SOFTER DRUG LAWS SPURNED

Education, not legalisation, is the key to solving the youth cannabis
problem, says a Nelson teenager who recently gave up the drug.

Joel Felber, 18, spoke out this week after Youth Affairs Minister Laila
Harre revealed she favoured softening cannabis laws because they were not
protecting young people from the dangers of drug use.

He said legalising the drug would only make the problem worse.

Joel, a former Nelson College student, said he started smoking cannabis
when he was 14 to fit in and because "it was cool".

He soon had a regular habit of a few joints a day and went from being a
straight A student to barely passing.

"I thought I could carry on smoking and still get good grades but it didn't
work out like that in the long term. ."

He became moody, angry and unmotivated. He distanced himself from his
family and from friends who didn't use the drug.

"It sucked, it's such a subtle change when you're involved in it you don't
notice it yourself," Joel said.

He said he would still be smoking if his mother hadn't intervened when he
was 16.

"Mum kept saying `What's wrong with you?'. You think everyone else has got
the problem, you don't actually realise it's you."

She didn't reprimand Joel but made him see the harm the drug was doing to him.

Joel, whose parents are separated, said this was the best way his mother
could have dealt with the situation.

"She was open about it. She pointed out what had changed and made me
realise for myself that I had a problem."

Joel's mum arranged for him to see a counsellor at Nelson's alcohol and
drug clinic. From there, Joel was able to get his life back on track.

He gave up cannabis early last year and joined his school's mentor scheme
by helping a 13-year-old cannabis user.

Joel passed bursary and is now working at Sealord and saving to go overseas.

He said that like many others his age, he would never have had such a bad
cannabis problem if he had known the risks of using it.

"I may have tried it but I wouldn't have used as much as I did. When I
started I didn't have a clue what it would do to me. I only knew it was
illegal but that's about it."

Joel said cannabis was easier for students to get than alcohol and
legalising it would only make the problem worse. The only solution was
education.

"It's got to be talked about at home and at school. Most kids are going to
(use cannabis) so sit them down, talk to them and tell them what it's going
to do to them."