11th January 2011

Young Teens Rate P as Drug for Losers

A new UMR Research survey conducted on behalf of the anti P group the Stellar Trust indicates that young teenagers have a negative view of Methamphetamine and see it as a drug for ‘”losers”, however they also see little difference between cannabis, ecstasy, tobacco and alcohol.

Use of Cannabis and to a lesser extent ecstasy was reported as being common among this group

Former Detective and managing director or drug education and consultancy company Methcon Group Limited, stated that whilst it was pleasing to see a negative attitude towards Methamphetamine, albeit amongst a small sample group, it was worrying but not at all surprising that an attitude of tolerance to Cannabis and other drugs remained.

“ As educators working at the coalface with youth in High Schools and with youth at risk in other Government institutions we recognize that sadly the romantic notion of cannabis as being a soft drug remains as strong as ever.”

“This is hardly surprising given the home environment and communities that many young people find themselves growing up in where cannabis is accepted by adult role models as OK and used on a daily basis”

“One of the hardest ‘sells’ is to convince cannabis users of the damage that the drug causes, particularly to the highly fragile developing adolescent brain”

“If you can convince cannabis users that the drug is harmful you can sell coals to Newcastle”

“Research now clearly shows a link between regular cannabis use and the subsequent use of harder drugs such as P, whereby regular cannabis users are 60 times more likely to move on to these harder drugs”

“The cannabis which is now available is up to 30 times more potent that the drug that was available 30-40 years ago”

“We fully support the Stellar Trust and their initiatives. Education is the key to empowering New Zealanders with the knowledge of the dangers associated with all drugs”

“Until we see resources placed into demand based initiatives such as hard hitting advertising campaigns and mass education programs we will continue to see New Zealanders targeted by dealers”

www.methcon.co.nz

ENDS

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