Editorial: P problem can be fixed together

Organisations need to work together to stamp out this addictive substance that leads people to hospital, court or jail.

Methamphetamine is polluting our community. It fuels violence and crime, affects mental health and in the worst cases takes lives.

The drug, more commonly known as P, is said to be rife on the region's streets.

Police recently made significant seizures.

Two busts in Hawke's Bay last month involved the seizure of about a kilogram of methamphetamine, estimated to have a street value of about $1 million.

But this could be just the tip of the iceberg.

Denis O'Reilly believes police find just 20 per cent of inbound substances.

Mr O'Reilly has dedicated a lot of his time trying to rid the community of the drug. He's seen far too many lives ripped apart by substance addiction.

With all the productive work that has taken place by his Mokai Whanau Ora he thought the community was through the worst of it. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

It's also an ongoing battle for Hawke's Bay's organised crime unit.

They are finding more and more of the drug.

The quality of the drug indicates it is being brought into the region.

At least there seem to be fewer local P labs.

We need to tackle the problem from both ends, supply and demand.

For this to work we need a multi-pronged approach.

Organisations need to work together to stamp out this addictive substance that leads people to hospital, court or jail.

Neighbours also should not be afraid to speak up and tell the police, as the people distributing the drug need to be held accountable.