Methamphetamine use has nearly doubled in New Zealand but tripled in Northland and a health-led approach to addiction is one of the ways the coalition Government aims to tackle this. Photo / Mike Scott
Methamphetamine use has nearly doubled in New Zealand but tripled in Northland and a health-led approach to addiction is one of the ways the coalition Government aims to tackle this. Photo / Mike Scott
Programmes to combat methamphetamine addiction could be funded through the proceeds of crime, says Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey.
Meth use has nearly doubled nationwide, with Te Tai Tokerau experiencing a significant increase.
The Government aims to stop drug distribution and provide health-led interventions for addicts.
Doocey was in Northland on Friday to help open the $21.6 million community href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/community-mental-health-facility-opens-in-whangarei/B2OHTDRJKZHSVAWDVTPRG3HIKA/">mental health and addiction facility, Manaia House, in central Whangārei.
The new facility brings together 250 staff who were previously spread across four different facilities, giving more timely help to Northlanders in need, plus freeing up space in Whangārei Hospital.
When asked by the Northern Advocate about meth addiction services, Doocey said expanding programmes is part of the coalition Government’s response to high methamphetamine use.
Across New Zealand, meth use has nearly doubled in two years, prompting Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to call on appropriate ministers to look at what more can be done.
Doocey said a group of ministers, including himself, have formed a “sprint team” to rapidly respond to the issue.
The meth use is seen most keenly in some of the north’s smaller towns, such as Kaikohe, where residents have called it an epidemic, shown by open use and sales of the drug.
A teen openly smoking meth on Kaikohe’s main street prompted Te Rūnanga ā Iwi o Ngāpuhi chairman Mane Tahere to meet with Police Minister Mark Mitchell to get urgent solutions.
Doocey said Mitchell’s focus on drug distribution is one aspect, while Customs Minister Casey Costello is also focusing on stopping drugs getting through the border.
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey (left) and Health Minister Simeon Brown attended the opening of Manaia House in Whangārei on Friday. Photo / Denise Piper
But taking a health approach to those who are addicted is the third part of the response, with the aim of reducing demand by delivering timely services to people who want to stop using meth, Doocey said.
In high-need areas like Northland, there needs to be a targeted response, he said.
This could include expanding existing services, like Northland’s Te Ara Oranga, he said. The programme partners police and Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora to reduce meth-related harm by treating the underlying addiction.
“Some of the best work of the north and its meth programme is that peer-support, community response, where you get people with lived experience being able to work with people who want to come off meth,” Doocey said.
The coalition Government wants to fund programmes like Te Ara Oranga through the Proceeds of Crime Fund, which has just reopened for applications after a three-year freeze. It now has a focus on reducing violent crime, he said.
“We know the link between meth use and violent crime and that’s why we want to focus on those three areas: stopping the drugs getting through the border, disrupting the organised gangs who are distributing meth, but also taking a health-led approach for those people who are using and want to stop.”
Doocey said it is important to have timely intervention available when people need it, because addicts can change their minds about wanting to quit.
Analysis of wastewater testing shows the significant increase in meth use is not due to more people using the drug, but the same users consuming more meth, he said.
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
