Summary
of findings
This
report presents the findings from the Maori respondents who
participated in the first national survey into drug use in
Aotearoa/New Zealand. It has been produced in response to a growing demand from
people working in the Maori health sector for this type of
information. It
also constitutes the findings from the first in a series of
surveys that will allow trends in drug
use among
Maori to be monitored.
This
survey, conducted in 1998, explored the level of drug use,
patterns of drug use and the
perceptions of both users and non-users towards various issues related to
drug
use. Opinions about what exactly is
deemed to be a 'drug' varies from person to person. Some would include caffeine in coffee and tea in their
definition of 'drugs', while many would confine the term to substances that
are illegal. In
this survey, drugs were defined as substances
used to change people's state of consciousness for non-medical
purposes. The focus
of this report is to describe the use by Maori of the three most
common drugs in New Zealand:
alcohol, tobacco and cannabis. Use of other illegal drugs, such as hallucinogens (e.g.
LSD, magic mushrooms, ecstasy), stimulants (e.g.
cocaine, crack) and opiates (e.g. heroine, homebake, poppies) are also reported.
To
order a copy contact Whariki
Summary
This
report is a summary of the responses from 1,593 Maori aged 15 to
45 who took part in a 1998 nationaI telephone survey of drug use
in New Zealand. It
is intended to be the first in a series of reports to examine
trends and inform drug policy relative to the Maori population
.
Alcohol
The
majority of Maori respondents (83%) were drinkers (people who
had consumed alcohol in the previous twelve months). Males (72%) were more likely than females (60%) to have
used alcohol in the last month.
Forty
six percent of drinkers1 drank alcohol at least once
per week in the previous twelve months. Significantly more males (55%) reported drinking at least
once per week compared to females (37%).
Twenty
seven percent of drinkers drank large amounts of alcohol on
a single occasion2 at least once per week, with males
(22%) reporting a higher level of drunkenness on a weekly basis
compared to females (11%). Male drinkers aged 20-24 were more likely to drink larger
quantities (52%) and to feel drunk at least weekly (39%).
The
most commonly reported problem caused
by drinking was the effect on people's energy levels
and vitality. This
was reported by 25% of drinkers. This was followed by the effect on people's financial
position, particularly for males and then problems experienced
in friendships and social lives.
1.
Drinkers are defined in this study as those who
had consumed alcohol in the 12 month period prior to being interviewed
2. Large amounts are defined in this study, as in other studies of
alcohol use,
as the consumption
of six drinks by men and four drinks by women (Wyllie et al, 1996)
Tobacco
While
almost three quarters (70%) of Maori had smoked tobacco at some
time in their lives, 41% could be regarded as current smokers3
with more females (46%) than males (35%) reporting to be
smokers.
Most smokers (60%) felt
that they were smoking more than they were happy with. Women and those under 30 years were more likely to smoke
1-10 cigarettes per day, while men and 30-45 year olds were more
likely to smoke 11 or more cigarettes per day.
There
was a high perception among respondents of risk associated with
cigarette smoking, with over one third (38%) perceiving there to
be a great risk associated with smoking (i.e. only having tried
it once or twice) and the perception of risk increasing steeply
as the level of smoking increased.
3. A
'current smoker' is defined as someone who had smoked tobacco in
the one month period prior to being interviewed.
Cannabis
Sixty
percent of the Maori respondents reported that they had tried
marijuana at some time in their lives, about a quarter (26%)
stated that they had used it in the twelve month period prior to
being interviewed and 18% regarded themselves as current users.
A
very small proportion of the sample could be regarded as heavy
users, with 4% stating that they had used marijuana ten or more
times in the one month
period prior to being interviewed.
Very
few respondents had ever used either hash oil, hashish or skunk
weed.
Forty
one percent of those who had ever tried marijuana said that they
tried it for the first time between the ages of 15 and 17.
The younger people in the sample reported trying it at
slightly younger ages than those reported by the older people.
The majority (69%) of
those who had ever used marijuana stated that they had stopped
using it. Very few (5%) stated that they were using more compared to a
year ago, while 11% stated that they were using the same amount.
The main reason given for using more was that they liked
the effect and it was fun.
The
main reasons given by those who had never used marijuana were
that they didn't like it, followed by concern over the health
effects.
Respondents
most commonly consumed their marijuana in groups of three or
four people, rather than by themselves, and they usually smoked
up to two joints on a typical occasion.
Marijuana
users tended to consume most of their marijuana in private
homes. Younger
people tended to also use a lot of their marijuana in public
places, such as
at beaches, parks and concert venues.
Fifty
one percent of marijuana users stated that they used at least
some of their marijuana with alcohol. Significantly more females (21%) than males (12%)
reported smoking all of their marijuana while drinking.
Most
marijuana users (67%) did not drive while under the influence of
marijuana. However,
19% of males said they did some, most or all of their driving
while under the influence of marijuana, compared to 9% of
females.
While
around half of those who had used marijuana in the previous twelve months were
not concerned about the amount of marijuana that they were
using, over a third (34%) felt that they were using more than
they were happy with.
When
asked to identify what problems if any, they had experienced as
a result of using marijuana, 69% of those who had used marijuana
in the previous twelve months reported experiencing no problems.
Heavier marijuana users (used on 10 or more occasions in
the previous 30 days) were more likely to report memory loss as
a problem.
Respondents
who had used marijuana in the previous twelve months were asked
how marijuana had affected a range of specified life areas.
Forty six percent reported a problem in at least one of
these areas with 28% stating that it had adversely affected
their levels of energy and vitality, followed by outlook on life
(14%), finances (14%), friendships (14%) and health (13%),
Most (82%) of those who
had ever used marijuana stated that they did not need any help
to reduce their level of marijuana use. Very few (8%) stated that they felt they needed at least
some help, while a similar proportion stated that they had
needed help at some stage in their life but had not got it.
The
main reasons cited for not being able to get help were: fear of
the law; fear of losing friends; having no local services; not
knowing where to go; and social pressure.
Although
most felt that marijuana use around children, before driving and
before work or study was unacceptable, some felt that marijuana
use in social situations such as at a party
or at the beach with friends was acceptable.
Respondents
generally felt that the level of risk associated with marijuana use increased as
marijuana use became heavier. There were fairly low levels of risk associated with
non-regular levels of use.
A
small proportion of people who had smoked marijuana in the
previous twelve months tried to ensure that they had a regular
supply of the drug. While almost all received marijuana for free at times, almost half
bought at least some of their marijuana. Very few actually grew
their own supply.
Other drugs
Fifteen
percent of the sample stated that they had tried a
hallucinogenic drug at some time in their lives, with 7% saying
they had used them in the previous twelve months.
Ten percent had tried magic mushrooms (4% in the previous
12 months); 8% had tried LSD (4% in the previous 12 months); and
2.3% had tried ecstasy (1.1 % in the previous twelve months).
Few
respondents reported ever trying stimulants (7%), cocaine
(2.4%), crack (0.7%) or ice (0.2%). Reported
use of opiates was very low, and few reported ever trying these
drugs. 6.3% had tried kava; 3.1% solvents, 1.5% tranquillisers
and 1.2% had administered their drugs with needles. Reported current use and use in the previous twelve
months was also low.
Drugs
and community
Drugs
perceived to be of most concern for their effect on the community were
illegal drugs, other than marijuana, followed by solvents, alcohol,
marijuana and tobacco. Women appeared generally more concerned than men about
marijuana
and alcohol, while men appeared to have greater concern about tobacco.
Although
most people felt that the levels of law enforcement for selling
illegal drugs, including marijuana, and using illegal drugs,
not including marijuana, were too light, around a third felt that the
level of enforcement just for marijuana use was about right and a
similar proportion felt that it was too heavy.
Researchers
Helen Moewaka Barnes, Brendon Dacey,
Sally Casswell, Allan
Wyllie, Adrian Field, Krishna Bhatta, Michael Ford, Jia-Fang Zhang and the
CATI team
This report was a project of the Whariki
Maori Health Research Group, based at the Alcohol & Public Health
Research Unit, University of Auckland.
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