$150,000 FOR P USERS' DROP-IN CENTRE

A drop-in centre for methamphetamine users and dealers is being established
by one of New Zealand's biggest city councils with a $150,000 government
grant.

Waitakere mayor Bob Harvey believed it was the first grant for a community
initiative from the government's methamphetamine action plan, launched in
May. It included $255 million for community initiatives.

Harvey said the city council wanted to offer somewhere for people who wanted
to get off P, a pure form of methamphetamine, or for dealers to get help to
quit selling.

"We have got to offer the city a holistic approach to fighting this because
we think it's the only way forward."

He said many drug addicts and users wanted to get away from the drug. Most
community initiatives focused on increasing policing. Methamphetamine was
reclassified a class A drug in June, meaning tougher sentences.

"The final goal is to break the chain that starts at the supplier to the end
user," Harvey said.

P use is rising in New Zealand and has been associated with some
high-profile crimes.

The epidemic of methamphetamine use earned West Auckland the title "meth
capital of New Zealand".

Harvey said the city no longer deserved the title because the problem had
spread nationwide. Last month, he suggested the government fund a private
police force in West Auckland to take the pressure off police.