Pubdate: Tue, 23 May 2006
Source: Northern Advocate (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2006 Northern Advocate
Contact: http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz/info/letters/
Website: http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2929
Author: Natasha Harris
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

SCHOOLS BRACE FOR P

Northland intermediate principals fighting against  marijuana use at 
school say it's only a matter of time  before pupils try the 
dangerous stimulant  methamphetamine.

Whangarei Intermediate School principal Keith Dowdle  and Kaikohe 
Intermediate School principal Phil Gordon  are now turning to a 
graphic drug programme to persuade  children that methamphetamine, 
also called P, is bad  news.

Both principals said getting hold of P wasn't hard for  intermediate pupils.

"Five years ago marijuana wouldn't have been an issue  in 
intermediate schools and now it is," Mr Dowdle said.

"How much longer will it be until P starts to filter down?"

An angry Mr Gordon said some children saw marijuana as  a normal part 
of life because their families smoked it.

"We have enough considerations like providing kai,  dressing the kids 
and making them feel good. Marijuana  is just another excuse to not 
succeed," Mr Gordon said.

Whangarei family therapist Patsy Henderson-Watt said  marijuana had a 
huge effect on people and the younger  they started smoking it, the 
greater the damage.

When they saw their parents and grandparents smoking  the drug, kids 
"didn't know not to", she said.

"Dope is becoming normality for so many families and  it's a part of 
their 'nowhere' lifestyle," Mrs  Henderson-Watt said.

To fight back against P, Northland intermediate schools  have taken 
on a new anti-drug programme run by youth  health educators Life 
Education Trust, of Harold the  Giraffe fame.

This hard-hitting programme contains graphic  photographs of drunk 
youth throwing up as well as  videos of drug users injecting themselves.

Life Education Trust educator Nadine Campbell said the  prevention 
programme was introduced to Northland this  year because principals 
and parents had asked for  hard-hitting anti-drug education.

"Children know a lot about marijuana and they know  about P," Mrs 
Campbell said.

Children had been shocked to find out how deadly P  could be, Mrs 
Campbell said.

Whangarei campus cop Hank van Engelen said children as  young as nine 
were smoking marijuana. He is about to  deal with two 
intermediate-aged pupils who took  marijuana to school recently.

Some children he had dealt with came from families  where mari-juana 
was part of everyday life, but others  got it from friends.

Whangarei youth drug and alcohol service Rubicon is  currently 
working with Northland Health and other  agencies to find a suitable 
agency to deal with  pre-teens who use marijuana.

Rubicon manager Jenny Gibbs said children as young as  nine were 
using the drug but her service was only  equipped to deal with 
youngsters between 11 and 17.

"A lot of kids are from second to third generation  pot-using 
families - their parents do it, their  brothers and sisters do it," 
Mrs Gibbs said.

However, she believed the children she dealt with had  been turned 
off P because they saw its devastating  effects it had on users in 
their families.

In the coming days, the Northern Advocate will  investigate how 
Northland high schools are tackling the  methamphetamine scourge.

* 'You can waste your whole life'

Peter Tucker is a polite, softly-spoken panelbeater who  loves fixing 
cars and the peace and quiet of Kaikohe.

The 22-year-old former Aucklander is optimistic about  his new life, 
but is still fighting the lure of  methamphetamine, also known as P, 
as well as marijuana.  He used both drugs for years.

While Northland intermediate school principals fear  their pupils 
could soon be using P, Peter advises young  people "you're a better 
person for saying no".

"You can lose your whole life. You might get a buzz for  a while but 
you'll never be able to keep that buzz  going."

Youngsters may think Peter's turned out all right so P  can't be that 
bad, but it is, he says.

Peter lost "all his morals", motivation and short-term  memory. Over 
three years Peter dropped 30kg to weigh in  at a scarily thin 53kg.

"I dealt P and did dodgy deals. I started not paying my bills.

"I used all my wages on drugs ... sometimes I'd spend  $1000 a week 
on P," Peter said.

Peter, who moved to Kaikohe two months ago to make a  new start, 
first began using drugs at 16. He became a  heavy pot smoker for a 
few years before adding P to his  list of hobbies.

Peter began smoking P in the weekends with his mates,  but that 
quickly turned to several times a week and  sometimes daily. He was 
also smoking marijuana and  drinking alcohol regularly.

"I'd play computer games until 5am. You've just got no  concept of 
time, five hours feels like five minutes.

"When I was on P I felt like I could work forever. I  felt like I 
didn't need sleep," Peter said.

Around 18 months ago, Peter decided P and marijuana had  taken too 
strong a hold on his life, so he reached out  to his boss and asked for help.

Two months later he got back into P and this time his  boss called a 
drug helpline. Peter received help for  several months from drug and 
alcohol centres.

Fast forward 13 months to today and Peter hasn't  touched alcohol or 
drugs. Every week he attends  Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics 
Anonymous meetings.

"It feels good but I still have hard times ...  Sometimes I get 
extremely depressed. It gets to the  stage where I ask myself 'why am 
I on Earth?' ...  People just say 'get over it' but you can't."

Peter says he's "getting there" but knows it will be a  struggle to 
stay off drugs for life.

"But I've got a saying - all good things take time."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom