DRUG FEARS FOR JOBLESS MILL STAFF

A Forestry Expert Fears Laid Off Workers Will Turn To Drug Growing And Dealing.

National Distribution Union wood sector secretary Jim Jones said he
had heard of former mill and forestry workers who had lost their jobs
going into the illegal drug trade. He feared many more could do so.

"It must be tempting for forestry workers to start growing marijuana
given the unreliable nature of employment in the industry at the
moment," he said.

About 115 workers were laid off at the Rainbow Mountain sawmill last
year and last month 112 staff at Rotorua wood products plant PanaHome
also lost their jobs.

Mr Jones' comments follow a former mill worker's claim that he is
making up to $5000 a day operating a tinnie house.

The man told the Daily Post that cannabis was "nothing compared to
the evils of alcohol" and that two former mill workers had followed
him into the drug trade.

Wood industry employers are concerned about the drug problem with
regular drug tests carried out at many mill sites throughout the
region. However, Mr Jones does not believe drug testing is solving
the drug problem.

"The community or society needs to address the problem. Cannabis has
been around for a long time and will continue to be around I'm sure.
I'm more worried about the modern drugs that are available. P and
harder drugs are becoming a major issue in our society," he said.

Meanwhile, Rotorua Hospital psychiatrist Shailesh Kumar said 30 to 40
per cent of admissions to New Zealand psychiatric wards were
triggered by cannabis use.

"The harmful effects of cannabis are widespread and far-reaching.
Marijuana is noted to cause or precipitate acute psychosis especially
in the vulnerable population - those with pre-existing mental illness
or complicated physical health issues such as brain injury or
delirium," he said.

A study which followed the progress of young people using cannabis
found it often led to harder drugs and socially unacceptable behaviour.

While the drug was not physically addictive, it caused psychological
dependence for the user, Dr Kumar said. Some users claim marijuana
provides pain relief but there is no scientific evidence to back this up.

A Rotorua counsellor, who did not want to be identified, said she had
thought of cannabis as a passive drug until she witnessed the damage
it did to clients.

"It's an insidious drug. It creeps up on people and then their lives
go downhill from there on. People imagine it only gives that lovely,
hazy laid back feeling but quite often it can create Jekyll and Hyde effects."