7-YEAR-OLD ADDICTED TO DOPE

Rotorua children as young as 7 are getting help for cannabis
addictions - and social workers say the drug is still a major problem
in the city.

But new figures from a National Household Survey on Drug Use released
by Massey University shows fewer people in New Zealand have tried
cannabis and cigarettes or used P in the past year compared with five
years ago. The survey shows more people are trying alcohol.

The findings were presented at the Cutting Edge Addiction Conference
in Auckland this week.

The report blames liberalisation of alcohol and tighter smoking laws
for the trends.

However, Rotorua addiction counsellors say both cannabis and alcohol
are major problems locally.

Police say alcohol is a factor in a majority of the cases they deal
with but violent crimes involving P are on the increase.

June Bythell, Te Utuhina Manaakitanga Trust (Addiction Resource
Centre) clinical co-ordinator, said fewer people addicted to
methamphetamine were seeking help from the service than a year ago but
there was a steady increase of clients seeking help for alcohol and
cannabis addictions.

Each week the service sees about a dozen new clients seeking help and
runs group sessions twice weekly for about 30 clients.

She said the Bay of Plenty was plagued by issues around cannabis use
and alcohol was affecting younger people more today than it was 10
years ago. She blames easy access to ready mixed drinks and a younger
drinking age for the problem.

"We have more young people binge drinking today. You just have to
drive anywhere in this town on the weekends and there are kids drunk
and smashing bottles.

"We have a real binge drinking problem," she said.

Clients as young as 7 were getting help for cannabis addictions, she
explained.

"The problem is going to get worse. We have a major problem with
cannabis in our area. People are trying to make changes but it is a
huge struggle for them," she said.

Although not as many people were coming forward to seek help for P
addictions today, it was still a major issue our community needed to
address, Mrs Bythell said.

"People know that methamphetamine causes brain problems and
personality changes. I believe we are seeing more domestic violence
because of it," she said.

Rotorua's Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Loper agrees.

Police had noticed a worrying trend in the rise of P-fuelled crime, Mr
Loper said.

"There has been an increase with P and associated violence-related
crimes," he said.

He believes police are only seeing the tip of the iceberg.

"It's just the start. Alcohol is still a problem right across the
board but P is a growing problem. Until it affects them personally,
people don't take any notice of it," he said.

The only way to address the problem was education, he
said.

Meanwhile, more people are seeking help to quit smoking.

National Quitline executive director Helen Glasgow said in the past
eight years since the telephone support line was launched there had
been a growing number of people calling for help to give up.

About 80,000 call annually with around 32,000 registering to kick the
habit.

The National Household Survey on Drug Use showed there was a higher
proportion of New Zealanders who had drunk alcohol in 2006 compared
with 2003 - up nearly 3 per cent.

It showed a lower proportion had tried tobacco in 2006 compared with
2001, down 7 per cent. There were just over 2 per cent fewer people
who had tried cannabis and more than 1 per cent fewer who had used
amphetamines.