John MacDonald: Lack of drug testing a bitter pill

Two people have appeared in court charged with possession of the drug MDMA for supply following the death of a 20-year-old Christchurch man. Photo / 123RF

OPINION:

I remember someone telling me once that the more children she had, the more conservative she got.

She said that, when she was younger, she was a real risk-taker but, after having kids, she'd become a bit more scaredly-cat and worried about things a lot more - mainly about things to do with her kids, and making sure she was keeping them safe.

And I remember saying at the time that I felt the same way. And it's something researchers in Britain have been looking into and they've just published their findings which pretty much back that up.

They've found, after talking to thousands of people in 10 countries, that what this person told me years ago is actually a thing - and if you have kids, you tend to be more conservative than people who don't have kids.

The reason I mention it, is because of this tragedy in Christchurch where a 20-year-old has died after what the police are saying may be due to a potential drug overdose, and a couple of cases in Queenstown where two people became unwell after taking what they thought was MDMA. Or Ecstasy, as it's also known.

And, as a parent who has definitely become more conservative as our kids have got older, this sort of thing terrifies me.

I don't know all the details and I'm really mindful that there is a family out there living out every parent's nightmare. But I'm mindful too that there will also be a truckload of families out there who - by luck, and only by luck - aren't going through exactly the same thing right now.

Because, as the police have said, after this tragedy in Christchurch and the two cases in Queenstown where people had seizures after using what they thought was MDMA the police are saying people need to be very careful about what they take because it could be something completely different.

Which is why I say there will be families all over Canterbury who - through sheer luck - aren't facing the same tragic loss as this family in Christchurch, because there will be families whose kids are using what they think is MDMA but could, in fact, be something completely different.

Drug dealers are no one's friend. They'll do anything to make a buck. And if that means mixing up drugs or telling people they're buying MDMA when it isn't - then that's what these lowlifes will do.

Just last week, the New Zealand Drug Foundation reported that one in three drugs sold here over the last six months weren't what the people buying them thought they were.

One in three were either mixed with other substances, or something completely different.

Which is why the Drug Foundation and other outfits want drug testing made more available so people can check their drugs before they take them.

It's been done on a relatively small scale over the last couple of years, generally at music festivals. And, I've got to admit, that as one of those people who has become more conservative since becoming a parent, and as the kids have got older, the idea of having services to test drugs has freaked me out.

Because I don't want kids taking this stuff and so I've probably seen drug testing as some sort of endorsement of drug use.

But the reality is, people are using this drug and all sorts of other drugs. So why wouldn't we want to do everything we can to try and prevent tragedies like what's happened in Christchurch?

Yes, I probably bury my head in the sand a bit and wish kids weren't taking MDMA - or any drug for that matter. And yes, as the researchers in the UK have proven, it's because I have become more conservative as I've had kids and see them heading out into the party scene.

The same kids who tell me MDMA is everywhere. They don't even blink when you mention it to them. I hate the thought of it. But then, back in the day, before I became this conservative parent - I probably wouldn't have blinked either.

But now, every time I hear about families like this one in Christchurch who, last Saturday, had their boy go out for the night and who, this Saturday, will be having a funeral for him, it terrifies me.

So if I'm so terrified, then I have to accept, don't I, that MDMA is everywhere and accept that the likes of the Drug Foundation aren't promoting drug use when they say people should be able to get their drugs checked before they take them. And that they want more drug testing to try and prevent tragedies like this one.

And if we don't wake up, and accept that we have a real problem on our hands, then there will be more families having funerals because of the lowlife drug dealers who will do anything to make a buck.