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July 15, 2011
July 29, 2011
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Kronic gone from dairies The drug Kronic is now gone from dairies on the Devonport Peninsula. The last remaining dairy to stock the fake cannabis substitute, Elizabeth Dairy at Belmont, has sent all its remaining stocks back to the wholesaler. Dairy manager Aakash Shah, aged 24, a former student of Takapuna Grammar School, finally agreed to pull the product from his shelves after receiving widespread condemnation in the community for stocking the legal high. The dairy featured heavily in a report about the Flagstaff's campaign against Kronic on TV1's Close Up programme. Shah's was the only dairy out of 13 on the Devonport peninsula who was still selling the drug. The principal of Belmont Primary School, Bruce Cunningham, wrote to parents telling them the school was boycotting the Elizabeth Dairy because it was selling Kronic and advised them and their children to use other dairies in the area (see letters p 21). "When we realised how much the community opposed it and didn't want us selling it, we decided not to stock it anymore," said Shah. "I was shocked when we found out there were prescription medicines in it and that people could get addicted. "People started looking at us like we were a drug store instead of a dairy. "I have worked hard to get a good reputation for my shop and I am not prepared to see it disappear for a bit of profit." Shah said he never knowingly sold Kronic to under 21's and never advertised it. Thanks to the Devonport Flagstaff push to get Kronic out of dairies, the campaign got on national TV and radio, many other communities across Auckland and the rest of the country began asking their local dairies to stop selling it. We have had numerous emails and calls congratulating The Flagstaff on its stance and even got given a bag of delicious Ma Higgins cookies from an appreciative parent, so highly addictive they should be banned as well. The Kronic campaign has also been debated in Belmont Intermediate School with students submitting to the Flagstaff letters page. The issue was also discussed widely in Takapuna Grammar media classes. Coupled with the Government withdrawal of the two strongest varieties of Kronic, Pineapple Express and Purple Haze, after they were discovered to contain prescription-only drugs, it looks like its days of widespread availability is a thing of the past. We'd still like to hear from anyone who knows if Kronic is posing a threat to our teenagers. Call 445 0060 or email devonportflagstaff@orcon.net.nz Inside the Flagstaff Rugby World Cup in Devonport, p 2 All Blacks at North Shore Rugby Club, p 3 Interview: Baby talk expert Robyn Holt, p 22
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