Pubdate: Mon, 30 Jun 2003
Source: Hawke's Bay Today (NZ)
Copyright: 2003, Wilson & Horton
Contact:  http://mytown.co.nz/hawkesbay/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2947
Author: MARTY SHARPE

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.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart