P marchers set off today

A march to Parliament against the killer drug P is due to leave Victoria Park in Auckland at 11am today.

The marchers, who plan to walk through smaller towns and take transport between major cities, will sleep at marae in Hamilton, Rotorua and Otaki, reaching Wellington on Thursday.

They will lay wreaths on the steps of Parliament in memory of the lives lost to the drug.

Primary schoolchildren, many from P homes, will present MPs with the list of changes they would like to see in the Government's drug policy - including more treatment programmes, a dedicated anonymous call-centre, compulsory drug education in schools and tougher penalties for drug dealers.

The Fight Against P march is the brainchild of 57-year-old grandmother Marie Cotter, a budget adviser from Pukekohe.