Mon, 30 Jun 2008

Five nine-year-old Rotorua boys have been caught taking drugs during school lunchtime.

The Owhata Primary School students were stood down after being caught "taking puffs" of a joint and have since been given drug education.

The incident is described by city principals as unusual because the children are so young and it happened at a primary school.

School officials told the Rotorua Daily Post the matter was dealt with and they doubted it marked the start of an alarming trend.

But the grandmother of one of the boys said she was concerned cannabis was being distributed in primary school playgrounds.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said one of the other boys in the group had brought the cannabis cigarette to school.

She feared that if children as young as her grandson were smoking drugs at Owhata, then it could be happening at other local schools.

Owhata Primary principal Bob Stiles said this was the first instance of drugs being found on the school's premises this year. "It is something that does happen and it happens in every school." He said the whole incident was dealt with promptly and efficiently, with all five boys involved being stood down.

NZPA