More than 120 drivers have been caught driving under the influence of drugs around the Bay of Plenty, and Rotorua police have caught the second-highest number in the region.
Figures have been released which show more drugged drivers were caught in the Bay of Plenty than anywhere else in the country
Nationwide, police have caught 586 drugged drivers between the introduction of the anti-drug driving law in November 2009 and February this year. The majority were men.
Figures showed 121 of those were from the Bay of Plenty,.
The majority of those caught drugged behind the wheel were from the Western Bay of Plenty, 75 people facing charges.
In Rotorua, 17 people have been charged with the offence, 16 in Taupo and 13 in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.
However, acting Superintendent Rob Morgan of the New Zealand police said the area where people were caught was not necessarily where they lived.
Of the 121 drivers caught drugged in the Bay of Plenty, 60 lived in the Western Bay, 16 in Rotorua, 12 in the Eastern Bay, nine in Taupo and 24 were from outside the district.
Bay of Plenty road policing manager Inspector Kevin Taylor said about 65 per cent of those caught in the Bay had used cannabis-related drugs, 30 per cent had used stimulants such as methamphetamine, and the rest opiates and sedatives.
Mr Taylor said the Bay's high arrest rate reflected a continued focus by his staff on drugged drivers.
"It could be that staff here have taken the tools available and have run with it.
"We have trained more staff than other districts in doing drug-driving testing."
However, Mr Taylor said there was no denying the Bay of Plenty had a significant drug problem.
"The quantity of drugs removed from the district as evidence in Operation Kelly is an indication of the level of drug offending in the Bay of Plenty."
Meanwhile, associate transport minister Simon Bridges has announced the present drug testing regime for drivers would not be changed.
The announcement came after a Government review of the law.
Mr Bridges said there was good evidence the regime was working well as it was.
"Over 500 drivers have tested positive for at least one drug in the two years since the regime began.
"The law is helping take these people off the roads, and reducing the risk they pose to themselves and other road users."
The regime allows police to ask a driver to undertake a compulsory impairment test if they have good cause to suspect drug use.
If the driver's performance on this test is unsatisfactory, police can then ask for a blood specimen for drug analysis.
"The overwhelming majority - 95 per cent of impaired drivers who were asked for a blood specimen - tested positive for drugs. That indicates police are judging driver behaviour well and not over-referring drivers."
Mr Bridges said New Zealand would not, at this stage, be adopting a random roadside drug testing regime.
"Current research and overseas experience make it clear that saliva test technology to support a random drug testing is simply not reliable enough yet.
"It fails to pick up drugs in a significant percentage of cases and can falsely detect it in others."
A two-year review was requested by the New Zealand Government when the new regime came into effect on November 1, 2009.
"The regime is based on the general principle that drug-driving is a road safety issue and that those convicted should be subject to the same range of penalties as drink-drivers.
"The testing process also needs to be fair and robust, and comply with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990."
Mr Bridges says research and overseas experience would continue to be monitored by officials.