FEARS OVER DRUNK KIDS

Children as young as 10 are smoking cannabis regularly, but Hamilton
police say children's dependency on alcohol remains their biggest concern.

Waikato youth have spoken of a kid-cannabis culture in the region
saying it was "just normal" for children as young as 10 to smoke the
class C drug.

The young age comes as no surprise to the city's police youth team.

Officer in charge of Hamilton police community youth services, Senior
Sergeant Lance Tebbutt, said cannabis was no bigger an issue now for
young people than it was when he started in the police force 35 years ago.

There had been no discernible increase in cannabis related offending
in the Hamilton Youth Court in the last eight to nine years, he said.

"Probably the bigger issue for us with children and young people is
alcohol dependency," he said.

"I'm not saying cannabis is not an issue, but it's not uncommon for
children as young as 13 and 14 to have an alcohol dependency."

Campus cop Sergeant Robyn Banfield said there was definitely an issue
with drugs and Hamilton's youth.

"Drugs are common in our society and they will appeal as they have
always done to some of our young people," he said.

Police were working with schools to combat it.

Hamilton students the Times spoke to, on condition their surnames
were not used, said drug use was rife.

Nick, 17, said he first smoked cannabis when he was 12. "My mate told
me he knew another kid that was our age who smoked it all the time. A
week later we met up with him and tried it.

"I know another kid who tried it when he was 10 because his older
brother had been dealing since he was nine. It's normal."

According to a Health Ministry alcohol and drug use survey, one in
six people who had tried cannabis had first done so aged 14 or under.

But Nick believes that's an underestimate, at least in the Waikato.

"Even for a kid, it isn't that hard to find weed around here."

Clay, 16, who also first tried cannabis when he was 12, said it was
common for kids between 10 and 12 to smoke. "I have seen pot-smoking
creep its way into younger social groups everywhere I have been."

New Zealand Drug Foundation Executive Director Ross Bell said the age
that people were being introduced to cannabis was getting younger.
"Youth specific treatment agencies are seeing higher usage among 10
and 11 year olds and that is worrying."

National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)
President Phil Saxby blamed government policy for the increase in
young first-time users. "We have had 35 years of the Misuse of Drugs
Act, and during that time the use of drugs has spiralled upward, and
the age of first-use keeps dropping."