An archive of recent news articles on the topic of alcohol and drugs.
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Kids given 'reward' cigarettes, hearing told
19th July 2012
Parents are rewarding their children with cigarettes for doing homework, a tobacco control advocate says. Levin-based smoking cessation trainer Sue Taylor said the "carrot and stick" lure was a national problem and had created a "schoolyard blackmarket" where children as young as 12 were selling individual cigarettes for up to $2 to other pupils. Marijuana was used in the same way, but to a lesser extent, she said. The practice was entrenching a generational cycle of smoking uptake, especially among poor Maori families. Parents wanting their children to get ahead at school were buying them cigarettes as an incentive to get good grades. "It's interesting that parents are more concerned about education than health."
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Millions in drugs seized this year
19th July 2012
Drug raids in Wellington have uncovered six times more cannabis than in Auckland. The results of the 163 raids in Wellington included:
190 arrests
Uncovered 48 growing operations
34.2kg of cannabis seized
2793 plants and seedlings seized
190 tinnies seized
$91,206 in cash seized
12 firearms seized
43g of methamphetamine (P) seized Operation National targeted drug dealers working out of houses and ran alongside Operation Kelly, which used aircraft to spot cannabis crops during the growing season.
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2500 arrests in NZ-wide drug busts
18th July 2012
More than 2,500 people have been arrested in cannabis operations in the past six months, police have revealed. Police said they have seized and destroyed more than 130,000 cannabis plants and over 280 kilograms of dried cannabis in two six-month long, nationwide operations targeting cannabis growers and dealers. Operation National targeted targeted indoor growers and cannabis dealers operating out of houses, while Operation Kelly involved aircraft searching for crops during the cannabis growing season.
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Cops on drunks' doorsteps
18th July 2012
Police are cold-calling recidivist drink drivers in an effort to reduce offences on southern roads. Southern district road policing acting manager Senior Sergeant Steve Larking said officers had been visiting recidivist drivers at home, as part of "targeted enforcement". "We call it cold-calling, and we go and knock on the door and try and ascertain why they drink and drive. "We give them the message that police are aware they have a problem with drink-driving and we will be actively looking at them."
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New party pill law: Prove safe, or don't sell
17th July 2012
A new law has been signed off by Cabinet, requiring distributors and producers to test and prove the safety of party pills and fake cannabis. The legislation will go before Parliament this year, and the onus of proof will lie with the distributors and producers from the middle of next year. Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne announced today that under the new psychoactive substances drug law, all party pills and fake cannabis products will be taken off the market next year while they are tested. "If they [distributors and producers] cannot prove that a product is safe, then it is not going anywhere near the marketplace.''
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Party pill safety move due today
17th July 2012
The Government is expected to announce a new regime for party pills and fake cannabis which will require makers to prove their products are safe before they can be put on the market. Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne is due to announce the new measure today - a change to the current law under which such untested products can be sold unless proven to be harmful, as happened with Kronic. The change was recommended by a 2011 Law Commission report on the Misuse of Drugs Act.
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Tobacco companies foot the bill on last-minute display changes
12th July 2012
Tobacco companies are footing the bill for last-minute changes to tobacco cabinets in dairies, ahead of a ban on retail displays this month. New regulations, introduced under a law passed last year, will require all retailers to ensure tobacco products are hidden from view by July 23. Retailers will also be banned from referring to the sale of tobacco products in their trading names. Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia, who is behind the ban, last year said the law change would remove the "loophole" of tobacco displays.
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Officer's link to net drug market
12th July 2012
A Customs officer has been found to be a member of a secretive online marketplace which offers global delivery of illegal drugs, pornography, firearms and fake passports. The officer, who has name suppression, has already appeared in Waitakere District Court on several methamphetamine-related offences, including supply of the class-A drug. But the Herald understands that when police seized his personal computer, he told them they would find software and electronic history showing access to a hidden site called Silk Road.
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Smoking increases pollution - study
11th July 2012
Smoking significantly raises the level of dangerous air pollution in city streets, according to new research that has reignited the debate about banning cigarettes in public places. A five-week study by Otago University researchers in Wellington found cigarettes cause big increases in the number of dangerous fine particulates - airborne particles linked to heart disease, altered lung function and lung cancer. After testing the air quality around 284 smokers at the Lower Hutt shopping centre from an average distance of 2.6 metres they recorded a 70 per cent increase in particulates when smokers were around.
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Synthetic cannabis returns
11th July 2012
Kronic is back after sparking outrage last year. The synthetic cannabis blend has been tweaked to get around a ban implemented last August. The new Kronic is named Pineapple Express. "This blend is not for the inexperienced but will deliver that smooth ride and masterful quality that any regular smoker craves - get ready for the next level, man," a site selling Kronic announced. Pineapple Express went on sale on June 26. Last year, Parliament banned synthetic cannabinoids, including Kronic, for 12 months. Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne said making sure young people were "no longer fair game for synthetic-cannabis makers" was one of his proudest achievements.
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