'A tsunami of meth': Hawke's Bay's drug problem laid bare after police test of wastewater

Hawke's Bay's widespread methamphetamine addiction has been laid bare in new data, saddening, but not surprising, those who work in addiction services.

The region has the second highest rate of meth use in the country, according to a police test of New Zealand's wastewater, essentially a nationwide urine test.

The data is the first nationwide snapshot of New Zealand's drug habits and captures about 80 per cent of the population.

The wastewater in Hastings and Napier was tested and showed about 990mg of meth is consumed per 1000 people in the twin cities per day.

That level is second only to Northland.

Hawke's Bay based community advocate Denis O'Reilly, who has been working in addiction services since 2004, said the results were not surprising.

"It's a sad confirmation."

He said the problem was a bit like climate change.

"We're going to have to figure a way through, it's no good getting all freaked out by it."

He described the issue as "relentless", saying they believed they had the issue under control around 2010, but since then, it has become even worse.

"We generally follow the trend in Australia, and in Australia they are talking about a tsunami of methamphetamine."

He said although killing the supply was important, the most sustainable way of eliminating meth use is to reduce the demand.

"When people don't want something, then it doesn't matter how cunning the smugglers are, if you don't want it you don't want it, and so that kills the market."

He said there was no simple solution to addressing the problem, but did believe it needed the community to work together, and treat addiction as a health issue rather than a law and order issue.

"It's counterproductive stigmatising, or alienating, those who are using."

He said meth was highly addictive, but was actually an easier habit to break than nicotine. However it was frustrating, because users often felt they were capable of working a shift of their job while high on the drug.

"It's quite a functional drug, unlike alcohol or dope."

O'Reilly is leading a national programme, Moki Whanau Ora, which aims to enrol the leadership of New Zealand's two largest gangs to self-prohibit the manufacture and distribution of meth.

Police Minister and Napier MP Stuart Nash said meth causes a lot of harm.

"It is confronting to learn that on average, an estimated 16kg of methamphetamine is used every week.

"This translates to an estimated $20 million per week in social harm. Organised crime groups are primarily responsible for manufacturing, importing and distributing this drug."

Nash said the testing was still in its infancy however, and people should be careful about reading too much into the results between November 2018 and January 2019.

"However, it is clear that methamphetamine use, and the organised crime syndicates behind its distribution, need attention."

Police Commissioner Mike Bush said long-term results will help police and other agencies make informed decisions about where to target resources.

"We expect that after 12 months of nationwide testing a robust baseline measure of illicit drug use will be established.

"Three months of results, however, are only an early indicator of illicit drug use levels in New Zealand and cannot yet be used to draw any firm conclusions."

The region with the largest meth consumption was Northland, with 1100mg per 1000 people per day consumed, and the Bay of Plenty was third with 800mg per 1000 people per day.

The scheme tests for meth, MDMA, cocaine, fentanyl and heroin.

Results show Hawke's Bay has low rates of MDMA, cocaine and fentanyl use. Heroin was not detected at any site.