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Claims Parihaka's peace festival was a hotbed of drug and alcohol use are exaggerated, says a drug and alcohol counsellor says.
Yesterday Maori warden Imelda Mauriri claimed children as young as 10 or 11 years old were smoking cannabis at last week's Parihaka festival.
She told the Taranaki Daily News the peace at the festival was mainly drug-induced.
But Tommy Sygrove, 29, a counsellor for Wellington's Well Trust and who has appeared at the festival twice with his band Tommy, said the claims were making a mountain out of a molehill.
"I think it is the old saying that a few individuals gave the party a bad name," Mr Sygrove, who has been working with youths with drug and alcohol problems for seven years, said.
He said compared to other festivals, he saw less intoxication than at other big events around the country.
"I'm not naive enough to think that there weren't young people there drinking alcohol and using drugs but I don't think people come to Parihaka to get wasted," Mr Sygrove said.
Mr Sygrove said every town, city and school in New Zealand had kids who were experimenting with drugs and alcohol.
"I would honestly say walking down town on a Friday and Saturday night, I would have seen more intoxicated teenagers than I saw at Parihaka."
Taranaki rural police commander Inspector Frank Grant said police had no reported incidents of concern to do with drug abuse at the festival and had been pleased with the behaviour of the 12,000 strong crowd who attended the festival over the three days.
Howie Tamati, who helped organise security, said he had not seen anyone smoking marijuana.
He was devastated to read Miss Mauriri's comments and felt they were unfair on the festival organisers.
Yesterday Miss Mauriri said she was standing by her story.
- NZPA
