug experts say. An Auckland University student health and wellbeing survey released this week found a considerable drop in the rates of cigarette and cannabis use, which the Drug Foundation believed is linked to anti-smoking campaigns. Director Ross Bell said the significant drop in cannabis use - from 39 per cent of secondary school students in 2001 to 27 per cent last year - was a good shift as the drug affected adolescent brain development. [continues 279 words]
There were three things to remember for the dozen Wellington Central hopefuls at the three-yearly Aro Valley meet-the-candidates evening. When the two-minute deadline for speeches loomed, the timekeeper would bang a wooden spoon on a metal teapot; when time was up, someone would plunge an arm on the piano; and, if they kept talking, they would get squirted with a water pistol. Such is the gravity with which they take their politics in the valley, where the candidates' meeting has become a drawcard mix of comedy and serious debate. [continues 320 words]
Party pill retailers are being asked to stop selling some new generation pills following tests of a commonly found chemical in the drugs that has left some users sick. The Health Ministry has instructed health boards to recall party drugs that contain the powdered form of DMAA. Labels on party pills commonly refer to DMAA as "geranium oil". The ministry's recall notice follows concern that pill makers have simply swapped BZP - which was banned six months ago - for DMAA. The substance has been described as the main "chemical that gives many of the new party pills their kick". It can also be found in some body-building supplements. [continues 247 words]
Cannabis products could soon be used legally for medical purposes, after an application by a leading drug company to market a liquid version for pain relief. Medsafe is considering whether to allow the marketing and sale of cannabis spray, Sativex, after an application from its British maker. It comes as the Government faces increasing pressure from some patients and scientists to legalise cannabis use to alleviate chronic pain for accident victims and some sufferers of multiple sclerosis and cancer. Cannabis is a class C drug and cannabis preparations are class B drugs, but the Medicines Act allows the drug to be used with ministerial approval. [continues 392 words]
A potent hallucinogenic drug, banned in Australia and being progressively outlawed in the United States, will remain legal in New Zealand. Salvia divinorum, a herb from the sage family that Mazatec Indians in Mexico have long used for spiritual and healing purposes, appears set to be regulated instead of banned. Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton said he would soon consider recommending salvia divinorum be regulated "in line with expert recommendations". It would not be banned, he said. "Evidence shows it is a psychoactive drug that should be regulated." [continues 167 words]
Budding Defence Force recruits will be tested for drugs before they can sign up, and existing soldiers, sailors and air force staff will face a stricter testing regime to be introduced by the end of the year. Under a new policy, half of the country's 12,000 fulltime and part- time uniformed personnel will be tested each year - any time, anywhere. Lieutenant Commander Don Wills, head of the new Defence Force substance abuse prevention programme, said an agency would be contracted to conduct the tests. [continues 282 words]
NEW Zealand is winning the battle against methamphetamine, but ecstasy and cocaine use has doubled, an international drug report says. The United Nations World Drug Report, based on an annual snapshot of worldwide drug use, also shows New Zealand is increasingly being used as a port for methamphetamine trafficking. However, cannabis remains the No 1 illicit drug used by Kiwis - and the most used drug worldwide - though its popularity is falling, in line with global trends. The Drug Foundation said it was possible young drug users were opting for faster paced drugs, such as ecstasy and party pills, over marijuana. [continues 252 words]
Nine Years After His Colourful Entrance To Parliament, Nandor Tanczos Today Farewells His Colleagues His maiden speech to Parliament began with greetings in the name of the Creator, the Most High Jah Ras Tafari, he was stomped on by Melbourne cops during an anti-globalisation protest a few months later, and he is probably the only New Zealand MP investigated by police for drugs. But beyond the turban and the wispy Bob Marley-style beard, the hemp suits and the skateboard, he has proved to be more earnest and bookish than the radical rabble-rouser many stereotyped him as. More bespectacled than wild-eyed, pensive rather than raving, Nandor Tanczos has turned out to be . . . well, a bit nerdy, really. [continues 1112 words]
A father busted for growing cannabis said he did it because he feared his children would be reeled back into hard-drug use by shady dealers. Self-employed Featherston man Mark Ingrey begins four months under curfew on community detention this week, after admitting a charge of cultivating cannabis. Ingrey, 46, who was sentenced in Masterton District Court, said he was prepared to go to jail for the sake of his children. "In hindsight, growing cannabis to support my kids use was not something I should have done and I was well aware of the risks, but, as a parent you do what you can for your kids. It is that thing called unconditional love." [continues 232 words]
The world was laughing at Masterton man Wade Churchward and he did not even know it. He made headlines this week after being busted trying to use cannabis to pay for snacks when he got a bad case of the munchies. The problem was, a policeman had been standing behind him in a petrol station watching. News of his dopey transaction quickly spread around the globe thanks to the internet a technology that Churchward, 28, a mechanic, confesses to never using and made him the butt of jokes from his mates. [continues 287 words]
The long blue arm of the law watches over the red eyes of Ken Morgan as he celebrates the conclusion of a national tour promoting cannabis use with a cheeky smoke at Parliament. Mr Morgan, coordinator of "Mary Jane the Cannabus" tour, said the restored bus that acts as a mobile "legalise cannabis" office visited 44 towns and cities around New Zealand. "We invited locals to join us and in many towns we had hundreds of people smoke with us," he said. [continues 65 words]
Party pill retailers are likely to face tough new rules governing sale of the pills, including age restrictions, strict labelling requirements and requiring a licence to sell them. The Health Ministry has recommended the Government adopt 10 regulations governing the sale of restricted substances. Party pills are likely to be included in this category after a review by an expert committee. The ministry's move comes in the wake of a ban on BZP, which failed to stop the manufacture of party pills. [continues 362 words]
Back from hob-nobbing with East European leaders, Parliament's Speaker Margaret Wilson has now enjoyed a tete-a-tete with visiting Rastafarian poet and philosopher Yasus Afari. But she shunned the limelight again, overriding a Green Party invitation for the media to photograph the meeting at Parliament yesterday with the Jamaican guest of Green MP Nandor Tanczos. Mr Afari said he could understand why Ms Wilson did not want to be seen with him - "but she was extremely gracious and hospitable" and showed interest in Jamaica, reggae music and the concepts of the Rastafari religion. She had described Mr Tanczos as a role model for the strong local Rasta community. [continues 169 words]
A dramatic increase in people being admitted to hospital with severe reactions to party pills has experts calling for urgent action. Four to five patients are being admitted to Wellington Hospital on a typical Saturday night after taking the new-generation pills, emergency doctor Paul Quigley says. Patients were scared, jittery and anxious. "We're getting semi-hysterical type reactions." Other reported symptoms include insomnia and vomiting. Dozens of new pills flooded the market last month, replacing BZP varieties whose sale was banned from April 1. [continues 393 words]
The National Party says the Government's admission that it is losing the war against methamphetamine is because it has failed to do anything substantive to tackle gangs. Justice Minister Annette King has conceded authorities are struggling to halt the spread of "P". The concession is made in a Cabinet paper that also argues for a legislative crackdown on access to the chemicals. But National MP Simon Power said the Government had rejected or deferred measures to tackle gangs, including backing off on a new offence directed at people who orchestrated the activities of those who committed crimes. [continues 300 words]
I want to clarify some of the statements about cannabis's possibly harmful effects (Drug swoop targets national shop chain, April 28). Heavy use of cannabis doesn't cause psychosis. The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission (1893-94) made that clear. Studies in Jamaica in 1971 and 1973 showed that groups of heavy users there showed no signs of mental illness or brain damage, nor was there any evidence of permanent memory impairment. I question whether New Zealand's National Drug Intelligence Bureau and the Drug Foundation have their facts right. Neither made submissions to the government inquiry into the mental health effects of cannabis in 1998. [continues 102 words]
THE Health Ministry has launched an investigation into "new generation" party pills rapidly filling shop shelves, amid reports that they are making users sick. Dozens of new pill varieties, which are marketed as "BZP-free" after the outlawing of the substance this month, have appeared in outlets nationwide, including dairies and websites. Many are sold without age restrictions and carry limited information about ingredients. The Health Ministry has confirmed it is investigating and has arranged testing of the new-generation pills through Environmental Science and Research. [continues 421 words]
A group of chilled-out protesters gathered under the shadow of the Beehive to light up a few cheeky joints - and to send a message of cannabis law reform to politicians. The 50-strong group started drifting into Parliament Grounds from 3pm yesterday and lit up their joints for one smoky hour from 4.20pm, watched by police and parliamentary security. Among them was National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws spokesman Danyl Strype, who said: "The police and the security people have been very approachable. We are being allowed to smoke, I guess, because of the political nature of our action." [continues 129 words]
BZP-laced party pills are off shelves from today but retailers say new stock, which is "just as good", will be in store by the weekend. A ban on benzylpiperazine-based pills took effect at midnight, making any retailer selling the drugs from today liable for prosecution. Under legislation passed last month, BZP and six similar substances are classified as C drugs, as is cannabis. Users have six months' grace before they can be prosecuted for personal possession. Party pill retailer Dan O'Neill said his Wellington store Herbal Heaven would be closed today, but would reopen by Friday with a new name and "ample" varieties. "Our [new] stuff will be just as good." [continues 238 words]
Kevin Rodden is one person who won't be sad to see the back of BZP party pills - his son spent three weeks in a coma after taking one. Ben Rodden, 23, of Greymouth, was put into an induced coma in Christchurch Hospital's intensive care unit last year after taking a party pill named Torque. He was the second party-pill victim to be admitted to the unit in a fortnight. He had collapsed at a dance party. Initial tests found BZP and caffeine in his system and a urine test revealed traces of ecstasy. Doctors said BZP was likely to have caused the collapse. [continues 392 words]
The lawyer who said he arranged the return of the stolen Waiouru war medals has been criticised in the Court of Appeal for "inept and misleading" case handling. In a judgment issued this week, the court repeatedly criticises Chris Comeskey. Mr Comeskey represented Xiao Hui Huang, who was found guilty of having methamphetamine for supply and conspiring to supply it, after customs and police found eight kilograms of drugs, estimated to be worth about $8 million. She was jailed for 12 years. [continues 315 words]
Cannabis grower Tony Stanlake could have been making more than $33,000 from each six-plant crop he harvested, a police drug expert says. Six plants, four of them in the final stage before harvest, were found in the basement of Mr Stanlake's Karori home which had been converted into a three-part hydroponic growing operation, Detective Sergeant Sean Hansen told a jury in the High Court at Wellington yesterday. Three crops a year could be expected in a hydroponic set-up, with a return from six plants of more than $33,000 each four-month cycle. [continues 278 words]
Tony Stanlake lived and died messily, evidence given at the trial of his alleged killer suggests. A jury in the High Court at Wellington yesterday heard evidence of the untidy clutter at Mr Stanlake's house in Lancaster St, Karori, and the basement adapted for a cannabis-growing operation. It also heard of blood spatters on items found in cars Daniel Moore had been driving, and especially on wood and pieces of carpet he and friend Peter Leach were seen dumping at Wellington's Happy Valley landfill on the day Moore was arrested. [continues 296 words]
A leading US doctors group has endorsed using marijuana for medical purposes, urging the US government to roll back a prohibition on using it to treat patients and supporting studies into its medical applications. The American College of Physicians, the second-largest doctors group in the United States, issued a policy statement on medical marijuana this week after it was approved by its governing body. The group cited evidence that marijuana is valuable in treating severe weight loss associated with Aids, and nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy in cancer patients. [continues 364 words]
The banning of party pills has come a step closer. A bill outlawing possession of pills containing benzylpiperazine (BZP) has been referred back to Parliament with a majority of health committee members recommending that it be passed. Only Green Party and Maori Party members on the committee disagreed, saying party pills should be regulated rather than prohibited. The Misuse of Drugs (Classification of BZP) Amendment Bill will classify party pills as C1 drugs, the same as cannabis. It will be illegal to possess, use, sell, supply, import or manufacture BZP. [continues 178 words]
In less than three years, party pills have become one of New Zealand's most commonly used drugs. Massey University data made public at the Cutting Edge addiction conference in Auckland last week showed use of BZP-based pills, which are soon likely to be made illegal, was nearly level with cannabis use in 2006. "Drug use has changed quite a lot in New Zealand," Chris Wilkins, a senior drug researcher at Massey University's Social and Health Outcomes Research and Evaluation Centre, said. [continues 365 words]
Four out of five prisoners have alcohol or drug problems but only a fraction have access to treatment, says outgoing Corrections Minister Damien O'Connor. The Drug Foundation says a fresh approach is needed to stem drug abuse among offenders, giving them treatment when they first arrive behind bars and keeping it going after they leave. Speaking at an addiction conference in Auckland yesterday, Mr O'Connor cited research showing 89 per cent of serious offenders were under the influence of drugs or alcohol leading up to their offence, and 80 per cent of inmates have had a substance abuse problem at some point in their lives compared with 13 per cent of the general population. [continues 295 words]
New Zealanders have made a U-turn on relaxing cannabis laws, with only one in five people now supporting liberalisation. Research issued yesterday by the Drug Foundation shows that just 19 per cent want cannabis laws liberalised, down from 60 per cent in 2000. Its use is banned under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. The UMR Research study shows 46 per cent of the population want no change to cannabis laws, and 34 per cent want laws to be made tougher. Wellington scored highest, with 55 per cent of people polled wanting existing laws to remain. [continues 398 words]
New research showing stoned drivers are more than 2.5 times more common - and more dangerous - than drunk drivers reinforces moves to introduce drug-driving regulations. In the latest paper from a long-running Christchurch Health and Development study, a group of 936 drivers aged under 25 were asked how often they had driven under the influence of alcohol or cannabis. Lead researcher Professor David Fergusson said the team was "quite surprised" by the results, which showed "dopey driving" was more common than drink-driving. [continues 231 words]
Government plans to crack down on stoned drivers have stalled, with a political scrap emerging over whether the culprits should also face drugs charges. The Government is drafting laws to make driving while impaired by illegal drugs an offence similar to drink-driving. But it is now unclear whether the law change, yet to be introduced to Parliament, has the support to pass. Government allies the Greens and NZ First are on a collision course over whether motorists who are proved to be on drugs should face prosecution for also using illicit substances before getting behind the wheel. [continues 455 words]
A PRO-CANNABIS lobby group says an ingredient in cannabis may prevent "mad cow" disease. The National Organisation for Marijuana Law Reform says a French study shows cannabidiol may be effective in preventing bovine spongiforme encephalopathy. Scientists at the National Centre for Scientific Research in France found cannabidiol - a non-psychoactive ingredient - may prevent the development of prion diseases, the most well known of which is BSE. Research found cannabidiol inhibited accumulation of prion proteins in infected mice and sheep. NORML spokesman Chris Fowlie said this added to the scientific evidence supporting Green MP Metiria Turei's bill to legalise the medicinal use of cannabis. "[It] should be supported by any MP with a clear head. Unfortunately most MPs act like mad cows when cannabis is mentioned." [end]
Needle exchange programmes in prisons and counsellors in police cells are being touted as solutions to drug use in jails. The Drug Foundation policy statement, made public yesterday, urges a "whole of government" plan across the criminal justice system, including police, courts and prisons. It wants offenders given access to treatments similar to the health sector, such as clean needles and expanded methadone programmes. "For some reason prisoners are able to get their hands on drugs," executive director Ross Bell said. [continues 204 words]
A bill to criminalise party pills has hit a snag before making it to Parliament, with legal advice suggesting supply limits could be too low to secure a conviction. The Misuse of Drugs (Classification of BZP) Amendment Bill was introduced to Parliament yesterday, and seeks to elevate products containing benzylpiperazine, the most common active ingredient in party pills, to the same status as cannabis. But in an evaluation of the bill, Attorney-General Michael Cullen - using Crown Law advice - said it breached the Bill of Rights Act. [continues 274 words]
At first glance the Security Intelligence Service's pitch for a role in fighting organised crime looks like an exercise in self-justification, writes The Dominion Post. With the Cold War behind us and no evidence, to date, of Islamic terrorists operating on New Zealand's shores, the country's top spy agency needs something to do. New Zealand already has an agency devoted to fighting crime - the police. However, as Police Association president Greg O'Connor has repeatedly warned, gangs - the main source of organised crime in New Zealand - are growing in influence and power, not losing it. [continues 462 words]
Schools want to know what power they have to search pupils as the number of children taking drugs and weapons to class continues to increase. Since 2000, the number of pupils suspended or stood down for drug use has risen by 55 per cent. The number excluded for violence has increased by 37 per cent. Former New Zealand School Trustees Association adviser Ray McMillan, who is to give a presentation on the issue at the association's annual conference in Wellington tomorrow, said many schools were struggling to stem the spread of drugs among students. [continues 271 words]
The Government is to introduce legislation to crack down on drugs and cellphones in prisons. Cellphone use in prisons, which is banned, is on the rise with the number of phones and components confiscated up from 250 in 2003 to 1047 in 2005. Critics say cell phones are allowing prisoners to organise crime and intimidate people from behind bars. Corrections Minister Damien O'Connor today said the Government had more than halved the level of drug use in prisons - down from 27.2 per cent of inmates to 13 per cent - but the smuggling of drugs into prisons remained a problem. [continues 284 words]
The fate of a Taupo mother who was murdered by her drug-addict husband as he held her hostage highlights the extreme dangers of methamphetamine and cannabis use, a coroner's court report says. Taupo coroner Wallace Bain issued his report last week into the inquest on the deaths of Deborah Rerekura, 39, and her husband, William Rerekura, 40. He shot her in the chest at their Nukuhau home on November 26, 2005 after holding her at gunpoint for five hours in their bedroom. [continues 284 words]
A Levin woman may sue police for the sexual misconduct of a senior CIB officer, who she says pestered her for sex after she became a drugs informer. An internal police investigation found Peter Govers, former head of Horowhenua CIB, was guilty of disgraceful conduct for forming an inappropriate relationship with the woman, One News reported. The single mother of two, identified only as Tania, said she had received a formal apology from police, but was angry that Mr Govers remained in the force. [continues 386 words]
Three years ago, Roxy was on death row in a Rotorua pound. And though she still spends a lot of time behind bars, her future is looking bright. One of eight prison drug dogs nationwide, the labrador-staffordshire cross and her handler Marc Kilmister spend their days in jails between New Plymouth and Wellington searching for drugs coming in, and hunting out secret stashes inside. With an estimated 84 per cent of prisoners having had some form of drug addiction, it is an uphill battle. [continues 231 words]
