More teenagers on drugs, alcohol

Press, 29 May 1985, Page 2

More teenagers on drugs, alcohol

PA Wellington Almost 700 young people entered public hospital drug and alcohol clinics last year and indications point to the problem getting worse, according to an Alcoholic Liquor Advisory Council researcher, Ms Helen Orchard. Ms Orchard said 1984 statistics from 21 public hospital drug and alcohol clinics showed that more people aged between 15 and 19 were developing drug and alcohol habits. She said “under-age teenagers” entering clinics made up 12 per eent of all drug-dependent and alcoholdependent people seeking help within the public health system, compared with 9 per cent in 1981. Ms Orchard said council statistics did not include young people treated at private drug and alcohol support agencies. Dr Edwin Whiteside, a medical consultant for the Salvation Army’s in-patient Bridge clinics for alcohol and drug addicts, also said that drug and alcohol abuse by young people was increasing.

Salvation Army figures made public on Monday showed that 47 teenagers aged under 19 were admitted for help with drug and alcohol addictions last year, compared with 16 in 1981. Tiie council’s figures for the public health sector showed that Wellington Hospital’s alcohol and drug centre was approached by 119 teenagers last year, compared with 35 in 1981. The co-ordinator, Mr Neil Thornton, detailing reasons for the increase said, “Young people are the target of persuasive and demanding advertising which has forced many to believe that it is now socially acceptable to drink alcohol and smoke dope.”

Mr Thornton said it was also much easier for underage drinkers to acquire alcohol and drugs. “Sports clubs are given alcohol licences willy-nilly and are subsequently some of the worst offenders. Dope is available on the streets to anyone who wants it.” He said the high number of young drug-dependent people was a statement on society. “We are seeing an in-

creasing number of psychologically dependent cannabis abusers smoking first thing in the morning to last thing at night because they cannot find work. “Work is the cornerstone in our society. If young people cannot find employment they develop a sense of worthlessness. Drugs and alcohol have become an important means of dealing with the psychological pain these young people feel.”

Mr Thornton said that in many ways a generation of people had been lost because of continued alcohol and drug abuse. “Young people who have been knocked back by the system early on in life and relied on drugs and alcohol to relieve the pain have often starved themselves of a lot of valuable learning time because they have been either continually stoned or drunk,” he said.

“There are people in their 30s and 40s who are now just starting to know what self-confidence is, what being able to relax means, and basically learning how to cope with a drug-free and alcohol-free life.”