MORE SEEK HELP FOR ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE

Nelson alcohol and drug services have reported a dramatic rise in the
number of people they are treating for alcohol and amphetamine abuse
and addiction.

Alcohol and Other Drug Service regional manager Eileen Varley said
that during the past year, there had been a noticeable increase in
the number of young people appearing in court on charges of driving
with excess breath alcohol, and an increase in the number of people
with amphetamine and other stimulant abuse and dependence.

There had also been an increase in demand for the community
detoxification service for people dependent on alcohol and opiates.

Mrs Varley said the number of clients needing help each year was
"increasing dramatically".

"We have a constant stream of referrals."

The service had grown from having three staff 14 years ago to 26 now, she said.

"If I employed another five people, there would still be heaps of
work." Advertisement

She said the positive side of the increase was that people were being
seen at a younger age, so their problems could be dealt with sooner.

The increase was in line with a national increase, but the service
was coping, she said.

"There is always pressure on the service."

The service had been given funding for an extra forensic alcohol and
drug clinician to deal with the increase in court-related referrals, she said.

Mrs Varley said most clients were being seen for alcohol-related problems.

She expected the trends to continue, but hoped that new initiatives
such as those run by the Alcohol Advisory Council would change young
people's attitudes towards drinking.

Lee Nixon, a doctor at the service, said each drug had its own
pattern of spread, but it generally started in big cities before
spreading to provincial centres.

"Drug use behaves exactly like an infectious disease - you catch it
from other people."

Dr Nixon recently returned from working with alcohol and drug
services in Sydney, where he said methamphetamine use in particular was rife.

The most referrals to alcohol and drug services in Sydney were for
people with methamphetamine abuse problems, he said. He expected this
to be the case here in two or three years. "We are still on the upswing."

However, because Nelson did not have the large areas of deprivation
that New South Wales did, the effect of the drug's spread was likely
to be less severe, he said.

Also, a patient's prognosis was much better in New Zealand because of
its better educated workforce.

"We have generally a much better trained workforce with an
extraordinary level of professionalism."