Magistrate John Murphy said illegal drugs were the scourge of society and continued to destroy the lives of people taking the drugs as well as those who cared for them.

And the Magistrate warned country areas such as Mildura were not immune from the drug curse.

“You can get it anywhere,” Magistrate Murphy said. “It’s rife out there ... it’s pretty rife everywhere,” he said.

Mr Murphy said the effect of drugs on the community was enormous and could be attributed to much of society’s ills.

He said drugs and/or alcohol contributed to “a large part” of crime in general.

“It has a big impact on people’s lives in general and parents have got to take some of that responsibility,” he said.

“Perhaps if they were more vigilant in the first place children wouldn’t get involved.

For more of this story, purchase your copy of Saturday’s Sunraysia Daily 04/07/2009.