BAY KIDS TURN VIOLENT IN 'P' EPIDEMIC

Juvenile offenders hooked on the methamphetamine drug "P" are being turned
away by a Hastings community worker who says users are too violent and
present too great a risk.

Karen Nichol, who for the last nine years has opened her doors to juvenile
criminals referred to her by the Children Young Persons and their Families
Service, said the drug was rapidly becoming an "epidemic" and she had
turned away at least six suspected users of the drug in the past six months.

"They're (users) just too violent," Ms Nichol said. "They'd kill me or kill
someone I work with. It's not like other drugs. The only way to detox a "P"
user is with physical restraint and we're not allowed to do that. These
children are so out of control I could never do that anyway.

"When I'm called to the police cells to pick someone up and see they're
drunk I'll leave them there 'til they're sober. If they're stoned I'll take
them home.

If they're on 'P' I won't go anywhere near them." The drug, also known as
speed, meth, crank, or goey, is a synthetic drug cooked up mostly in
illegal laboratories from readily available ingredients. It stimulates the
central nervous system and users often lose the ability to think rationally
has been associated with a major rise in violent crime.

Ms Nichol said the symptoms of a user were obvious.

They were initially wide-eyed and alert, then frowning and violent, and
regular users had scabs on their faces from excessive scratching while on
the drug.

"It's huge, it's here, it's now, and it's hard-hitting," she said.

The drug has also seen the drug-user profile change, with many younger
children becoming hooked. The youngest user Ms Nichol had seen was 10 years
old.

"I've had an 11-year-old show me how to smoke it out of a lightbulb. Any
school headmaster who thinks none of his students is using "P" is
dreaming," she said.

While Ms Nichol has never been assaulted by a P user, she said she had seen
the violent effects of the drug in the community. She had also been
contacted several times by concerned parents of users.

"It has become much worse in the last 12 months. In the last two weeks I've
spoken to five parents concerned for children and grandchildren. I know
about a dozen parents who use it. I believe it's about to hit like a pile
of bricks. Domestic violence will increase. If parents use it and the
children see it they'll start using, too. It's an epidemic," she said.

The drug was initially believed to have been made and supplied by gangs,
but Ms Nichol said that had changed.

"It's not solely gang-related. Now Joe public is out there cooking it.
There are websites telling people how to make it. If I knew someone was
being a cook I would never let it happen," she said.

To tackle the 'P' problem Ms Nichol had recently formed a trust, Kupenga
Aroha (net of love).

She hoped that would attract community buy-in as well as financial grants
and allow her to employ assistants to help deal with P users.

"I can't do this alone," she said.

* Ms Nichol is holding an educational workshop on P at St Johns College,
Hastings, on July 17.

Presentations will be made by police and Addiction Services. The workshop
begins at 7pm.