Pubdate: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 Source: Dominion Post, The (New Zealand) Copyright: 2003 The Dominion Post Contact: http://www.dompost.co.nz Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2550 Author: Matt O'Sullivan Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/area/New+Zealand POLICE ACCUSED OF HYPING P RISK Police claims that school children are taking the killer drug P are exaggerated and risk undermining attempts to tackle the problem, an anti-drug campaigner says. An officer warned at a public meeting in Porirua on Friday that children as young as nine were consuming pure methamphetamine in New Zealand. But anti-P campaigner spokesman Denis O'Reilly said the drug was not widely available in schools. If school children were using the drug, it would be an exception. "This is just hype and risks creating fear and confusion in what is already a very serious situation," he said. "If you are going to have a community strategy, it's in our interests to keep the hype out." Schools needed to be more concerned about students using marijuana, alcohol or tobacco, he said. However, concern among primary and secondary school principals in Porirua is such that they have called for another meeting about the drug. Porirua Healthy Safer City Trust coordinator Jenny Lester, who organised the meeting last Friday, said police claims that young people were consuming P were not exaggerated. "There was no point pussy-footing around on the facts. When you talk about any drug of choice, it's nothing new that young people get involved." Police have also expressed concern that gangs are collaborating to produce pure methamphetamine. A Nomad member from the Kapiti Coast has been seen on Mongrel Mob turf in Porirua, in what officers believe is a clear sign gangs are acting in unison. Mr O'Reilly, who has also acted as a spokesman for the Black Power gang, acknowledged that New Zealand gangs were colluding to manufacture and distribute the drug. Overseas crime groups were also likely to be involved in the illegal trade. But he believed some gang members were so opposed to P that they were making efforts to reduce its use through education. "There are some old heads in the gangs who are saying to their boys that the penalties are high," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk