KEY POINTS:
Methamphetamine users are more likely than cannabis users to have used the respective drugs for the first time at an older age, be female and non-Maori, a police survey of offenders has found.
The New Zealand Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring 2007 annual report (NZADAM) measures the drug and alcohol use of people who have been recently arrested by police.
The monitoring project began in 2005 and surveys four police watch houses - Whangarei, Henderson, Hamilton and Dunedin.
To participate in the survey, those arrested had to be older than 18, not affected by drugs or alcohol at the time of the interview, have no mental health issues or violent tendencies and to have been held in custody for less than 48 hours.
The 2007 NZADAM interviewed 895 offenders, of whom 87.3 per cent were male and 12.5 per cent female, with more than half providing a urine sample.
The report found most of those arrested, 66 per cent, had tried three or more drugs - most commonly these were alcohol, cannabis and methamphetamine.
Thirty-seven per cent said they felt dependent on at least one drug.
The data collected showed methamphetamine users were slightly older than cannabis users and used for the first time at an older age - 21.8 years compared to 13.3.
Eighty-nine per cent of females used methamphetamine compared to 86 per cent of males.
Methamphetamine users were also less likely to be of Maori descent - 49 per cent compared to 54 per cent.
More than 90 per cent of those interviewed said they had tried both alcohol and cannabis before they were 18.
Alcohol was the most consumed drug, but cannabis was the most frequently used.
Assistant Commissioner Grant Nicholls said the data collected would help police devise strategies for policing drugs in their communities.
The report collected data from a core group of people who had significant issues with drug use and were coming into regular contact with police, he said.
Mr Nicholls said as this was only the second year of the data being collected it was too soon to be able to track a trend or make valid comparisons.
- NZPA
