Harm minimization not working, Government living in dream world.

The Kiwi Party
Press Release
29 May 2008

Kiwi Party leader Larry Baldock supports Paul Holmes call for MPs to urgently address the country's lack of detox centres. Millie Holmes parents discovered there was no place for Millie between finding out about her drug use and her sentencing.

Paul Holmes made the call in his recent address to a group of young leaders and Parliamentarians regarding his daughter's 'P' addiction.

"Families must have somewhere to place their loved ones in times of crises such as these. We must do all we can to ensure they get the very best care to start on the road to being set free form the hideous addictions P is causing," says Mr Baldock.

While the P problem continues to affect somewhere between 4% to 7 % of our population, particularly young people, there are going to be more ‘Millies’ who need detox support and need it now."

The Kiwi Party agrees with Mr Holmes that “NZ is in the grip of an evil thing!” Those who manufacture and peddle this horrible drug could in fact be responsible for the destruction of many lives. Maybe the sentence for these crimes ought to be the equivalent of that imposed for murder?

The Kiwi Party also supports fully former cop Mark Sabin's proposal that he has placed before Parliament’s Law and Order Select Committee.

The Kiwi Party leader said that with more than four years personal experience with LSD and Marijuana as a teenager 35 years ago, he can say with some authority on the subject that harm minimization will never work.

"Mr Sabin’s request for random drug tests for students aiming at identifying, intervening and deterring drug use should at least be trialed in several schools so that the results can speak for themselves. We must be prepared to trial new methods because the harm minimization approach has clearly not reduced drug use at all. Too many parents are left with the nightmare scenario of dealing with their teenage P users with nowhere to turn for help,” he said.

The Kiwi Party is committed to establishing both detox centres and rehabilitation facilities. Overseas experience shows that faith based models run by those with experience in the community often show the best results.

ENDS

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