Rotorua hui raises meth awareness in kaumatua to tackle problem

A Rotorua hui to teach kaumatua about methamphetamine aims to get their help in eradicating the "meth epidemic".

About 40 people attended the police-led hui yesterday at Taharangi Marae.

Te Runanga o Ngati Pikiao board member Pakitai Raharuhi said the event was about letting people know this could be happening in their house, with their grandchildren.

He said most of those in attendance were in their 70s, 80s and 90s.

"This isn't just for Maori, but for the whole community.

"This council [the elders council of Te Arawa] covers more than 60 marae in and out of Rotorua."

Lakes District Health Board Pou Herenga Maori Health Eru George gave a welcoming speech and karakia before handing over to Te Pae Akurangi-Fitzell.

Event facilitator Akurangi-Fitzell works for Te Runanga o Ngati Pikiao.

She said there had been multiple meth-related incidents directly outside the organisation's Amohia St office building, including an overdose and a dealer being arrested by police.

"It has been a real eye-opener, we were almost blind to it before."

She said the hui was about getting help from kaumatua and advice on tackling the "meth epidemic".

Tauranga police Detective Sergeant Allan Kingsbury has spent the past 14 years working to eradicate meth labs.

He walked the kaumatua through how meth was used, with glass pipes or injected.

"Some people, if they don't have a glass pipe, will use lightbulbs because they are heat tempered glass.

"More and more people are injecting meth now than they used to."

There were a lot of questions about how to identify meth, whether there was a taste or a smell.

Kingsbury said although there was very little smell to meth you could almost feel a bitter taste in your mouth in a contaminated area.

"Most people that are meth users, you would never know about it."

He also showed them how to manufacture methamphetamine, on the understanding "that they don't".

"Just to show you how dangerous the stuff is that goes in there and how easy it is to make."

There were gasps of shock and disbelief as he explained the ingredients.

He showed them photographs of what meth looked like and the different bag sizes it came in.

One gram, or point, of meth is worth $100, while an ounce of meth has a street value of up to $12,000.

There were a lot of questions from kaumatua about how the "poverty stricken" could afford to buy it.

"I haven't yet met a meth manufacturer that wasn't also a meth user," Kingsbury said.

"Often they will start dealing to fund their own addiction."

He said meth was a "big beast" in our community and something police couldn't solve on their own.

"We want to see a reduction in demand. There's no way police can solve this problem, but all together, I think we can."