Cannabis teens accept counselling | New Zealand

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Cannabis teens accept counselling

Six boys readmitted to Nelson College's day school after growing cannabis on a hillside near their boarding lodge must undertake random drug-testing and mandatory counselling.
Four of the 11 boarders caught growing half-a-dozen cannabis seedlings have been expelled. Another boy has had his suspension extended until a meeting of the college's board of trustees in a fortnight.

The Year 11 students - nine aged 16 and two 15-year-olds - were sent home to various parts of the country this month after the tiny plantation was discovered.

College headmaster Gary O'Shea confirmed yesterday that the board of trustees had allowed six former boarders to return to the day school.

Mr O'Shea said he was pleased the board had made a balanced decision and hadn't expelled all 11 boys involved.

Some had become caught up in the cannabis-growing operation and had not been directly involved in putting others at risk. Apart from the one boy who faced another board hearing, that was the end of the matter, he said.

"But it's not the end of it of course in terms of us looking at how to work on the wider issue of boys making good decisions and what we can do to improve resilience in making choices - whether it's drugs or cars or girls, or whatever," Mr O'Shea said.

He said boys and girls today were taking more risks without thinking through the consequences.

"It's an ongoing issue and we know a blanket, punitive punishments system is not going to work."

All the boys who returned to school had accepted random drug testing and mandatory counselling conditions.

Mr O'Shea said parents of the boys involved had expressed emotions of shock and anger at their sons' drugs enterprise.

Some had questioned if the college could have known about the situation earlier.

"For the majority, certainly now it's over, those who were expelled understand why they needed to go," he said.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz

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