Meth starter packs for beginners

Dr Chris Wilkins, of Massey University, led extensive research using surveys of regular drug-users. Picture / Kenny Rodger

A glut of methamphetamine on the illicit drug market is prompting sellers to push "starter packs" for beginners and engage in a price war, according to research released yesterday.

The tactics lead researchers to believe methamphetamine may be entering the closing phase of its epidemic cycle.

Ecstasy, meanwhile, is on the rise again and there are signs manufacturers are market-testing new designer drugs in a bid to discover the next big thing.

The revelations were gleaned from more than 180 regular drug-users spoken to in a Massey University study tracking illicit drug trends. The project, due to be repeated for the next two years at least, is the first of its kind to be conducted in New Zealand, speaking to more drug-users than in previous studies.

"From using this method, talking to regular drug-users, we have more clearly identified the drug problem," said the research leader, Chris Wilkins, of the university's Centre for Social and Health Outcomes Research and Evaluation (Shore).

The study, funded by police, also found:

* Cannabis remains the cheapest and most easily available drug, with more than a third of participants saying they could buy it within 20 minutes. Harder drugs such as LSD or Ecstasy took days or weeks to source.

* Legal dance party pills and nitrous oxide, far from being viewed as inferior to illicit substances, have become a staple of the drug scene, raising questions about the marketing of them as alternatives to hard drugs.

* Methamphetamine and crystal methamphetamine are now viewed by most users as an extreme or great health risk, while Ecstasy and cannabis are viewed as lower risks.

* Three out of 10 methamphetamine users tried injecting the drug in the past six months.

Dr Wilkins said the number of users injecting should be a warning, "from a public health perspective".

"Methamphetamine users are more outgoing, likely to be more sexually active and more out there in the community than opiate users", who traditionally use injecting as a preferred method.

This had implications for the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, he said.

The study showed that methamphetamine, alongside cannabis, had become well-established in the marketplace.

Half of the participants described methamphetamine as "very easy" to buy, and a quarter said the price had come down in the previous six months.

"Point" bags (containing 0.1gm of methamphetamine), which usually sell for $100, are sometimes being offered for $80. One user even reported buying methamphetamine for $50.

"Several frequent users report the selling of small amounts of new drugs, such as methamphetamine, ketamine and Ecstasy in 'starter packs' to encourage people to try a drug," said the study.

"They also reported the selling of drug cocktails made up of combinations of drugs such as methamphetamine, Ecstasy, ketamine and GHB."

Dr Wilkins said these developments suggested there was a glut of methamphetamine and there was a push to find new users as the "mature" end of the epidemic was reached.

"There's still a lot of use and it's still very available, but one interpretation of the marketing activity might be that there's almost a saturation and that sellers have to cut prices and put more effort into selling."

Information on who was selling the drugs showed gang-members only had a foot in the methamphetamine market, and almost 90 per cent of cannabis users bought from friends.

Dr Wilkins said the amount of new drugs on the market was interesting. As well as more potent legal dance party pills such as "Hummer", a number of users reported the emergence of a drug called "Tryptomine", described as "pure MDMA" (Ecstasy).

Another user reported seeing PMA, a hallucinogenic amphetamine with similar effects to Ecstasy.

"It's kind of like there's a search for the new thing that people are going to like," said Dr Wilkins.

Assistant Commissioner Peter Marshall, of police national headquarters, said the study helped police to detect new trends more quickly.

"Without such a system to spot these trends as they develop, we are left having to play catch-up. We also risk that the ground may have shifted before strategies are put in place to tackle particular drug problems."

The findings will be shared with other agencies, including health workers, and will go before the Ministerial Committee on Drug Policy.

The study

180 regular drug users were interviewed in Auckland, Whangarei, Hamilton, Wellington, and Christchurch.

To be eligible for interview, participants had to be 16 years or older, and to have used methamphetamine, Ecstasy or LSD at least monthly, or cannabis weekly, in the previous six months.

Researchers also spoke to people who deal with drug users, including treatment counsellors, doctors, and nightclub door staff.

Half those using cannabis smoked at least daily.

Key findings

Significant numbers of users considered cannabis, methamphetamine and opiates to be "very easy" to obtain.

Methamphetamine is well established in the market. It is readily available and innovative techniques are being used to market it.

Ecstasy is in strong demand, with falling prices and participants perceiving it to be less of a health risk than methamphetamine.

LSD is in decline.

Ecstasy users and methamphetamine users tend to be different groups of people. Ecstasy users tend to be better educated, less likely to have been arrested or involved in other crime, and more likely to be European.