FRESH LOOK MIGHT HELP OUR CHILDREN AVOID ADDICTIONS

Stephen was 16 and a friendly lad.

"Was" is the word as he is now dead. He drowned in his own vomit after
becoming a glue sniffer.

He had just started work and his life seemed to stretch before him.
Then suddenly it was all over. He died a degrading, undignified death.
As many other teenagers have done. Glue sniffing is extremely stupid,
and lethal.

Then there was Tucker. He was an exceptionally talented young
footballer. He drank beyond the limits and was found dead in an
isolated yard the next morning. Beaten up? Not a scratch on him. He,
too, choked on his own vomit.

Then there were the cannabis kids I knew so well. Somehow they
survived, and most of them have got their lives back on track, even
though they mixed cannabis and binge-drinking.

Why did they do it? Boredom, adventure, the need to show they've grown
up. Perhaps all of these things counted. But there was no glory in it.
It wasn't big. It wasn't clever. It didn't help the boys get girls, or
the girls get boys.

On the contrary, it turned people off most of the time.

Were they criminals? No . . . just idiots! But the sad fact is that
people under the influence of drink and drugs can do considerable harm
to themselves and others, particularly if they get behind the wheel of
a car. Solutions? Family support, rehabilitation, a harm minimisation
strategy to prevent underage use, and the strength of character to
take on the fight . . . it all helps.

Decriminalisation? We don't like it but can see that cannabis
prohibition is not reducing its use, but is causing significant
problems of its own, including a highly-profitable illegal market and
exposing cannabis users to harder drugs.

Druggies are their own worst enemies. They weren't always addicts,
blotting out themselves, their families and their self-respect. But
they enter our courts in a constant stream - each of them some
mother's daughter and some father's son.

It is high time New Zealand had a good look at whether new strategies
on drugs - as well as alcohol - could reduce the harm.