CANNABIS SCOURGE IN GOLDEN BAY

Children as young as 12 are being treated for cannabis addiction in
Golden Bay where "well over 100 people" are hooked on the illegal
drug, a Nelson Alcohol and Drug Service counsellor says.

Wellington-based Raine Berry said on Wednesday that cannabis was the
biggest drug problem in Golden Bay because so many people considered
it socially acceptable. Ms Berry also believed cannabis use in Golden
Bay was higher than most other regions, with the exception of
Northland and the East Coast of the North Island.

Last week, Nelson police iwi liaison officer Archdeacon Harvey
Whakaruru said at a public address in Takaka that the highly
addictive drug methamphetamine or P had reached Golden Bay. But Ms
Berry said cannabis was the biggest drug problem in the area.

"There are well over 100 people with a significant cannabis problem.
I've seen people as young as 12 and quite a number of 14-year-olds
addicted to cannabis in Golden Bay.

"It's considered by many to be harmless but it's not at all. People
can certainly become addicted. They may sometimes smoke it up to six
times a day."

She said that, in most communities, alcohol was the biggest problem,
followed by cannabis, but in Golden Bay it was "the other way around".

The most common withdrawal symptoms of cannabis dependency included
moodiness, agitation and insomnia, she said.

"Cannabis in Golden Bay is so widespread and socially acceptable. In
fact it's not difficult to get most drugs in Golden Bay if you know
who to ask."

Ms Berry said there was also a re-emergence of the use of the
hallucinogen LSD in Golden Bay, as well as considerable use of party pills.

Methamphetamine was a far greater problem in Nelson than Golden Bay, she said.

"It is a very dangerous drug but it's not yet much of a problem in
Golden Bay. Most users I've come across developed their addiction to
P elsewhere and came home to dry out."

Ms Berry spends two days a fortnight in Golden Bay counselling people
with drug and alcohol problems, but said she could easily spend two
days a week there, due to demand.

Golden Bay High School principal Roger File said the school had a
"zero tolerance" policy to the use of alcohol and drugs in school.

Mr File believed alcohol use was more widespread among young people
than cannabis and was aware that some pupils undoubtedly took drugs
and alcohol at weekends. However, it had been five years since a
pupil had been caught with drugs on school premises and suspended.

As well as a drug and alcohol education programme, the school also
had a policy of collaborating with police if a student was found with drugs.

Nelson Bays police district area commander Inspector Brian McGurk
agreed that cannabis use was the biggest illegal drug problem in Golden Bay.

He also rejected the view that it was a harmless drug, and said it
was an aggravating factor in almost all cases of mental illness in
young people in Golden Bay.

However, he said the biggest drug problem faced by police in the top
of the south region was alcohol.

Methamphetamine was also "widely used" in Nelson, and not isolated to
a small group of users.

There were 472 cannabis offences in Nelson city and Tasman district
last year, most of which were for possession, he said.

Traditional class A and B drugs such as heroin and LSD accounted for
25 offences, while there were 34 methamphetamine offences.

Takaka police figures showed there were around 65 drug-related
offences a year in Golden Bay. Last year 16 of those were for
cultivating or dealing in cannabis.