An archive of recent news articles on the topic of alcohol and drugs.
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Community backs work drug testing
6th October 2011
Three-quarters of New Zealanders believe employers should have the right to drug-test their workers. A Horizon Research poll of 2266 adults aged 18 and over, commissioned by labour hire company Allied Workforce, comes as the Government considers a proposal by the Rebstock Welfare Working Group to penalise beneficiaries who avoid applying for jobs where drug testing is common. Employers and Manufacturers Association health and safety manager Paul Jarvie estimates that drug testing now covers 40 to 50 per cent of the workforce.
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Synthetic cannabis back on the market
5th October 2011
A synthetic cannabis product is back on the market - and others are on the way - less than three months after the so-called "legal highs" were banned. Auckland-based Enjoi Products released a repackaged and modified version of its Amsterdam Cafe synthetic cannabis product to convenience stores across Auckland on Saturday. The Long Island Tea blend has been slightly chemically altered from the company's former Havana Special product, which was affected by the Government ban that came into force in August.
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Ministry ignored advice on synthetic cannabis ban
5th October 2011
The Ministry of Health ignored advice from police and Customs that legislation to ban synthetic cannabis products was incomplete and could lead to the re-emergence of legal highs. Yesterday it was revealed that a new legal version of Amsterdam Cafe, a synthetic cannabis product, went on sale on Saturday. Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne said yesterday that three new synthetic cannabinoid substances - the chemicals used to produce products like Kronic - had been banned.
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Drug dogs search 'every inch' of King's
3rd October 2011
King's College went into "lockdown" this week with sniffer dogs searching the school boarding houses. A concerned parent, of two boys at the school, told the Herald on Sunday parents raised concerns at a meeting on Tuesday night. "Out of that came the decision to have the school go into lockdown mode on Wednesday morning. Dogs were sent in to search every inch of the school. Parents had no notification," said the parent, who asked not to be named.
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Being educated about alcohol
3rd October 2011
Cacophony: chanting, cheering, screaming; pure unadulterated teenage energy. Music blaring from all directions. New friends united through the dance floor. Parties offer teenagers release, an opportunity to escape study pressure, stress and anxiety and to just let loose. But there is a problem with this intoxicating image of release. Teenage binge-drinking is a multi-faceted problem that plagues our youth and permeates New Zealand society as a whole. Binge-drinking is the definition of a great time for an alarming number of our youth.
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Police warn on tainted E pills
28th September 2011
A batch of Ecstasy pills that caused users to react so aggressively they had to be sedated may have contained a new drug that has caused similar reactions in the United States and Britain. Staff at Middlemore Hospital's emergency department were shocked by the violent seizures and hallucinations in people thought to have taken pills known as "red rockets". They reported users to be so aggressive that some required sedation - behaviour not normally consistent with Ecstasy.
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Kiwis' fondness for drugs increasing
28th September 2011
New Zealand is climbing the global charts when it comes to injecting methamphetamine and one former drug squad cop says it's high time the Government tackled problems of drug addiction and demand gripping the country. Methcon drug educator Dale Kirk said a new UN report on global methamphetamine use shows New Zealand "made it onto the front page of the report in our relation to our injecting the drug." Mr Kirk said the quality of reporting varies across countries and poorer nations often under-reported drug use. But even compared only to other developed countries, New Zealand consistenly ranked in the top three for meth or "P" use.
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'Ecstasy' takers sedated after nasty turn
27th September 2011
Drug users in South Auckland have been put in hospital after taking what they thought were Ecstasy pills that caused them to react so aggressively they needed to be sedated. Some users suffered violent seizures and hallucinations that shocked staff at Middlemore Hospital's emergency department. It is thought all the users took pills known as "red rockets". Six people were treated last weekend and others continued to arrive up until Friday.
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Editorial: Brash's dope idea misguided and desperate
27th September 2011
When Don Brash seized the leadership of Act, it was expected to be the prelude to a return to the party's founding principles. A raft of policies emphasising individual freedom, personal responsibility, lower taxes and limited government spending was anticipated. Indeed, as much is needed if Act is to have a chance of winning back many disillusioned voters and returning anything like its current crop of five MPs at the general election. Nothing like this has happened, however. Instead, there has been a policy initiative from Dr Brash that smacks more of opportunism than principle.
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A lot to lose from booze
22nd September 2011
Alcohol contains calories so it pays to limit intake if you want to lose weight, writes Susan Edmunds. It's common knowledge that drinking alcohol doesn't help most people's attempts to lose weight. Weight Watchers' popular points system assigns a glass of wine about two points - the same as eight pieces of sushi - and the Atkins Diet forbids any alcohol for the first two weeks. Most people should consume about 2000 calories (8000 kilojoules) a day, or a little bit less if they have weight to lose. But Rene Schliebs, senior nutritionist at Mission Nutrition, says she sees a lot of clients who can quite easily consume two days' worth of calories just through their alcohol intake.
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