My friends daughter is on P

She's been smoking it for about 6 weeks and is pretty well hooked. She is 18 and just moved back home because she didn't pay her rent etc of course, has already stolen her brothers i pod and hocked it for drugs. Who do you go to for help with this before its too late?

I'm really sorry to hear that Devan, how utterly tragic.

The terrible thing about P, and the reason it is so truly evil is because the user becomes adddicted from the very first hit.

Unless the parents can pay for private treatment - if they can get it, and she would have to agree to it - it is incredibly difficult to kick the P habit so this is already a very, very serious drug problem. Thinking of it in terms of "its only been a short time" isn't realistic if they're hoping she might come off it just as quickly. This is why P makes parents so utterly desperate.

Her parents need to talk the National Drug and Alcohol Helpline as a start - 0800 787 797 - and they will have local contacts and groups that help with this sort of thing.

There is also:
CARENZ - who provide counselling and treatment for drug and alcohol dependants and their families.

Salvation Army Bridge Programme who provide residential and Out-Patient programmes across the country.


There is a list of some NZ addiction service providers at: www.nzdf.org.nz/links

So sorry to hear this, devan my first thought for your friend would be somewhere like Alcohol Drug Helpline 0800 787 797 for a bit of confidential advice on options...

police, they know the rehab people the judges send the users to.

I'm sooooo damn frustrated with her! She doesn't seem to realise just how serious this is (my friend that is) she seems to think that since its only been 6 weeks that her daughter can just "give it up". She has some money coming to her from the sale of her mothers house but if it was me i would borrow the damn money and pay for the treatment NOW, she cant wait for the house to sell and all the probate stuff etc, it will be too late by then [!] Does K (the daughter) have to agree to go to rehab? or can she make her do it?

From what I have read about P, it is one of those drugs that pretty much rewires your brain from the first time you use it...making it one of the harder ones to kick. So my impression would be that 6 weeks on it is not a short period of time at all as far as making it easier to give up...

What about that organisation Paul Holmes in involved with....sorry cant remember the name.

Yeah from what i can figure out thats pretty much the case, but do you think i can get that through to her dumb arse mother???? Honestly i am more concerned about K than she is [!] I'm really angry with her and she is just brushing it off. She rang me this morning to tell me that K had taken off again and stolen her brothers i pod. K only moved back home on the weekend! My friend has always been so over protective of her kids and i just cant figure out why she isn't reacting to this???? I will give her the phone numbers to call and then back away from it

www.paulholmes.co.nz/index.php?CID=100046

devan;305522 wrote: I'm really angry with her and she is just brushing it off.

Devan, I can understand it must be frustrating - I feel sad for them and I don't even know these people. I do suspect the Mum is in denial, because she'll want to desperately believe her child is different and special and nothing bad will happen to her, even though the evidence is overwhelmingly against this.

Having watched several docos on just how evil this drug is, I don't believe that and you obviously don't either. But all you can do is give her the information and hope she comes to the realisation.

Is there someone else who can talk to her about it, to back up what you're saying? Sometimes a person needs to hear it from 3-4 people (singing from the same songbook) before they start figuring things out for themselves. A friend in a similar position told me to get lost, but eventually, after more and more people started saying the same thing, she realised she was in denial and took action.

devan;305516 wrote: Does K (the daughter) have to agree to go to rehab? or can she make her do it?

I don't think you can force someone in rehab, although you could use sheer force of numbers to try to persuade them.

Forcing someone doesn't tend to work anyway - there's a reason she has chosen P, and it may take rock bottom for her to want to give it up.

I, too, have a friend who's daughter was on P. The daughter is in jail now - the only place where they can get help even if they don't beg for it - and her mother is over the moon that she finally was able to go to jail.

Her mother's house looks like a fortress - high fence around the whole thing, motion detector alarms on 24/7, guard dog on patrol, and it has been like this for as long as I know her which is about 6 or 7 years.

The thing with drug addiction is that the addicted person has to apply for help and there is a waiting list. There is no point putting someone against their will through a withdrawal program - they'll be back on drugs in no time once they're out.

I assume Paul Holmes has got all the money and more than he needs to put his step daughter through a rehab program. But if she doesn't really really want to no rehab clinic wants her. Such clinics want to be able to show off some positive statistics which is understandable.

I've heard it mentioned that if M!IIy wasn't his step daughter she would long be in jail. I don't think this is true. Judges today are very reluctant to put such people into jail. My friend's daughter waited for several years until she had enough convictions to guarantee a long enough stay that might make rehab possible.

Another prerequisite for going to jail was being on the methadone program for a certain length of time. (This is provided there is 'only' property crime.)

Devan, I can understand your frustration. Your friend will wake up once her jewellry (if she has some), her vacuum cleaner, her TV, her stereo, her hair dryer, her lawn mower and so forth have disappeared. They start with small high value items like iPods but once the insurance refuses to pay out and these items aren't replaced the drug addicts will take anything of value, even if they only get a few Dollars for them.

Pumpkingirl;305533 wrote:
Forcing someone doesn't tend to work anyway - there's a reason she has chosen P, and it may take rock bottom for her to want to give it up.

That's the problem. Her mother could help her hit rock bottom a bit earlier by refusing her entry to their house (thus taking away the opportunity to take things which she can sell to buy more P) but I have yet to see a parent who is able to do this at this stage.

Her brother should contact the police and lay charges for theft. Then it may be possible to force her to complete court ordered drug rehab. Police would back brother and parents all the way if that's what they want to do. Police hate P and what it does to the community.

Funny you should post this as I had my first experience of P when a "visitor" appeared down my LONG driveway which deters most people, I was outside, he asked if I had a horse for sale. But was laughy and acting idiotic, had a family in the wagon. I said no and mumbled something, told him to try a pony club. I decided to take his rego no, because it sounded suspicious. As I was going away for the weekend I asked the neighbour to look out for prowlers, gave them the rego no. and locked my gate. This morning a neighbour rang and asked if I'd seen anyone suspicious, I told my story and they had given the same story to two other neighbours. One naive neighbour asked him for his name and no. which he gave. :confused: But the other neighbour had a return visit at 3am this morning after a confrontation yesterday, this time the no. plate was covered, but she and her partner chased them to the local marae before backing off. Both neighbours say the couple were as high as kites. The police have rung me and asked for details and I'm waiting to hear if there's a result. Rather worrying,I shall lock myself in til I know there's a resolution. Big bad world!