UP IN SMOKE

Cannabis users burn cash

Cannabis users in remote Top End communities are spending up to 60 per cent
of their weekly income on the drug, a report has found.

The Menzies School of Health Research study has also found some Arnhem land
townships spend up to 10 per cent of the entire community income on the
marijuana trade.

The Nhulunbuy-based author of the study, Alan Clough, said people in remote
communities where paying up to $300 per gram - about 12 times the price paid
in Darwin.

But he said the problem of marijuana use was not as grim as the figures
suggested.

"The dealers have enormous flexibility to charge what the market is prepared
to pay," he said.

"So the levels of use are not that high because the physical quantities are
not huge. They are spending the money but they are not getting bang for
their buck."

The research is based on interviews completed in 2001 and 2002 across
several unidentified communities in Arnhem Land.

Mr Clough said it was the first time the cannabis use patterns of the region
had been properly documented.

The findings are due to be published Australia's Drug and Alcohol Review in
December.

Mr Clough said there was evidence to suggest cannabis problems were
improving. He put this down to increased community resolve to tackle the
problem, the creation of alternative recreational activities and improved
policing.

"My brief follow-ups over the last six-months or so have shown me that we
are over the pinnacle of the epidemic," he said.

"They suffer the withdrawal symptoms and become very demanding if their
needs can't be met."

The study found cannabis use exploded in remote communities in 1998.

This is put down to improved trafficking.

It also found that cannabis was the drug of choice among the region's 13 to
36-year-olds.