Cannabis and Depression Study Proves Need for Drug Law Reform...

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Cannabis And Depression Study Proves Need For Drug Law Reform...




NZ Health Select Committee NORML Norml Phil Saxby Contributor:

 A study suggesting a link between early cannabis use and depression provides further evidence in support of reforming the Misuse of Drugs Act, said NORML President Phil Saxby today.



Mr Saxby's statement comes in response to a new study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, which suggests that children and teenagers who smoke cannabis may have a somewhat heightened risk of developing depression.



"Researchers cannot conclude whether or not the drug itself is to blame", Mr Saxby pointed out. "But that doesn't alter outcomes linking early cannabis use before the age of 17 with a 50 percent increase in the risk of developing a depression 'spell' later on in life."



"This is significant because the rate of early cannabis use in New Zealand has been growing at an alarming rate. Between 1998 and 2001, the number of young people aged 15 to 17 years who used cannabis 10 or more times a month increased by a staggering 300 percent." *



New Zealand now has the highest rate of teenage cannabis use in the world.



"NORML is concerned by any data linking early onset of cannabis use with later consequences for mental health, and has a strong adults-only policy for cannabis use. We certainly don't want children using it and we call for cannabis to be regulated in such a way that it's difficult, not easy, for them to buy," Mr Saxby said.



"Current policy - prohibition - only encourages the growth of 'tinny shops' and as everyone knows: those places don't ID their customers. Most Kiwi 15-year olds find it easier to buy cannabis than beer."



"For adults, cannabis is a low-risk drug which needs regulating: control its production; license outlets; tax sales and make it R18, consistent with alcohol. As 400,000 Kiwi adults currently use cannabis, we desperately need a system which a) stops criminalising them and b) restricts access by young people."



"Why does the Government continue allowing organised criminal gangs to decide where, when, to whom, and at what price illegal drugs get sold in New Zealand?" he asks. "What other local industry worth many millions of dollars each year is left in the hands of organised criminals rather than being taxed and properly controlled?"



(*NZ Health Select Committee, Inquiry into the Public Health Strategies Related to Cannabis and the Most Appropriate Legal Status, 2003; p.12


Acknowledgements: Voxy.com

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What the 2010 budget means for kiwis and their families...

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What the 2010 Budget means for Kiwis and their families...




Budget: increase in health spending:

DHBs will receive the lion's share of a $2.1 billion increase in health spending, mental health and disability services also get financial boosts


The Government will spend an extra $2.1 billion on health over the next four years.



District Health Boards will directly receive $1.4 billion extra over four years. Health Minister Tony Ryall says DHBs will also receive a large share of the extra funding going to targeted initiatives, such as elective surgery and medicines.



There will be a $40 million increase in spending on mental health over the next four years. Mr Ryall says in addition, it is expected DHBs will allocate $174 million to mental health from the new $1.4 billion.



Earlier this month, the Government announced $24 million of new spending over four years for a pilot programme to assess the feasibility of a national bowel cancer screening programme.



It says about $186 million over four years of lower priority spending has also been identified and shifted to high priority and frontline public health services. The new priorities include 20 new medical training places in 2010/11 and the second tranche of the Government's initiative to establish 200 new training places annually.



Funding for medicines will increase by $80 million over the next four years, with $40 million of this to be met from DHBs' budgets, and an extra $40 million being invested by the Government.



There will also be an extra $10.2 million in the current 2009/10 year for electives including cardiac surgery, an extra $51.5 million over the next four years for additional elective surgery and an extra $8 million over the next four years for breast reconstruction surgery.



Disability support funding boost:



The Government has announced an extra $93 million for disability support services over the next four years. Health Minister Tony Ryall says it means the Government is spending more than has ever been spent on disability support services.



Of the new funding, Mr Ryall says $72 million will improve access to disability support services and includes:



- $25.5 million for home and community support services. - $3.4 million for other disability support services. - $21 million for residential services for people with intellectual disabilities. - $7.9 million for supported independent living. - $2.7 million for respite care.



Disabilities Issues Minister Tariana Turia says it is welcome news for the people living with disabilities.



"I am delighted Budget 2010 has delivered on many of the commitments disabled people and their families have been seeking for some time."








Acknowledgements: © 2010 NZCity, NewsTalkZB

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New Zealand baby owes its life to its grandmother's intervention...

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A Southland, New Zealand, baby owes its life to its grandmother who intervened during her own daughter's attempt at infanticide.

The teenage mother, who last month admitted a charge of attempted infanticide, was today sentenced to two years' intense supervision when she appeared at the High Court at Invercargill.

Justice John Fogarty said infanticide, by its very nature, enabled the court to take into account the 19-year-old's mental state at the time of her offending.

"The offence recognises young mothers do get into a disturbed state of mind."

He declined to go into details of what had happened but did say the woman's mother had intervened to save the life of the child.

The court heard the woman had experienced a troubled upbringing, having attended up to 30 different schools, been exposed to violence, different religious influences and was the victim of rape.

Justice Fogarty said he accepted she had a mental health problem which most likely had been exacerbated by the birth of the baby.

The woman had already received quality assistance from clinical psychiatrists since the offence.

He said his greatest concern was for the ongoing welfare of her two babies.

"You are in need of as much assistance as can be given."

He said he was satisfied Child, Youth and Family had a plan in place that would allow the young mother to, over time, develop and maintain relationships with her children.

As part of her sentence, the judge also ordered the woman undertake psychiatric treatment and counselling as directed by the probation service.

However, Justice Fogarty turned down a Crown application she complete community work, saying he wanted stresses in the woman's life kept to a minimum.

He also ordered her name be suppressed so that she could be rehabilitated and her two children live their lives without everyone knowing what their mother had done. He said it would be a family decision whether the victim of the attempted infanticide would ever be told what happened.

Acknowledgements: NZPA

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