The United Nations has urged the Government to crack down on heavy cannabis abuse by young Kiwis. In its 2003 annual report issued this week, the UN's International Narcotics Control Board calls on the Government to develop policies that reverse the trend of heavy abuse of cannabis by people aged 18 to 24, and its increasing abuse among youths aged 15 to 17. A parliamentary committee noted last year that more youths were being apprehended for cannabis offences, and recommended that the Government review cannabis laws to prevent young people from using it. [continues 120 words]
Two Wellington council workers have been forced to resign after allegations of drug use and theft at a council pool. In one incident, in December, a young girl was taken to hospital after being given a piece of cannabis-laced cake. The staff member involved was asked to leave and later appeared in court on drugs charges. Earlier this month, another worker left after an internal investigation into the theft of almost $20,000. It is understood discrepancies were found in till transactions over a period of about two years. The matter was now with police. [continues 116 words]
More than 100 New Zealand mothers who used pure methamphetamine during their pregnancy are being recruited for an international study of the drug's affect on babies and toddlers. Auckland will join four states in America for the research, which will track the babies from birth till their third birthday. The study hopes to determine what harm is caused by mothers using pure methamphetamine, commonly known as P, and whether there are any effects on their children. Auckland University Medical School developmental psychologist Trecia Wouldes, who is leading the New Zealand arm of the research, said mothers who used P and other drugs were often not identified. They usually came to the attention of health professionals only if they were in a drug programme or volunteered the information. [continues 246 words]
The Government has dismissed claims that it ignored an urgent letter sent in May by a Youth Court judge warning of a link between teen prostitutes and the drug P. Judge John Walker, of Wellington, wrote to Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton and Justice Minister Phil Goff on May 9 warning youths were becoming hooked on pure methamphetamine by being given free samples by gangs, and teenage girls were being forced into prostitution. "One of the (Youth) Drug Court participants reported being given 'ice', the crystallised and purest form of methamphetamine, and using it. She was fully conversant with the particular manner in which the drug was used," he wrote. [continues 391 words]
Pharmacists have sounded the alarm over some across-the-counter cold and flu remedies being caught up inadvertently in a crackdown on the drug P. Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton met industry representatives this week after it was discovered that tougher rules for ephedrine and pseudoephedrine meant slow release cough and flu remedies could not be sold without a prescription. A select committee was told this week that the affected medicines included Sudafed 12 and 24-hour remedies, Clarinase 12-hour and Demazin. The changes would deny people access to cold medications that had been used safely for years, ACT MP Heather Roy said yesterday. [continues 224 words]
As MPs in Parliament debated whether to stub out cigarette smoking, Green MP Nandor Tanczos and Progressive leader Jim Anderton traded pot-shots of a different kind. About 150 people turned up at the Johnsonville Community Centre in Wellington last night to hear the pair debate whether cannabis should be decriminalised. Mr Tanczos, a Rastafarian who has said he smokes cannabis for religious reasons, said personal use of tobacco, alcohol and cannabis by adults should not be a criminal offence. His remark was greeted with thin applause and a sole cheer from the audience, which contained a cross-section of the community. [continues 332 words]
The Corrections Department has confirmed that an offender on home detention died of a drug overdose this year. The confirmation came after NZ First MP Ron Mark tabled an anonymous letter in Parliament alleging that a man put on home detention after serving seven years of a prison term for manslaughter and assault on a prison warden died after overdosing on "P" - pure methamphetamine. The letter alleged the man and his girlfriend had been baking P in his flat and had been visited "all hours of the day and night" by ex-gang and prison associates. [continues 201 words]
The Corrections Department is refusing to investigate claims that a man on home detention manufactured and dealt P before dying of an overdose of the drug. A department spokeswoman said yesterday that claims made in an anonymous letter to NZ First corrections spokesman Ron Mark would not be investigated unless further information, such as the man's name, was available. It was too difficult to identify the man otherwise, she said. The rejection was attacked by Mr Mark, who accused the department of a cover-up. He said there was enough detail in the letter to allow the department to identify the man, including his convictions and alleged gang associations. [continues 226 words]
The Government has opened the way for the legal use of medical cannabis if trials under way in Britain prove it is safe. In the meantime, Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton ruled out relaxing the law on smoking the drug as a method of self medication. Mr Anderton issued the Government's response yesterday to the report on cannabis from Parliament's health committee, which was the result of a three-year inquiry. He ruled out legalising cannabis, which was not one of the recommendations of the health committee, adding that would never happen under the present administration. [continues 411 words]
Police claims that school children are taking the killer drug P are exaggerated and risk undermining attempts to tackle the problem, an anti-drug campaigner says. An officer warned at a public meeting in Porirua on Friday that children as young as nine were consuming pure methamphetamine in New Zealand. But anti-P campaigner spokesman Denis O'Reilly said the drug was not widely available in schools. If school children were using the drug, it would be an exception. "This is just hype and risks creating fear and confusion in what is already a very serious situation," he said. "If you are going to have a community strategy, it's in our interests to keep the hype out." [continues 221 words]
With two long-time crims as star witnesses, the prosecution case against three men charged with murdering Hawke's Bay cannabis dealer Phil Cowan always looked a bit shaky. In the end, Justice Durie thought it was simply not a safe enough foundation for the High Court jury at Wellington to base a verdict on. The names of both witnesses were suppressed, and each was granted immunity from prosecution for his part in the alleged killing of Cowan, but each admitted lying about some things they had told the police, one spectacularly so. [continues 1138 words]
Otaki residents fear a drugs "turf war" between rival gangs after the arrest of two Nomad associates following an armed occupation at a local marae. Police are pledging to keep a close eye on any gang activity but say the area is not immune from a nationwide problem of gangs vying for power and control of the drug scene. Fears in the small Horowhenua town have risen after a group of six Nomads occupied Katihiku marae last Sunday. Two Greater Wellington regional council workers say they were shot at while working on the banks of the Otaki River on Tuesday afternoon. [continues 552 words]
A study into the effects of cannabis is being hampered by a lack of smokers. The Medical Research Institute in Wellington is looking at how the drug affects the lung function of non-tobacco smokers and if it plays a role in chronic bronchitis, asthma and emphysema. But researchers are finding it hard to recruit enough non-tobacco smokers to get conclusive results. Principal investigator Sarah Aldington said only about 160 volunteers had been tested and most smoked cigarettes and marijuana. [continues 104 words]
A prisoner who has given evidence against three men accused of murdering cannabis dealer Philip Cowan has denied telling lies to access drugs or a reduced sentence. In the High Court at Wellington yesterday, the witness, whose name is suppressed, said the only thing he was promised was immunity from prosecution for being an accessory after a murder. He said police already knew he had been present at the killing before he began discussing the possibility of telling them what he knew about it. [continues 284 words]
Teenagers are buying party packs containing a cocktail of drugs and recommendations on how to take them, a Wellington drug educator says. WellTrust executive director Pauline Gardiner said the packs often contained a tablet of Ecstasy, a cannabis cigarette and methamphetamine, with written instructions on the order in which they should be taken to get maximum effect. Ms Gardiner said the packs, which cost about $200, surfaced at the same time "P" - a pure form of methamphetamine - began to make a small mark in counselling figures. Cannabis and alcohol remained the most commonly used drugs for teenagers. [continues 226 words]
Drug addict and former TV3 newsreader Darren McDonald avoided being sent straight to jail because of his high profile and the easy availability of drugs in prison. McDonald, 36, unemployed, of Panmure in Auckland, was sentenced to eight months' jail yesterday on two charges relating to the supply of methamphetamine and Ecstasy. In the High Court at Auckland, Judge Marion Frater said McDonald, who is addicted to pure methamphetamine, known as "P", could be on bail for the next two months or till the Parole Board considered a home detention application. [continues 560 words]
The battle to stem what police say is a tidal wave of pure methamphetamine is being hampered by a severe shortage of scientists qualified to analyse samples from suspected laboratories. Wayne Chisnall, forensics general manager at Environmental Science and Research, said the institute had only three scientists, assisted by two technicians, trained to carry out the tests. In the year to June 30, police busted 154 labs nationwide, more than twice the number of the year before. The shortage of scientists has led to a backlog of 94 samples - 27 of them more than six months old - and raised concerns that people charged with making the drug are free to continue their work while awaiting trial. [continues 396 words]
Two people saw cannabis dealer Philip John Cowan bashed with a hammer in a central Wellington car-groomer's yard, a jury has been told. In the High Court at Wellington yesterday, prosecutor Cameron Mander said the two witnesses were expected to give evidence - one of them under immunity from prosecution - during the trial of three men accused of murdering Mr Cowan. Justice Durie suppressed the names of both witnesses. Some evidence pointed to one of the accused, car-groomer Danny Clifford Condren, owing Mr Cowan $40,000 to $50,000 for cannabis, Mr Mander said. [continues 356 words]
Government ally United Future is warning the coalition not to relax cannabis laws, saying it would breach the spirit of their support agreement. The health select committee is calling on the Government to reconsider the reclassification of cannabis. Its recommendations were carefully crafted to avoid breaching a deal between United and the Government that had ruled out legislative change. United Future leader Peter Dunne said that approach was "splitting straws. The agreement we have with Labour says no legislative change, but clearly that implies a broader interpretation - no change in the legal status". [continues 199 words]
An overdose victim was found to have lethal levels of the party drug Fantasy in his blood and urine, Wellington coroner Garry Evans has heard. The death of Grant Ferretti, 35, ACC beneficiary, last year was one of the first fatal Fantasy overdoses in the Wellington region. Mr Evans said at the conclusion of an inquest yesterday that he would deliver a written decision on the case but told Mr Ferretti's parents that his provisional finding would be one of respiratory arrest due to overdose. [continues 377 words]
The number of people seeking help for addiction to crystal methamphetamine has skyrocketed, with one Wellington clinic treating six new patients every week, many of them high-flying young professionals. Care NZ Wellington manager Sandra Plaisted said the agency had noticed a sharp rise in the number of people seeking help for the drug, which is a pure form of speed commonly known as P. "We are seeing about six new people every week. Last year, we would probably have seen about six over the whole year." [continues 310 words]
Customs has seized a shipment of hemp products destined for an Auckland store co-owned by Green party MP Nandor Tanczos. The Hemp Store Aotearoa yesterday filed papers in Manukau District Court seeking to have the Customs Service release the products, worth about $20,000. The consignment contains hemp tea and a brand of smoking mixture from Germany called Knaster Hanf. Mr Tanczos said customs had cleared such products before and he was unsure why this shipment had been seized. Customs had been provided with the correct import documentation, which showed THC - the active ingredient in marijuana - in the products was well below the usual 0.3 per cent for hemp, he said. [continues 244 words]
The article on the relationship between cannabis use and youth suicide (Dominion Post 08/03/03) was thought provoking. However, more focus should have been placed on how the illegality of cannabis undermines health and education services and further isolates young cannabis users from their families and communities. The prohibition of cannabis use neccesitates secrecy amongst users. The young user fears arrest and is thus reluctant to discuss the issue with parents, teachers and other adult support people. This secrecy basically serves to further isolate troubled young people from their support networks and positive role models, which in turn undermines the youth's emotional resiliency. [continues 89 words]
Law changes targeting drug rape and sex between older women and under-age boys are being signalled by the Government. Labour MP Dianne Yates, who has campaigned for new laws about drug rape, welcomed the changes yesterday. It had been almost impossible to gain convictions for the crime, despite laws which already make it illegal to stupefy someone for the purposes of having sex, or where it was not reasonable to assume someone had given their consent. "Basically, it has been too easy to get off on a technicality," Ms Yates said. [continues 397 words]
Wellington's mental health service is being stretched by young adult drug users who account for 60 per cent of all admissions and swallow up half of its $50 million budget. Peter McGeorge, mental health clinical director for Capital and Coast Health, said the service was struggling to deal with a generation, now into their 20s, who had long-term psychiatric problems after becoming hooked on cannabis and other drugs. And he warned that should P, or crystal methamphetamine, continue its rapid rise in popularity, mental health services might not be able to cope. [continues 173 words]
