DEADLY DRUG CULTURE

This Week's United Nations' Findings on Methamphetamine Use in This
Nation Will Have Profoundly Shocked Many New Zealanders

Courtesy of police and court stories about the drug, most people would
have known of its presence here, but probably not how prevalent it was
and certainly not that New Zealand was a world leader in its abuse.
Any quibbles over the methodology of this study cannot disguise the
fact that these drugs pose a huge social problem.

Whether measured by police arrests for possessing, manufacturing,
supplying them, or by Customs interceptions, it is clear that there
has been an explosion in their availability and use in recent years.

The Government in May did announce a crack-down on methamphetamine and
allied drugs. They were reclassified as Class A drugs and the
availability of precursors, such as the ephedrine products used to
make methamphetamine, was restricted. This provided a necessary
strengthening of the powers of the authorities to tackle this drug
trade. The package also sent a belated signal of the serious dangers
posed by methamphetamine, "P" (Pure), and the like to society.

The ability to manufacture methamphetamine locally is undoubtedly one
reason for the popularity of the drug in New Zealand. But another has
been that many users believed such designer drugs to be both trendy
and less harmful than heroin or cocaine.

This undoubtedly explains the growing number of middle-class
professional users. Nothing could be further from the truth. At their
worst these drugs can produce long-term damage to mental facilities or
psychotic episodes causing harm to the user or others. At the very
least they limit the potential of users to enjoy healthy and
productive lives.

The links between methamphetamine and crime are especially disturbing.
It is well-established that much of the manufacturing and trading of
the drug is controlled by gangs. That helps to entrench their
recruiting power and economic resources and also raises the threat of
turf wars over distribution.

There has also been an association between methamphetamine use and a
number of serious violent crimes in New Zealand.

Drug authorities warn that methamphetamine use threatens to increase
even further. For this reason the police and other agencies must be
given every assistance by the Government, in terms of both financial
resources and legislation, to curb the drug's availability.

But there is another imperative to prevent more New Zealanders abusing
it. Any vestige of social acceptance still clinging to methamphetamine
must be replaced with the message that this is a dangerous and
addictive drug.

That is why shocking reports about its use, such as that from the UN,
are to be welcomed.