5.00pm
Kaitaia College has voted to go ahead with testing suspended students for methamphetamine use.
The Kaitaia College board of trustees unanimously agreed on Tuesday night to adopt urine tests to see if suspended students are taking methamphetamine, also known as speed, or its pure form P.
Local police had earlier raised concerns
about Kaitaia youth taking the drug.
Kaitaia College principal William Tailby said the board's decision followed three weeks of community consultation which yielded 15 responses, all in favour of testing.
Mr Tailby said the board's disciplinary committee could now drug-test suspended students for methamphetamine as a condition of their reinstatement at school.
It complemented the existing tests for cannabis and would work under the Suspension Act, he said.
The school sent parents a questionnaire about the tests.
Mr Tailby said earlier that from the replies to the survey received so far, all supported the move.
The school is to pay for the tests.
Users would probably be reported to the local police because police were already made aware of those stood down or suspended, he said.
The soaring use of P, which has been linked with a number of high-profile violent crimes, led Parliament to reclassify it as a Class A drug, meaning manufacturers and dealers can face a life sentence.
- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)
Herald Feature: Health
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