Pubdate: Tue, 04 Mar 2008
Source: West Australian (Australia)
Copyright: 2008 West Australian Newspapers Limited
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/NDVd3p30lJ
Website: http://www.thewest.com.au
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/495
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?420 (Cannabis - Popular)

REMOTE ABORIGINES 'USING MORE CANNABIS'

A move from petrol sniffing and alcohol to smoking  cannabis is 
creating a whole new set of problems in  remote Aboriginal 
communities, a new study shows.

The growing use of marijuana has also extended beyond  youth to 
adults, says the report in the Australian  Journal of Rural Health, 
using research from one Arnhem  Land community in the Northern Territory.

The growth in cannabis use follows alcohol restrictions  imposed by 
the federal intervention in the territory,  and the roll-out of 
non-sniffable Opal fuel to combat  petrol sniffing.

Report authors Dr Kate Senior and Dr Richard Chenhall,  from the 
Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin,  said marijuana was 
smoked at home and often had a more  immediate impact on domestic 
violence and neglect than  alcohol.

"The move from alcohol and petrol sniffing to marijuana  use has 
created a new set of problems, many of which  arise in the domestic 
setting, not outside the  community," the report said.

"Rather than being a practice confined to distinct  sub-populations - 
as was the case for drinking and  sniffing petrol - marijuana use is 
widespread among  both adults and youth."

As a result, Dr Senior said the prohibition of alcohol  within the 
remote Aboriginal community "without any  attendant efforts to 
address underlying social causes"  had created a new set of problems.

"The existing marijuana market has grown and its use  has extended 
beyond youths to include adults," she  said.

According to national statistics, marijuana use is  highly prevalent 
in Australia, with at least 11 per  cent of the urban non-indigenous 
population using the  drug.

This compares to 22 per cent of Aboriginal people.

"Current evidence suggests that rates of marijuana use  may be much 
higher in remote indigenous communities  throughout the Northern 
Territory," said Dr Chenhall.

"Efforts to control licit substances, such as alcohol,  should 
address the dynamics of alcohol and drug use in  totality, as well as 
interventions that are able to  contend with the underlying social 
determinants of  indigenous health."

Dr Chenhall said there was still a lot going on in  Aboriginal 
communities that authorities did not know  about.

"One of the most important things from our findings  would be to sit 
down with community members and talk  about marijuana issues in their 
community," he said.

"We know very little about what's happening out there,  and I think 
talking to people, users, non-users in the  communities is an 
important first step to understanding  the problem and how we might respond."

As part of the commonwealth intervention, alcohol was  banned in 
remote communities with harsher penalties for  grog runners and 
restrictions on takeaway purchases.

But the report said efforts to control substances such  as alcohol in 
remote communities needed to be addressed  "in the context of the 
dynamics of alcohol and drugs"  and taking into account the 
"underlying structural and  social inequalities". AAP
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom