Every year in New Zealand, well over 1,000 students are excluded from school (suspended or expelled), and the most common reasons include alcohol or other drug use.
The Australian Drug Foundation says it is important parents understand the critical role they play in introducing children to alcohol. Parents are currently one of the main sources of alcohol for young people, so it is vital that they teach their children about it and how to act responsibly. When it comes to teaching children about alcohol, remember the three Rs:
In recent months, alcohol and young people have featured prominently in the news. There have been a number of liquorrelated deaths and injuries, controversies over afterball parties and much debate about drinking and purchasing ages.
It once marketed itself as the party university, but now the University of Otago’s academic reputation is under threat internationally because of the binge-drinking and bacchanalian revelry of its students. The university is trying to reverse its drinking culture, but how much can it achieve when, across society, drinking to excess has become the norm for the young?
The Law Commission says its latest report proides government with a bluprint for reducing both the short - and long-term effects of alcohol misuse on society. The Commission's review has been comprehensive and its recommendations numerous at 153. It has encouraged the government to institute its recommendations a package, but how many will actually make it into law? Proposed changes to social supply laws, for example, are a little bit 'touch and go' - and for many, this is a concern.
The Law Commission is considering submissions on Controlling and Regulating Drugs – its issues paper on the reform of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. Sanji Gunasekara outlines some key points from the Drug Foundation’s submission about a new approach to personal possession of drugs.
For many in the East Coast region, alcohol and drugs seem the only escape from a life of unemployment and apathy, and it’s a problem affecting young people as well as adults. But a number of Community Action on Youth and Drugs (CAYAD) people and initiatives have begun to make a real difference.
Mixing sport and too much alcohol has long been a New Zealand pastime. Kim Thomas looks at the challenges for those trying to break the harmful trend, and some initiatives offering hope.
The connection between youth offending and drug and alcohol use cannot be denied, contends Principal Youth Court Judge Andrew Becroft, and this is a non-negotiable source of concern for the courts. While dealing with young offenders’ drug and alcohol issues is complex, requiring a whole-of-community approach, judges must uphold their duty to eliminate illegal drug use by young people.
Director of Dunedin Child and Youth Drug and Alcohol Mental Health Service Mirror Services.