NEW GOVT PLAN DESIGNED TO COMBAT SPEED 'CRISIS'

Manufacturers Of Methamphetamine Targeted

Wellington: A Government plan to tackle the rising problem of
methamphetamine use in New Zealand will aim to make life much harder for
manufacturers of the drug, and help victims receive better treatment.

The Government's Methamphetamine Action Plan, released last week by
Associate Health Minister and chairman of the Ministerial Action Group on
Alcohol and Drugs Jim Anderton, includes 19 action points aimed at
controlling supply, reducing demand, limiting harm and improving treatment
services.

The first part of the plan is the reclassification of methamphetamine to a
class A drug, by May 30. Those importing or manufacturing the drug,
commonly known as speed, could face life imprisonment.

Those convicted of conspiracy to commit an offence could face 14 years in
prison, while those caught in possession of the drug could be imprisoned
for six months, and/or fined $1000.

The plan includes increasing the powers of police and customs to search for
and seize the drug or its ingredients.

"There is a zero-tolerance approach by the Government to this. We just
consider it an outrageously dangerous drug, and those who engage in it are
engaging in a substance of evil," Mr Anderton said.

It is hoped that people addicted to drugs will receive better treatment
under the plan.

"We are not really after punishment for those who are victims . . . We want
to help them, their families and communities," Mr Anderton said.

He spoke of improved community education, particularly in the Maori community.

"There is quite a significant amount of evidence that gangs, many of them
Maori, are involved in the production and sale of methamphetamine," he said.

"I want to be co-operative with Maori communities . . . There is a
suggestion that a rahui [ban] could be placed on methamphetamine. Not
everyone takes notice of that, but it will be helpful in terms of the
culture of this."

There will be more comprehensive monitoring and surveillance of the drug's
use, to provide a clearer picture of the drug and its effects on New
Zealanders.

Mr Anderton met American rap star Coolio recently and discussed the
proliferation of substance abuse.

"It was extraordinary how honest he was about all this substance abuse and
hard drugs. He has had plenty of experience, obviously, and it reinforced
to me the desperate need for strong community action," Mr Anderton said.

Police National Drug Intelligence Bureau chief Detective Inspector Gary
Knowles said the plan was an important step towards tackling "the crisis
that is methamphetamine".

Police have previously said there appears to be a direct correlation
between methamphetamine use and an increase in violent crime.

Det Insp Knowles believed life imprisonment for serious
methamphetamine-related offences was appropriate.

Police were now coming across manufacturers in routine traffic stops - with
chemicals and drug-making paraphernalia being found in vehicles, he said.

Competition between rival manufacturers had forced "cooks" to become more
mobile, he said. But speed was not just an urban problem, as police also
found labs in farmhouses and unused warehouses.

The youngest person police have found using methamphetamine was a
9-year-old, while 11-year-olds have also been found under the influence.

Mr Anderton said this year's budget had provided $2.55 million per year for
community initiatives to combat the drug, and $150,000 per year for a
national drug information analyst to gather data for the National Drug Policy.

The budget provided $620,000 annually for operating funding for a pilot
South Island youth residential service to support young people on drugs.

Customs is to receive $1.9 million to enhance drug teams in the three
largest centres and to employ a further 16 drug specialists.

Customs will also receive between $15 million and $25 million for
specialist X-ray technology, and an extra 130 staff.

Police will receive $6.6 million over four years to fund two teams trained
in the clean-up of methamphetamine laboratories.