'WHITE-MAN'S GANJA' REPLACES GROG IN BLACK COMMUNITIES

David Daniels calls it a sickness. As president of the Yugul Mangi
council in southeast Arnhem Land, he is worried about the strong
demand for drugs in Top End Aboriginal communities and the amount of
money changing hands.

And he should know. One of his nephews is an alleged
dealer.

"It's easy money out here," Mr Daniels said. "Real easy money. The
blokes who sell it are making a fortune."

With cannabis taking hold in remote communities, the dealers are
making a killing. Drugs, like food and everyday supplies, sell at much
higher prices than in metropolitan areas.

One bag of cannabis goes for $50 and there is no guarantee how much
will be inside.

"The white man should know that white-man ganja is now in Aboriginal
communities, and it's selling like hotcakes," he said.

Local Aborigines worked as "agents" for outside drug dealers to
distribute within the communities. Mr Daniels said that one of his
nephews, aged in his 20s, was involved and feared retribution if he
stopped.

"This is bigger than grog," Mr Daniels said. "I'm worried about my
nephew, of course. We're really concerned, but there's nothing we can
do."

This week, a 32-year-old man from Ngukurr, a dry Aboriginal community
west of Katherine, was arrested in the nearby town of Mataranka and
charged with drug offences. He was allegedly found with 14 bags of
cannabis, containing 417g worth an estimated $20,000. Police believe
he was about to return to Ngukurr when he was arrested. "The amount he
had would have made an impact on the community," one police officer
said.

Last year, Northern Territory MP Marion Scrymgour, the then-chair of
the Government's substance abuse committee, apologised to remote
Aboriginal communities after her 22-year-old son was caught with a
trafficable quantity of drugs in Wadeye, southwest of Darwin, and
given a four-month suspended jail term.

For the territory's only female Aboriginal MP, it was a tough
blow.

"But it didn't sway me," Ms Scrymgour said yesterday. "People thought
I would go quiet, but I used it in a proactive way. I said, 'I'm no
different to you people, I'm going to stand up and take full
responsibility for my son's actions and so will he'. We need more
people to do that, and I've managed to turn my son around."

A study published last year by the Menzies School of Health Research's
Alan Clough found that two thirds of men aged between 13 and 36 in
Arnhem Land and a quarter of females regularly used cannabis.

Mr Clough said the amount sold in each bag was rarely the
same.

"In just about every community in the Top End, the price of that bag
is $50, but the material that goes into that bag varies enormously,"
he said. "The dealers have lots of scope to vary the profit margin."

Chairman of the ATSIC North West Regional Governing Council Lawrence
Costa said inflated prices were just adding to the problem. "It's
destroying our people, but our people are too blind to see that," Mr
Costa said.