An archive of recent news articles on the topic of alcohol and drugs.
Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168
Karaoke bar hides 'grossly intoxicated' women
30th May 2012
An Auckland karaoke bar has had its liquor licence suspended for six weeks after a duty manager was caught hiding "grossly intoxicated'' women in a back room during a police inspection. Police officer Bridget Jane Suckling visited Partyworld bar in Canada St, Newton, on October 14 last year at 1.15am and saw a woman who appeared to be unconscious being carried into a back room, a New Zealand Liquor Licensing Authority decision reads. When Suckling inspected the room she found two "heavily intoxicated'' women who were too drunk to respond to questions. ''The young women were carried into the back room because bar staff saw the police arriving and panicked,'' the decision reads.
more...
Cannabis and pills seized in major police drug busts
29th May 2012
A 61-year-old woman has been accused of growing 1.8 metre cannabis plants and an operating pill press has been seized in a series of drug raids across New Zealand. Police said 13 people were arrested, four firearms were found and 30 cannabis plants were seized in the latest phase of Operation Persil - a three-year investigation targeting repeat offenders and bail jumpers. Senior Sergeant Freda Grace said officers working on the operation discovered more than 20 mature cannabis plants standing up to 1.8 metres tall at an east Hamilton home.
more...
Ciggie-free prisons a success story
29th May 2012
Inmates are breathing easy following the prison smoking ban with scientists finding a greater than 50 per cent rise in air quality and – to everyone's surprise – no major incidents since the big stub out. Smoking was banned in New Zealand prisons on June 1 last year with stark warnings from prisoners, prison advocates, and guards of riots and disorder. However, there were no riots and Corrections staff report a number of unforeseen benefits. Prison services assistant general manager Rachel Leota said prisons had reported a "calmer" environment with fewer "standover" incidents now that tobacco has been taken out of circulation.
more...
Drinking big concern in community, says survey
24th May 2012
Auckland communities are becoming more aware of problems caused by alcohol, two out of three people surveyed saying liquor has a negative effect on life in the city. However, 13 per cent of 2175 people questioned in the survey for Nielsen were regular drinkers and said they thought alcohol had a positive impact. About 45 per cent of respondents agreed that having a drink enhanced the experience of eating out and 38 per cent said pubs, bars and clubs brought communities together. The research was done for Auckland Council's proposed local alcohol policy, which is a response to safety, health and crime concerns expressed by organisations including local boards and the police.
more...
Man in court after swallowing 62 cocaine pellets
24th May 2012
An American man has appeared in the Auckland District Court for allegedly trying to smuggle cocaine inside his body. New Zealand Customs stopped Mark Henderson, 41, at Auckland International Airport on Tuesday after profiling him prior to his arrival from Chile. He allegedly admitted to being an internal drug courier during a search of his luggage. Customs says Henderson was found to be concealing 62 pellets of cocaine paste with an approximate weight of 1.3kg, and he had already passed some of the pellets which were located by airport staff.
more...
Smokers support tighter regulation and eventual ban
23rd May 2012
Smokers strongly support tighter regulation of the tobacco industry and almost half support an outright ban within a decade, Otago University research has found. The newly published study found 65 per cent of more than 1300 smokers agreed tobacco companies should be more tightly regulated. Support for tighter regulation was stronger among Maori, with 70 per cent in favour, and Pacific Islanders, with 74 per cent. Smokers under financial pressure were also more likely to agree.
more...
New rules likely to knock out dairy dope
23rd May 2012
Banned synthetic cannabis blends are unlikely to be back on shelves because attempting to prove they are safe could cost millions of dollars. A Ministry of Health discussion document obtained by the Herald shows manufacturers would likely face a costly process to have products approved. "By the time you actually launch a product, it's going to cost you over a million dollars to get out there," an industry source said. The document reveals all ingredients would need to be produced in a facility with "good manufacturing practice" (GMP) certification.
more...
New 'cannabis' product crops up in stores
22nd May 2012
Another synthetic cannabis product is on the market and being sold at stores in Auckland. Its stockist says it has been offered a range of other synthetic cannabis blends by "fly-by-night" companies based in the South Island. The K2 synthetic cannabisis on sale at Erox adult stores to people aged 18 or over. But a man who found his son smoking the product said it was also being sold at suburban dairies. Contacted by the Herald yesterday the Ministry of Health said it would investigate the K2 blend.
more...
Survey lifts the lid on RWC drinking
22nd May 2012
A third of Rugby World Cup revellers saw people who were drunk and disorderly on Auckland's waterfront during the tournament, according to a survey released this week. A report, based on a survey of Aucklanders who attended RWC festivities, will today be presented to Auckland Council's regulatory and bylaws committee and may lead to a liquor ban in the city centre being extended to Wynyard Quarter. According to the survey 33 per cent of respondents said they saw drunk and disorderly behaviour at the waterfront and 19 per cent reported problems on the Fan Trail. One respondent said there were "lots of drunk people everywhere, mountains of empty bottles, RTD cans and broken glass."
more...
A walk on the ugly side of Queen Street
21st May 2012
Drunkenness, violence and profanity ... Queen Street has gained a dark reputation for early hours debauchery. Nicholas Jones ventured out to find out how bad it is. It took nearly two hours walking along Auckland's Queen St early on Sunday morning before I found a source for some of the streams of wet crossing the pavements. A man was leaned against a shop wall heaving and heaving again, each involuntary attempt at emptying his stomach met by cheers from passers-by. On the town with work colleagues from Hastings, he was oblivious to both the appreciation and the token Burger King serviette offered by his friend.
more...