Pubdate: Fri, 26 Sep 2003
Source: Otago Daily Times (New Zealand)
Copyright: Allied Press Limited, 2003
Contact:  http://www.stuff.co.nz/otago
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/925
Author: NZPA

NZ HAS SECOND HIGHEST SPEED USE IN WORLD

Wellington: Amphetamine-type drugs are an evil the Government is committed 
to combating, Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton said yesterday.

His comments follow the release of a United Nations global survey which 
shows New Zealand and Australia are second only to Thailand in 
methampethamine abuse, with 3.7% of the population of both countries 
abusing the drug.

Australia was also a world leader in ecstasy abuse, with 2.9% of its 
population abusing the drug. New Zealand followed closely with 2.3%.

Mr Anderton described methamphetamine, also known as P, or speed, as "pure 
evil".

"New Zealand has already seen a number of high-profile murders and other 
horrific crimes of violence caused by this drug," he said.

"The pure truth is that P can cause permanent, serious physical and 
psychological effects on individuals and accompanying damage to families 
and communities."

In May, the Government released a 19-point plan aimed at countering the 
methampethamine problem, which included giving police greater search and 
seizure powers, Customs increased powers to deal with unlicensed imports of 
methamphetamine ingredients, improved community education and more 
comprehensive drug monitoring surveillance data.

Methamphetamine had also been reclassified as a class A drug, which meant 
anyone convicted of importing, manufacturing or supplying it faced up to 
life imprisonment.

Mr Anderton said the entire community should get behind the moves to stop 
the abuse of amphetamine-type drugs.

But National MP Tony Ryall said the Government was soft on drugs and that 
had been exposed by the UN survey.

He released new information, supplied by Customs Minister Rick Barker in 
response to written questions, which showed the number of ecstasy tablets 
intercepted by Customs had increased from 7969 four years ago to 265,447 
last year.

Act New Zealand MP Stephen Franks said the Government must drop its 
"soft-on-crime mentality and start doing, instead of talking". Police were 
under-resourced and under-staffed, and police methamphetamine response 
teams would not start until next year.

New Zealand First MP Craig McNair called on the Government to wage an 
all-out war on the manufacture, distribution and use of methamphetamines.

"The subtlety of the effects of these narcotics on the brain and in 
speeding up the ageing process are not understood by many users but the 
devastation in our communities and the growth of criminal gangs certainly 
are," he said.

United Future leader Peter Dunne said the survey should serve as a wake-up 
call to the Government on the need for a comprehensive drug strategy.

New Zealanders needed to stop seeing drugs as a recreational choice for the 
middle class and realise they were not "harmless playthings".

Massey University researcher Chris Wilkins told National Radio the New 
Zealand statistics could be even worse as they were based on 2001 figures.

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.

But the Australian Government questioned the method of data collection for 
the report as some countries used different means of collecting data, which 
led to uncertainties in the comparison of nations.

Police National Drug Intelligence Bureau chief Detective Inspector Gary 
Knowles told said there were no surprises for police in the report.

"It's what we've predicted for some time, and looking at global trends 
we've probably caught up with the rest of the world . . . It's not a record 
I'm proud of, and it shows New Zealand can no longer sit in isolation and 
believe we won't have these drug problems." - NZPA
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