NEW ZEALAND HAS AMONG HIGHEST DRUG ABUSE RATES IN WORLD

New Zealand has one of the highest proportions of ecstasy and
amphetamine abusers in the world a United Nations survey has found.

The global survey, the first of its type by the UN, said New Zealand
and Australia were second only to Thailand on methamphetamine abuse.

It was reported 3.7 per cent of the population of both countries
abused the drug.

Australia was also a world leader on ectacsy abuse, with 2.9 per cent
of its population abusing the drug.

New Zealand was not far behind on 2.3 per cent.

The drugs are regarded as a health hazard, causing loss of memory,
premature decline of other mental facilities and are linked to serious
crime.

New Zealand figures could be even worse than the UN reported, Massey
University researcher Chris Wilkins told National Radio.

The survey was based on 2001 figures, he said.

The numbers of clandestine labs found by police, recent drug seizures
and arrests suggested the use of drugs may have increased since then,
he said.

The Ecstasy and Amphetamines Global Survey 2003 said almost all
countries reported a strong concentration of abuse of the drugs among
young people, particularly in dance and club settings.

More than 40 million people around the world, or one in every 100
people aged 15 and older, used amphetamine-like substances in
2000-2001, the report said.

It found that the use of such stimulants was concentrated among 18 to
20 year-olds.

The drugs were wrongly "perceived as less harmful than other illicit
substances, like heroin and cocaine".

"The danger posed by synthetic drugs is already real and is advancing
relentlessly," the report concluded.

The problem of amphetamine-type stimulants in Australia was
characterised by high levels of abuse and was "serious and growing",
it warned.

The report, by the Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said
local production of methamphetamine tablets in Australasia was increasing.

It said the drugs were manufactured locally using pseudoephedrine as a
chemical precursor -- either bought or stolen from retail outlets or
taken from chemical factories, warehouses and factory yards.

"The relatively closed market appears to have disguised the specific
nature and extent of the problem for some time," the report said.

However, domestic manufacture of ecstasy was limited. The drugs were
mainly imported from Europe, South-East Asia and China.

Imported tablets were often ground up, diluted and resold and were of
dubious and inconsistent quality.

Fake ecstasy -- with logos to make the tabs look authentic -- was also
being produced locally using ingredients like ketamine, paracetamol
and caffeine, the report said.

The Australasian figures reflect a worldwide trend, with the global
use of ecstasy estimated to have risen by 70 per cent between
1995-1997 and 2000-2001, while use of amphetamines rose by 40 per cent
in the same period.

Worldwide production of amphetamine-like stimulants was estimated at
500 tonnes a year, with seizures rising from four tonnes in 1990/91 to
just under 40 tonnes in 2000/01.

Tim Harding, a specialist in drug and alcohol dependence, told
National Radio he was not surprised by the figures.

Treatment facilities had told him that five years ago it was rare to
see abusers of the drugs.

Now a small percentage were being seen, though alcohol and cannabis
had higher numbers of abusers.

Dr Wilkins said methampethamine used in New Zealand was manufactured
locally, whereas ecstasy was nearly always imported from Western
Europe or Southeast Asia.

Mr Harding said people who used the drugs might not initially suffer
adverse affects, but the consequences of continued use were "quite
severe".

"When people are young and they are using drugs it's not usually the
long-term effects of them that they are actually thinking about, it's
the immediate effects and the fun they're going to have with them.

"That's the problem."

Mr Harding said there had to be greater public awareness of the
dangers of the drugs, as well as policing it more heavily.

Those who import, manufacture or supply methamphetamine face life
imprisonment after legislation passed in Parliament this year moved it
from a class B drug to class A.

Drugs are classified according to their risk of harm to the public,
with those deemed the most dangerous given a class A
classification.

Crime statistics released in March showed a 28.4 per cent increase in
drug crimes involving amphetamine-type stimulants, largely due to a
rise in local production and distribution.

Penalties were increased to a maximum of life imprisonment for
importation, manufacture or supply.

Possession could result in a prison sentence of up to six months, a
$1000 fine, or both.