Editorial

Norml News 1994 Spring

Another tragic death has confirmed the criminal negligence of drug prohibition. In an incident akin to the young man who died in Auckland after sniffing LPG, a Christchurch youth has died after drinking a datura concoction. Blame can be laid squarely at the feet of those who fight to maintain a policy of prohibition over relatively less harmful drugs like cannabis.

By denying young people access to 'soft' drugs, and education about responsible use, we leave young people's safety to the whims of chance. History shows very clearly that young people will get high. If they can't do it with a soft drug like cannabis, they will do it with something more readily available, or free, like petrol, glue, or pills. Or perhaps, like Joseph Carylon, they might try LPG. Or, like Andrew Chappell did, datura.

Andrew had gone to Gore Bay near Christchurch with friends on Saturday August 6. They pitched a tent at the Gore Bay Camp and brewed up some datura. Andrew disappeared sometime during the day after drinking it.

The Gore Bay Camp caretaker, Mr John Sorensen said that he had misgivings about having not raised the alarm with police after locals described the youth wandering around as if on another planet.

"I spoke to a couple of his friends about him. They said he had just been boozing the night before. In hindsight, I should have acted on it," said Mr Sorensen.

Senior Constable Kirk Newman said there was little Mr Sorensen could have done. He had harsh words, though, for Andrew's friends who packed up and left on Sunday morning, even though Andrew had not returned. They did not tell the police or Mr Sorensen he was missing.

Andrew's body was found washed up on the beach on Monday, shortly before midnight, by his father who had gone to search for him.

The tragedy is that our head in the sand approach to drugs makes dangerous drug use a regular occurrence. Mr Sorensen said that "we get groups of young people like this all the time".

Cheviot police said that two other incidents had occurred in Gore Bay involving young people using datura in the past eight months. In one case a youth under the influence of datura was found by searchers an hour short of dying of hypothermia.

It is time we fronted up to our responsibilities to young people, and stopped trying to hide behind cardboard cut-out morals in the name of 'a drug free New Zealand'.