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He started doing meth because: why not? His sister—a psychiatric nurse at the time—was using it socially. He’d moved into a house where it was readily available and had tried every party drug Hamilton had to offer. His one rule was never to buy it—that was a slippery slope to addiction, he figured—and instead he smoked socially every weekend and would exchange tinnies in return.

“Everything has a scent, and methamphetamine smells a bit like cat piss. It’s the ammonia,” he says. “Pills have their own scent as well but it’s different because you don’t know what’s being used to fill them up—it could be chalk, washing powder, anything. When it started becoming really expensive, we just stopped buying pills, because they went from $50 for a good pill to $60 for a decent pill. Then $40 artificial drugs all round.”

Officials believe the street value of meth to be around $1 million per kilogram in New Zealand, but most people spoken to for this story—including dealers—put the price substantially lower, at between $300,000 and $350,000 per kilogram.

A 2009 Household Drug Survey by the Ministry of Health reported that 2.1 per cent of adults 16–64 years of age had used amphetamines in the past year, or 53,900 people. In response, National launched an action plan called Tackling Methamphetamine. The issue was deemed serious enough to warrant being run out of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, instead of Justice or Health.

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Hamilton Alcohol and Drug Community Support Trust director Stephen King said they were seeing an increase in people from financially successful families looking for help for P addiction. He said with some people spending up to $2000 a day on their habit, dealers were seeking out those who could afford more. "The wealthier families are quite obviously being targeted. These guys are in the business of selling methamphetamine for profit. Mr King said clients often came for help because of the significant consequences of meth abuse. "In trouble with the law, family breakdown, financial problems as money is spent on meth, nowhere to live, loss of employment. "People who have been using methamphetamine often crash and go to sleep for up to two three days. It's very hard to hold down a job and do the tasks that are expected of you. "Mr King said wealthier clients were often working in the family business, which was a double whammy as families were dealing with a drug user in the family and the workplace.

https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/324950/wealthy-not-immune-to-meth-%27epidemic%27-in-waikato

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Key Points:

Police say a Christchurch house meth laboratory explosion has cost $1,133,000 in property damage and medical bills.

Jason Paul Hutcheson, 32-year-old unemployed, who needed $1 million of medical treatment for the burns he received when his Hei Hei Road lab blew up, admitted the drugs charges today and is headed for the High Court for sentence in December.

And police repeated their warnings about the dangers faced by the community, drug makers, police, and firefighters because of the clandestine laboratories and the volatile chemicals they use.

"This danger is further compounded by the use of makeshift equipment and little attention to matters of safety," Police prosecutor Sergeant Ash Tabb told Christchurch District Court.

"Overseas experience has recorded a significant number of deaths from clan labs due to explosions, fires, and the generating of toxic gases.

"It is reported in the United States that about 25 per cent of clandestine drug laboratories located by law enforcement agencies are found after they explode. These risks have now become a reality in New Zealand."

In 2000, there were nine clan labs found nationally. In 2006 there were 211.

Police said five people were at the house in Hei Hei Rd about 11pm on March 26.

Hutcheson had set up the laboratory in the laundry and spare bedroom.

He and a woman were in the bedroom, which also contained a 20 litre drum of tolulene and other drug paraphernalia.

He was in the initial stages of pseudoephedrine extraction, a process that requires tolulene and heat.

The flame ignited the tolulene which set fire to the room and Hutcheson's clothing.

The woman ran out warning the others there was going to be an explosion.

"Hutcheson ran from the room through the lounge and outside where the other occupants got some curtains to smother the flames," Mr Tabb said.

He was taken to another address where he decided to tell police he had been injured siphoning petrol, but another occupant told firefighters there was a methamphetamine laboratory in the house.

Firefighters saw the drum of tolulene expanding and contracting in the heat and got clear.

Police say the medical bill for Hutcheson was $1 million and the fire caused $133,000 damage to the rented house.

Hutcheson admitted selling ecstasy and LSD to an undercover constable, arson, and the methamphetamine charges.

Defence counsel Tony Garrett said there was no suggestion the methamphetamine was being produced commercially.

Judge Graeme Noble remanded Hutcheson in custody for a probation report and sentencing in the High Court on December 13.

- NZPA

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Police say a Christchurch house meth laboratory explosion has cost $1,133,000 in property damage and medical bills. Jason Paul Hutcheson, 32-year-old unemployed, who needed $1 million of medical treatment for the burns he received when his Hei Hei Road lab blew up, admitted the drugs charges today and is headed for the High Court for sentence in December.

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The largest methamphetamine bust in New Zealand's history is representative of a growing problem that's not going away, experts say.

Police made a record seizure of the drug, confiscating 448kg of the drug with an estimated street value of $438 million.

The record confiscation of the class A drug, found in bags in a campervan in Northland, outstrips the combined total of meth seizures across the country last year.

Experts said the growing problem was affecting more Kiwis, meanwhile funding for organised crime fighting made it increasingly difficult for police to target the gangs at the heart of the issue.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/81051576/Methamphetamine-supply-and-use-continue-to-grow

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Each pound of meth produced leaves behind five to six pounds of toxic waste. The criminals who produce meth typically aren’t concerned with preserving the environment. Left over chemicals tend to go down household drains, into storm drains, or directly onto the ground. All of those pathways take the chemical waste into local water supplies or groundwater. The toxic byproducts of meth can persist in the soil and groundwater for years.

Other costs methamphetamine spreads to the community at large – users and non-users alike – include automobile accidents, increased criminal activity, domestic violence, emergency room and other medical costs, increased spread of infectious disease, including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, and lost worker productivity. Local, state, and federal governments, and ultimately, the taxpayers usually pay these costs.
http://www.intheknowzone.com/substance-abuse-topics/methamphetamine/meth-and-the-community.html

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Children who are exposed to methamphetamine before birth can have behavior problems as young as age 3, a new study finds. But those problems are manageable, the researchers say, especially if the children and their parents get help early on.

The meth-exposed children were more likely to be emotionally reactive, anxious, and depressed at age 3. And they were also more likely to show aggressive behavior and symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity at age 5. That was especially true in children whose mothers were heavy users. Both groups of children acted like that at age 3, but kids who hadn't been exposed to drugs outgrew the behavior as they neared school age.

Children were anxious and depressed because those children don't tend to get the attention of parents and teachers like the disruptive or impulsive children do. "These are the ones who are quiet. They may cry; they may be withdrawn." But those children risk having problems forming friendships and getting along in school because of their emotional reactivity.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/03/19/148916627/kids-exposed-to-meth-in-womb-can-struggle-with-behavior-problems

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Methamphetamine use is most likely to exacerbate pre-existing behavioural traits (i.e. people with a history of violence are likely to exhibit extreme violence after heavy methamphetamine use). Therefore exposing family members including children to increased risk of harm.
https://practice.mvcot.govt.nz/policy/assessment-and-decision-making/key-information/methamphetamine.html#null

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Interpersonal - Relationship Issues and Meth Use 

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Interpersonal - Relationship Issues and Meth Use 

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Relationships can be destroyed due to meth use. It’s not possible for an addicted person care for his relationships with others. Now he is going to have secrets like the fact that he spent rent or food money on drugs or he was not where he said he was the other night. Maybe he has to run out to get drugs in the middle of the night and doesn’t dare admit where he was going. Lie after lie – he becomes uncomfortable and defensive. If he’s questioned about any of these things, he is likely to go on a verbal attack, just to cover his own tracks. He will often criticize others in attempt to remove attention from himself and his drug use.

And emotionally, an addicted person is just not the same any more. As a person uses drugs, emotional tone continues to go lower and lower, and this alone will drain much of the life out of a relationship. Perceptions become dull and life will not provide much true pleasure any more. She may be afraid of being rejected if she admits she’s using drugs so she keeps her secret. If her husband, boyfriend or parent starts to question her on what’s wrong, she could very well blow up in anger.

Some addicts don’t just become defensive, they become abusive. This goes for any drugs. Many people become mean, angry drunks and drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine often make users paranoid, which easily leads to anger and abuse. Any addict who feels threatened may feel compelled to fight back to protect the supply of drugs that hold him prisoner.

http://www.narconon.org/blog/drug-addiction/how-drug-abuse-affects-relationships/

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Methamphetamine users also pose a danger to the communities in which they reside. Many users of methamphetamine also manufacture the drug, since the precursor chemicals needed are cheap and easily available. However, these chemicals are highly toxic, and thus introduce the risk to the community of toxic gases, fires, and explosions.

Chemical residues and waste generated in the manufacturing of methamphetamine pose a serious danger to the environment. This waste is often poured down the drain, into storm sewers, or into crudely dug pits in the ground. These chemicals can leach into the soil and groundwater and cause contamination for many years.
https://www.drug-rehabs.org/research/meth-personal-and-social-consequences.htm

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The effects of having a family member who is addicted to methamphetamine can be terrible for the user's spouse and children. Addicts often find that maintaining meaningful employment is almost impossible. Likewise, maintaining stable relationships or marriage and making and keeping friends are nearly impossible tasks for addicts. Most methamphetamine addicts have to steal in order to maintain their habit, so they are at very high risk of being jailed.

The children of methamphetamine addicts also suffer from their parent's addiction. The risk of danger to them begins even before birth. Methamphetamine use during pregnancy decreases the life-sustaining blood flow to the unborn child, along with having a direct toxic effect on the developing baby's brain. After birth, infants born to mothers who are methamphetamine addicts may show classical withdrawal signs, including uncontrollable trembling, trouble making eye contact, trouble feeding, and sleeping excessively.

These children grow up and show higher levels of aggressive behavior, have greater difficulty adjusting to different social environments, and have a higher rate of difficulties at school when compared to children whose mothers were not methamphetamine users.
https://www.drug-rehabs.org/research/meth-personal-and-social-consequences.htm

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Methamphetamine is now half the price it was in 2016, according to the people determined to stamp it out.

Wellington and Porirua drug counsellor, and former addict, Andrew Hopgood said anecdotally that a gram of methamphetamine now costs $450, down from $850 a year earlier and it was easier to get than ever.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/89380875/Half-price-methamphetamine-ex-addicts-determined-to-put-drug-use-back-in-the-spotlight

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Intravenous drug use increases the risk of contracting infectious diseases such as HIV/aids, hepatitis and skin infections. Sharing needles or syringes is extremely risky because this can cause infection to be transmitted.
Ministry of Health. December 2016. 'Amphetamine Use' 2015/16 New Zealand Health Survey.

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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10472983
Meth lab explosions take large sums of money from the pockets of tax paying citizens, costing as much as one million dollars in one meth lab explosion.

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We know gangs and organised crime are strongly linked to the importation and distribution of methamphetamine. Users are often victims of calculated, profit-motivated organised criminals, and so police resources are targeted toward the suppliers, importers and manufacturers.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/89292002/Meth-floods-into-NZ-addicts-swamping-drug-rehab-facilities Feb 19 2017

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http://www.amped4life.net.nz/drug-facts/p-meth/
When taken, meth and crystal meth create a false sense of well-being and energy, and so a person will tend to push his body faster and further than it is meant to go. Thus, drug users can experience a severe “crash” or physical and mental breakdown after the effects of the drugs wear off.

Because continued use of the drug decreases natural feelings of hunger, users can experience extreme weight loss. Negative effects can also include disturbed sleep patterns, hyperactivity, nausea, delusions of power, increased aggressiveness and irritability.

Other serious effects can include insomnia, confusion, hallucinations, anxiety and paranoia. In some cases, use can cause convulsions that lead to death.

Long-term damage

In the long term, meth use can cause irreversible harm: increased heart rate and blood pressure; damaged blood vessels in the brain that can cause strokes or an irregular heartbeat that can, in turn, cause cardiovascular 2 collapse or death; and liver, kidney and lung damage.

Users may suffer brain damage, including memory loss and an increasing inability to grasp abstract thoughts. Those who recover are usually subject to memory gaps and extreme mood swings.

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Information from police shows that people calling the Alcohol Drug Helpline for help for meth problems are now second only to those seeking help for alcohol addiction.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/89292002/Meth-floods-into-NZ-addicts-swamping-drug-rehab-facilities Feb 19 2017

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"As we know, illicit drugs cause significant harm, not only for the person using it, but for their families, friends and communities, and it is also a driver of other crimes, including violent crime and dishonesty crime.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/89292002/Meth-floods-into-NZ-addicts-swamping-drug-rehab-facilities Feb 19 2017

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Contaminated Meth Houses are a growing issue in New Zealand. Housing New Zealand found that 688 of their properties were found positive for meth between June 1st 2015 and May 27th 2016. This is a 200% increase compared to the previous financial year, when only 229 houses were tested positive.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/80909747/Q-A-What-you-need-to-know-about-methamphetamine-contamination