BUYING DRUGS 'EASIER THAN BEER' FOR TEENS

Teenagers can buy cannabis far more easily than beer, says the head of a
top boys' school that has suspended 17 pupils for smoking the drug.

Lindisfarne College a decile-10, high-performing, integrated school sent
the boys home last week after an investigation triggered by a tip-off from
a parent.

Rector Grant Lander said yesterday the school found that "quite a number
of boys were involved in possession or smoking marijuana" and had been
since the start of the school year.

Police were called in and were now working to uncover the boys' suppliers,
he said.

Lindisfarne's board will today decide the fate of the 17 boys a mixture of
boarders and day pupils aged 16 to 18. Most are in year 12, the rest year
13.

A seven-day suspension might be punishment enough for some, Mr Lander
said. Others might be expelled or given other penalties.

"The thing that concerns me is that for teens in Hawke's Bay, it's
probably easier to access marijuana than it is to buy a dozen of beer.
This is an issue we have to face up to, and as a school we are not
immune."

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule, who has three sons at Lindisfarne, said the
drugs bust had shocked parents. "All communities face this, and every
school faces this, but this is the first time it has hit Lindisfarne.

"I feel sad for the school. It is one of the finest schools in New
Zealand, but the drugs have got to it and they are now having to address
that."

Mr Yule was pleased with the "up-front and transparent" way Lindisfarne
had reacted. "They have had the police in to talk to the whole school.
They've done well."

Lindisfarne has a roll of 480 pupils, half of them fulltime or weekly
boarders. Annual fees for a fulltime boarder are $15,500.

The principal of next-door Hastings Girls' High School, Geraldine Travers,
said her school had suspended three girls recently for drugs but none was
connected to Lindisfarne.

"There wouldn't be a school in Hawke's Bay where it has not been an issue."