STONED KIDS - GREENS IN FIRING LINE

Teachers and drug educators have slammed the Green Party's stance on
cannabis, saying it is encouraging drug use among children.

Kapiti Coast primary schools have had several incidents during the past two
months in which pupils as young as nine had taken cannabis to school. Kapiti
Primary may start drug tests to combat the problem.

Welltrust executive officer Pauline Gardiner, whose group tries to educate
about drugs, said children were justifying drug use because of the Greens'
stance. "What the Greens are saying is causing a bloody nightmare. The kids
will pick up on any person in authority who says drug use is OK."

She said Green MP and cannabis user Nandor Tanczos was setting a bad
example. "They conveniently forget that Nandor says children shouldn't smoke
dope. But he is saying `do as I say, not do as I do'."

The Greens favour legalising possession of small amounts of cannabis for
personal use and the party this week promised to make cannabis law reform an
issue in any coalition talks with Labour.

Mr Tanczos has rejected the accusations, saying the party is the only one
with a proactive solution to drug use among youngsters.

Life Education Trust founder Trevor Grice said Mr Tanczos was seen as a
hero. "(The Greens) get up and say that it's an innocuous sort of a drug but
it's not. He says `I use it', therefore (young people) think it's OK."

Joy Quigley, head of Independent Schools of New Zealand, has also spoken out
against any relaxation of cannabis laws, saying private school principals
unanimously opposed legalising cannabis. "Principals too often see the
negative side of marijuana abuse as children lose motivation."

Sergeant Mark Cousins, of Wellington Youth Aid, said the drop in age of
young drug users was a serious concern. In the past year or so, about six
cases of nine or 10-year-old cannabis smokers had been dealt with in
Wellington city alone.

But Mr Tanczos said he had never encouraged young people to use drugs and
recommended they delay any decision till they were 18.

He said the Green Party was the only party to offer solutions. Legalising
cannabis would restrict children and young people's access to the drug.

"There's a network of tinny houses which means cannabis is more available to
young people than alcohol. The crims don't care who they're selling to," he
said.

"As a community we have to take measures which are going to control
availability of cannabis. At the moment it's uncontrolled and unreserved
access for young people."