COURTS AWASH WITH P CASES

P cases are clogging up the High Court system so much that lawyers are
calling for a law change to lighten the load.

The soaring P epidemic is clogging up the High Court at Hamilton with
four out of five new cases now involving the methamphetamine drug.

Justice Ministry figures released to the Waikato Times under the
Official Information Act show methamphetamine (P) cases made up 82 per
cent of all new cases put before the High Court at Hamilton last year.

Of the 34 cases sent from the District Court to the High Court in
2007, 28 were for P-related offences.That's a 34 per cent increase on
2006.

In 2006, less than half of the cases sent to the High Court were
P-related. In 2004 and 2005 P cases made up 45 and 64 per cent of High
Court cases, respectively.

Nationally, 54 per cent of cases sent to the High Court in 2007 and
2006 were P-related.

Methamphetamine is a Class A drug, meaning most cases must be heard in
the High Court because manufacturing, supplying, offering to supply or
possessing the drug for supply all carry a maximum sentence of life
imprisonment.

The District Court can only sentence offenders to a maximum 10 years
behind bars.

The high number of P-related cases has prompted Waikato lawyers to
call for a law change to help lighten the load.

Hamilton lawyer Bruce Hesketh, who is chairman of the city's courts
committee, said many Class A drugs cases could be dealt with in the
District Court because the offending was of a relatively low level.

"If you're a small-time dealer, say you had two or three grams but
you're deemed to be a supplier, you have to go to the High Court. But
the reality is you'll only be sentenced to three or four years."

Mr Hesketh said many lawyers would support a law change that saw more
flexibility in how Class A drugs cases are handled by the courts.

He said the District Court could be given the power to deal with less
serious cases, and the High Court should be able to refer cases back
to the lower court as it saw fit.

Mr Hesketh said such a move would not simply be transferring the
problem because the District Court had more judges, courtrooms and
staff to deal with it. Clearing the backlog may also shorten the
increasingly long time it is taking for all kinds of High Court cases
to get to trial.

Murray Hunt, the clinical director of the Waikato District Health
Board's alcohol and drug services, said in the past few months he had
noticed an increase in the number of P-users approaching his clinic
solely so they could tell a judge they had sought help.

Dr Hunt said people charged with drug offences had been phoning the
clinic wanting a letter or report they could show the court,
presumably to increase their chances of a lighter sentence.

Methamphetamine addicts are typically less motivated to address their
problem than other drug users, with only about two people approaching
the clinic each month.

Dr Hunt said P was a harder habit to break.

The popularity of P may have peaked about a year ago, but that may not
yet have been felt in the courts system due to the time it took for
cases to be resolved: "I'd like to think that it's peaked but it's
still certainly a drug that's on the streets of Hamilton and the
Waikato. It's by no means uncommon to encounter a patient using
methamphetamine."