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Archived Press Releases 2010 28th October 2010

Compulsory Treatment Orders are not the only solution to drug abuse

(28th October 2010)

The Law Commission's latest report, Compulsory Treatment for Substance Abuse, "recognises that families and others face considerable difficulty when applying for compulsory treatment orders for people with severe drug or alcohol dependence, and recommends easier access to compulsory treatment orders and a greater range of residential treatment programmes."

Sensible Sentencing's Spokesperson on Drug Issues, Christine Davey, suggests that this is a problem which could be dealt with far more efficiently and cost-effectively if the illicit drug use is addressed when the problem first comes to the attention of families. Drug dependence becomes "severe" because it is not intervened in early. Left alone to continue their illicit drug habit, these people become ticking timebombs and often end up committing crimes which clog up the Courts and Prisons.

Ms Davey hears from many families through the Fight Against P website and the Sensible Sentencing Trust who are desperate for help to stop their family members using the illicit drug P before this happens, and there is none. Many of these families do not (yet) require the full force of the Alcohol and Addiction Act in order to curb this behaviour - a support strategy using resources we already have, i.e. the Community Police, would go a long way towards providing the persuasion and encouragement these people need to seek help before they become alienated from their families.

Early intervention in the Demand for P would help stem the need for the manufacture and supply of it, and save millions having to be spent on the Courts and Prisons. Common sense also suggests that a positive treatment outcome must be easier to achieve through early intervention rather than waiting until the user is "severely" addicted.

"For 10 years before my brother's brutal death, the Auckland District Health Board were unable to treat Ahlquist's illness, in fact it got worse. Are we now supposed to believe that two years in a clinic has magically cured him and he poses no risk to the community he is allowed to wander freely in?" said Colin's brother, Graeme Moyle.

Ms Davey says "MP's have long told us that P is a family and community issue and that we must deal with it – and yet we have no tools. Until Government adequately addresses the Demand for P with an early intervention strategy for families, this issue will never be resolved."

Regards,

Christine Davey
Sensible Sentencing Spokesperson on Drug Issues,
mobile 027 6376166
Christine Davey has first hand experience of P use in her family, and also supports many other NZ parents in her role as Administrator on the Fight Against P website www.fightagainstp.com

Through the Sensible Sentencing Trust Christine is campaigning for intervention in drug use at family request and removal of children from the care of known drug-users.