POLICE ACCUSED OF OVER-HYPING P PROBLEM

The New Zealand Drug Foundation is warning against "over-hyping"
methamphetamine problems, following claims at the weekend that police are
not targeting gangs making the drugs.

Foundation executive director Ross Bell acknowledged today there were
issues surrounding the use of methamphetamines, known as P.

But he told NZPA his organisation believed a bigger problem was the level
of resourcing police received to deal with alcohol problems.

"Alcohol is a far greater contributor to crime and violence than P," he
said. "Front line cops will tell you that."

The Herald reported at the weekend that several police officers said there
was an unwritten message not to go after gangs and P labs because dealing
with the labs was too difficult and police chiefs did not want crime
statistics to look bad.

The Police Association said gangs were making millions of dollars from
selling pure methamphetamine in this country because they are not being
targeted.

But Assistant Commissioner Peter Marshall responded saying police had
launched several initiatives in the past three years aimed at boosting
methamphetamine control.

That had resulted in a 28 per cent increase in recorded non-cannabis drug
offences.

Police had dismantled 190 drug labs in the year to June 30 and 54 more in
the four months since, he said.

Mr Bell said his organisation had not heard of any unwritten messages or
directives.

"The police we have been meeting with, which is at a high level, are
committed to addressing methamphetamine issues," he said.

"I think they are quite happy they got quite a good resource increase in
the budget to do that."

A $39 million funding boost over four years to deal with methamphetamines
was announced in May.

Among the measures funded by the package were $17 million for Environmental
Science and Research, to provide a round-the-clock specialist response
service to the police.

Another was a third 12-person police "clandestine lab" team, four chemical
intelligence analysts and the creation of a national supervisor to
co-ordinate police meth operations.

Mr Bell also pointed to recently released research by Massey University's
centre for social and health outcomes research evaluation which showed a
big rise in the value of the market for amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA
and ecstasy.

The research put the value of the market at $168 million a year -- about
the same as cannabis.

It said proceeds from the trade found their way to a small number of
criminal gangs, who had introduced methamphetamine manufacture to the country.

Mr Bell said the use of methamphetamines had started off among the party
community in the late-1990s.

But the Massey research showed it was now used by a broad spectrum of society.

As a result methamphetamine addiction was starting to be seen as an issue.

Historically, alcohol had been the main addiction problem, with cannabis
second, Mr Bell said.

But some groups were now seeing methamphetamine addiction in the No 2 slot,
and some others in third place.