POLICE SELLING DRUG KITS TO GREYMOUTH PARENTS

Greymouth police are selling cannabis-detecting kits to parents to find out
if children are using the drug.

Greymouth-based Senior Constable Adele Coll said yesterday the $10 kits,
sold over the counter at the Greymouth police station, were a local police
initiative sparked by parents' concerns over possible drug use by their
children.

The kits, designed to detect only cannabis, take about five minutes to find
traces of the drug in a urine sample.

Ms Coll said it was obvious to police that a lot of crime began as a result
of drug use, with users committing burglaries to get money to buy drugs.
There was a major drug problem with young people around the country.

"They start with cannabis, and we're trying to prevent young people
entering a life of crime.

"If the drug test is positive, we can then advise parents on what help is
available, such as education and counselling for their child."

Parents' feedback had been positive.

The kits are sold on a non-profit basis. So far, police are only selling
them in Greymouth, but there have been inquiries from police in other areas.

Greymouth police initially bought 25 kits to see how many they sold.
Several had gone already, and there had been a number of inquiries from
parents, she said.

A youth advocate at the Christchurch Community Law Centre, Jane Roseveare,
said the centre acknowledged parents' concern over cannabis use, but there
was potential for young people being put in a position where their right to
consent to a drug test was denied.

There was also potential for damage to the parent-child relationship where
a drug test had been imposed. Some parents might assume their child was
using cannabis because he or she refused to take a drug test.

Also, the courts had indicated guardianship rights of parents were
diminishing and depended on the age and maturity of the child, Ms Roseveare
said.