# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Housing New Zealand has spent $51.9 million on decontaminating state houses of methamphetamine in just 12 months, but questions linger over whether it was necessary.

The bill was a 147 per cent increase on the $21m spent in the 2015-16 financial year - a jump Social Housing Minister Amy Adams put down to increased testing in late 2016.

The figures follow the recent introduction of higher contamination standards governing what still remains an unregulated testing industry.

The new detail was released in response to an Official Information Act request on the damage costs left by outgoing Housing New Zealand (HNZ) tenants.
READ MORE:
* P'ed off in Paraparaumu: Kapiti Coast signs lose their letters in anti-drug protest
* Troubled Christchurch social housing complex has second meth cleanse
* Housing NZ plays down fears over Wainuiomata meth contamination
* Meth house clean-up stalled by alleged assault
* Pre-employment drug testing shows increase in meth use by professionals
* Methamphetamine use continues to have impact as fewer labs found in Christchurch
The government agency revealed that the 10 biggest cleanups in both Wellington and across the country from 2014 to 2017 were all meth-related.

The most expensive were in south Auckland, with one state house in McKenzie Rd, Mangere Bridge, costing $103,041, followed by a Chantal Pl property in Papakura ($103,013).

State houses in Papakura and Favona incurred costs of $96,848 and $93,336 respectively. Work on all four houses was carried out in 2016-17.

Wellington was also affected, with $75,899 poured into a Victory Ave state house in Karori.

Homes in Lower Hutt included on in Barber Grove, Moera ($59,421); Strand Cres, Naenae ($49,674); and Pirie Cres, Moera ($42,293).

Adams described the class A drug as "a scourge" that ruined lives and livelihoods. "HNZ has ramped up its meth testing, and therefore, are naturally catching more people.

"We have a zero-tolerance policy for tenants using or cooking meth in our social houses, and I make no apologies for that. It's illegal, but also makes the social houses unsafe for people to live in."

However, Massey University school of public health senior lecturer Nick Kim said the health impact on those living in a house where the previous tenants had used P - rather than "cooking", or making it - was low.

"The risks left after smoking [meth] are not really distinguishable from the risks you'd leave on the walls from ordinary tobacco smoking. It's down that end of the scale."

He emphasised that it was essential to decontaminate a home where meth had been manufactured, as it was highly dangerous to live in such a house, particularly for children.

"The majority of cases where meth is detected is when people have just been using it - probably more than 99 per cent of the cases.

"New Zealand's been the only country crazy enough to go testing for meth in the general community. Almost all of the other countries that I know of only test for meth where there's known to be a meth lab where someone's been making it," Kim said.

If an HNZ tenant is found to have contaminated the property with meth, their tenancy is terminated and they won't have access to another HNZ home for 12 months.

HNZ said recovering decontamination costs from departing tenants was challenging, with a 60-day timeframe to apply for compensation through the Tenancy Tribunal being a sticking point.

Labour housing spokesman Phil Twyford claimed the government has "completely mishandled the problem of P contamination in state housing".

"They have wasted tens of millions of dollars on P decontamination, remediation and testing, with no idea whether or not houses showing ... contamination posed any kind of risk at all to the people living in them.

"HNZ has kicked out hundreds of tenants on the basis of data that is completely unreliable.

"We have no way of knowing how much of that $51.9m spent on testing and decontamination was wasted, and how much of it was necessary."

- Stuff

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Big spike in bill for ridding state houses of meth in just one year

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Housing New Zealand has spent $51.9 million on decontaminating state houses of methamphetamine in just 12 months, but questions linger over whether it was necessary. The bill was a 147 per cent increase on the $21m spent in the 2015-16 financial year - a jump Social Housing Minister Amy Adams put down to increased testing in late 2016.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Seven Head Hunter gang members have been sentenced to lengthy jail terms today, after police uncovered a "large-scale" operation to produce and distribute meth.

Notorious gangster William "Bird" Hines was sentenced to 18 years six months by the High Court in Auckland, with a minimum non-parole of eight years four months.

The 64-year-old's ill health was taken into account, or he could have faced a heftier term.

Hines has previously been described as being among the top members of the Head Hunters, and has a history of offending including kidnapping at gunpoint, and torture.

His co-offenders were also served lengthy terms.

Te Here Maihi Maaka was sentenced to 16 years two months, prompting his family to swear at the judge as the sentence was read out.

Travis Sadler was sentenced to 18 years and two months, Peter Atkinson sentenced to 17 years, and Felco Maaka sentenced to 13 years.

Thomas Edwawrdson was sentenced to six years jail, and John Vijn four years and three months.

The men were caught after a long-running investigation by detectives from the National Organised Crime Group, in what was dubbed Op Sylvester.

On 28 July 2015 hundreds of officers coordinated searches across Auckland, on properties in Ellerslie, West Auckland, Ruakaka, Huntly, and Tauranga.

As well as arresting and charging the men that day, police seized $2.16 million in property, cars, and cash, under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The seized items included more than 20 cars and motorbikes, two properties, and a boat.

National manager organised crime Detective Superintendent Greg Williams said the men ran a commercial operation that preyed on the community, solely for profit.

He said the Ministry of Health's Drug Harm index showed that each kilogram of amphetamine-type drugs had a yearly social cost of $1.2 million.

"That is real harm to users and their families, to the community in terms of the crime generated, and the cost of investigation and prosecution.

"These sentences speak for themselves. This drug causes serious harm to our community and these offenders are going to prison for a long time because of it.

"I'd like to applaud the efforts of Detective Senior Sergeant John Sowter and his team of staff.

"They spent hundreds of hours working on this case from the investigation stage, through to the arrests, and right through to the court process.

"Today is the culmination of their work and their efforts have dealt a significant blow to the criminal fraternity."

In 1989, Hines was caught with a loaded pistol in the lounge bar of a hotel.

He was one of four convicted of kidnapping a man at gunpoint, torturing him with pliers and an electric drill in a garage, because of a supposed debt. The guilty verdict came despite the victim refusing to give evidence.

In sentencing Hines to four years in prison, Justice Robertson said no one was above the law.

"You just take the law into your own hands and use whatever is necessary to get what you perceive is your entitlement."

Five years later, Hines and two other Head Hunters confronted an undercover police officer and held him at knifepoint.

"If you do not prove you are not a cop, then you are not leaving here," was how Crown prosecutor Kieran Raftery recounted the conversation at the 1996 trial.

The undercover officer, whose cover story was running a scrap metal yard, feigned fury at the allegation but was taken upstairs to his living quarters where Hines and the others searched through his belongings for proof of his identity.

The officer managed to buy some time but was unable to entirely satisfy his captors.

"They let him know that he was not off the hook," said Raftery.

Four days later, one of the men returned to threaten him again, but they seemed to accept his denials after that.

Hines was convicted of kidnapping and jailed for 12 months.

Hines was later one of the ringleaders of a network which dubbed themselves the "Methamphetamine Makers Co Ltd".

Hines was sentenced to seven years in prison for conspiracy to supply.

At the time, police said the Head Hunters network played a significant role in establishing the P trade in New Zealand.

Additional reporting: Jared Savage.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Seven Head Hunter gang members jailed for 'large-scale' methamphetamine operation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Seven Head Hunter gang members have been sentenced to lengthy jail terms today, after police uncovered a "large-scale" operation to produce and distribute meth. Notorious gangster William "Bird" Hines was sentenced to 18 years six months by the High Court in Auckland, with a minimum non-parole of eight years four months.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A $15 million boost for anti-drug initiatives is not an admission that the Government is losing the war on P, Prime Minister John Key says.

However, Key acknowledges methamphetamine has become "the drug of choice" for some Kiwis, while police must do more to stop P coming into the country through remote areas like Northland.

The Government has announced the funding for 15 anti-drug initiatives, coming from money and assets seized from criminals, as part of its Tackling Methamphetamine Action Plan.

The funding includes $3m for a joint initiative by police and health officials to reduce demand for P in Northland, as well as a $2.1m programme to better identify P use among new prisoners and trial a treatment programme.

READ MORE:
* Even more P found in Northland dunes
* Arrests made in big Auckland P swoop
* Landlords install meth monitors to deter P labs
* P contamination rampant and growing in NZ state homes
* Taranaki siblings jailed for dealing 'P' under parents' nose
* West Coast drug problem: Used to be cannabis, now it's P

The Government is also spending $2m to tackle the flow of P into New Zealand from the Americas and Asia, along with $732,000 to get more intelligence on overseas gangs importing the drug.

Key said official advice from surveys suggested the number of people using P was declining.

However, extra resources for police and Customs had led to more high-profile seizures, while those "at the hardened end" were using more of the drug.

"Certainly, meth has become I think a drug of choice of some of these more hardened users."

Key said New Zealand's status as one of the most expensive places to buy P was a "huge incentive" for those who wanted to import or manufacture the drug.

It was "quite right" to put more money into rehabilitation services, but the Government also had to tackle the supply of P in the first place.

"You need to obviously do more to stop the importation of either the drug or the precursors of the drug, and that's really where obviously from a supply perspective you can make the biggest gains."

Key said the specific funding for policing of P in Northland was an acknowledgement that the area was "obviously clearly a gateway because of the accessibility of that coastline".

In June, police announced they had seized nearly 500 kilograms of the drug, worth close to half a billion dollars, hidden in sand dunes at 90 Mile Beach.

"We can't go into lots of detail about why we know what we know, but we certainly are aware that that's a vulnerability in the system, at least one of them, so we're closing that down," Key said.

Asked about the Tribal Huks gang and its efforts to clear Ngaruawahia of P dealers, Key offered some cautious praise but warned against ignoring that other gangs played in distributing the drug.

"Obviously we welcome any support to do something like that - as long as it's legal of course - but I do think we should also recognise the role that, I'm not saying that gang, but gangs typically are playing in New Zealand, and that is that they're at the forefront of manufacture and/or distribution of a lot of drugs."
MORE POLICE NEEDED - LABOUR
Labour leader Andrew Little called the announcement "a hodgepodge of half-measures", saying more police were needed to tackle the P epidemic.

"Mr Key talks big but he has failed to back police to do the job. The number of police assigned to drug enforcement has been cut for three years running."

However, Police Commissioner Mike Bush welcomed the funding, saying police were working hard to reduce the effect of drugs by reducing demand in New Zealand and disrupting its importation.

Police had two China-based liaison officers who helped to identify and stop precursors and illegal drugs at their source in South China, Bush said.

"All of our police liaison officers overseas play a key role in ensuring police are both able to understand international trends, as well as respond to them in a timely and effective manner."
NZ DRUG FOUNDATION: BETTER BALANCE
NZ Drug Foundation executive director Ross Bell said the Government appeared to have a better balance between law enforcement and health-based interventions than in previous announcements.

"It's not just all about law enforcement, it's not all about getting tough on gangs, it's not all about stopping drugs at the border - you have to provide help to people who need it."

However, Bell said drug and alcohol treatment services had been underfunded for many years, and "a much more significant injection" of cash was needed to tackle the demand for drugs.

"As long as there are people who are demanding drugs, people will find a way of supplying those drugs," he said.

- Stuff

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
PM John Key announces $15m of initiatives for war on P and other drugs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A $15 million boost for anti-drug initiatives is not an admission that the Government is losing the war on P, Prime Minister John Key says. However, Key acknowledges methamphetamine has become "the drug of choice" for some Kiwis, while police must do more to stop P coming into the country through remote areas like Northland.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Soaring methamphetamine availability continues and Kiwis are increasingly buying illegal drugs from the darknet, a study says.

The Illicit Drug Monitoring System by Massey University is an annual snapshot of drug use, markets and new substances.

Researchers have interviewed frequent drug users annually since 2006, gathering information on drug use, prices and availability.

Methamphetamine is increasingly available, quickly and cheaply, the study found.
READ MORE:
* NZ's first meth war 'inevitable' if Head Hunters continue expansion
* Horowhenua case marks start of drug war
* Underworld figure helps open gang pad
* Huge drug haul after 18-month sting
* Police believe meth imports are increasing
Reports of an increase in the availability of meth, simmering gang tensions and the possibility of a turf war are backed up by the study.

Illegal drug market senior researcher Dr Chris Wilkins said meth was increasingly available in Christchurch and Auckland during 2014, the timespan of the study.

"The proportion of frequent drug users who could purchase methamphetamine in one hour or less increased from 51 per cent in 2011 to 76 per cent in 2014," he said.

In 2014, authorities stopped 106kg of methamphetamine at the New Zealand border, the largest quantity of the drug seized since 2006.

Gangs played a leading role, Wilkins said.

"The proportion of frequent drug users who purchased methamphetamine from a gang member increased from 36 per cent in 2013 to 50 per cent.

"This can be put down to a number of things. General recovery following the earthquakes, the influx of workers [in Christchurch] for the rebuild and reported re-organisation of the gang scene resulting in greater supply of methamphetamine.

"There are also reports of greater methamphetamine supply in Australia and a more globally connected methamphetamine supply network."

Drug market studies were conducted in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

The most up-to-date research from 2013 found one per cent of New Zealanders aged 16 to 64 reported using meth in the previous 12 months.

Massey University also found almost three-quarters of the 300 people interviewed reported frequently buying and selling drugs on social media or encrypted websites.

Wilkins said social media and encrypted websites offered a new platform to promote drug use and connect sellers with drug users.

In 2009, few users reported using social media to source drugs but by 2014 the proportion was up to 37 per cent, the study said.

Researchers also found the use of synthetic cannabinoids declined since the ban on legal highs was introduced in 2014 and some evidence of a decrease in the availability of cannabis.

"Recent claims of a "cannabis drought" in New Zealand are supported by the study.

"The current availability of cannabis fell from 2013 to 2014, with a particularly marked decrease in Christchurch. The proportion who described the current availability of cannabis as "very easy" declined from 62 per cent in 2013 to 45 per cent in 2014.

"The frequent drug users also reported modest declines in cannabis use in recent years."

Globally, methamphetamine supply networks appear to be more organised and the price of the drug in New Zealand remained stable at $681 per gram in 2014, compared to $815 per gram in 2011.

The study was conducted by the SHORE and Whariki Research Centre.
Sign up to receive our new evening newsletter Two Minutes of Stuff - the news, but different.
- Stuff

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
It takes less than an hour to score methamphetamine in Auckland and Christchurch: annual study

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Soaring methamphetamine availability continues and Kiwis are increasingly buying illegal drugs from the darknet, a study says. The Illicit Drug Monitoring System by Massey University is an annual snapshot of drug use, markets and new substances. Researchers have interviewed frequent drug users annually since 2006, gathering information on drug use, prices and availability.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Meth is closing in on alcohol as the nation's most addictive substance.

Everyone from teenagers to 60-year-old middle-class white men are using it, Hamilton Alcohol and Drug Community Support Trust director Stephen King said.

"The biggest group we are seeing is children of financially successful families."

King is currently working with seven wealthy Hamilton families who have members struggling with methamphetamine addiction.
READ MORE:
* Meth drug bust in Reefton
* Seven arrested in Wellington meth bust
* Two arrests after suspected clan lab meth bust in Auckland's Browns Bay
The reformed drug addict who's been clean for 24 years said methamphetamine is now easier to get than cannabis.

"There is a rise and it's right across the board. There are 700,000 people in New Zealand with addiction-related problems.

"The meth dealer is targeting families with money in Hamilton and that's no different to anywhere else, ranging in age from 19 to 42."

And usage is so rampant that Waikato District Health Board workers say it has endangered the region's methadone programme and pushed rehab facilities to maximum capacity.

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.

"It's everywhere," King said. "You can have a meth habit on $200 a week or on $2000 a day and more - it's tailored to the amount of money you have."

King, who runs a DHB-funded live-in support house for addicts in Hamilton, said methamphetamine has flooded the New Zealand market in the past two years. He believes it is being imported ready to use from China.

National Clan (short for clandestine) Lab boss Senior Sergeant John Brunton recently told the Police News that meth use is escalating.

Data collected from communities shows fewer people are using cannabis and alcohol and more are using meth.

Those being admitted to hospital due to meth has risen every year since 2012 - jumping 51 per cent between 2014 and 2015.

"Most drug- and alcohol-addiction services are full to capacity and this has happened in the last two years as availability has increased," King said.

"Facilities are holding their own at the moment but we need to prepare for the future - we are going to need residential facilities as there is an increasing demand."

Waikato District Health Board clinical director of addiction services Tejpal Singh said a large number of the 700 to 800 patients in the care of addiction services through the Waikato were on meth.

"Many have opioid addiction, alcohol addiction, and we are seeing more and more come through with plain methamphetamine addiction as well. More people are using and this is only the tip of the iceberg."

Patients on the opioid abuse programme, where patients are prescribed methadone to stop them from buying and injected opioids on the street, had turned to meth.

"It is not just people using meth by itself, but so many people stable on the opioid programme have become unstable by using meth."

It was putting the programme at risk, he said.

Unlike such drugs as heroin, methamphetamine is a psychological, not physiological, addiction, Singh said.

One hit of meth could release a level of dopamine in the brain at a rate three times that of having sex.

"It is a pleasure chemical - when you eat food, listen to music, have sex, use alcohol or cocaine - the amount of dopamine is about 300 a unit. With methamphetamine, the amount of dopamine released is about 1000 units."

"The brain learns that methamphetamine is better than food, better than sex, music, better than anything else the brain has seen.

"But ultimately, you pay the price."

Meth users tended to crash and burn, he said. Using methamphetamine can lead to anxiety, depression, weight loss and psychosis.

Singh said 95 per cent of the time, women using meth work in the sex industry to fund their drug habit.

Other addicted teenage girls had fallen into the hands of gangs.

"We have seen recently where teenagers - girls that are 18 to 22 years old - that have become addicted to methamphetamine. The gangs exploit them by having sex with them, and then they become pregnant and they are using methamphetamine when they are pregnant and that can lead to damage to the fetus. They don't even know who is the father and it is very difficult to keep them in treatment."

This was happening prominently in Hamilton and the northern and southern Waikato, he said.

Detective Superintendent Tim Anderson said police are working to reduce the demand of methamphetamine by identifying clients during drug investigations and working with agencies to provide prevention advice and local support services.

"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.

"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.

"We need to ensure there is adequate support for those who are identified as drug abusers, to help them manage their addictions
Where to get help:
Alcohol and Drug Association NZ - http://www.adanz.org.nz/
Methamphetamine - http://www.alcoholdrughelp.org.nz/Helpline/Subnav/Drug%20Information/p
Gambling - http://www.gamblingproblem.co.nz
Kaupapa Maori Services, Wellington - http://www.rmauriora.org.nz/
Rangatahi Alcohol and Drug Treatment - http://www.oratoa.co.nz/rangataua_poneke.htm
Salvation Army - http://www.sab.org.nz/
Care New Zealand - http://www.carenz.co.nz

- Stuff

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Meth floods into NZ, addicts swamping drug rehab facilities

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Meth is closing in on alcohol as the nation's most addictive substance. Everyone from teenagers to 60-year-old middle-class white men are using it, Hamilton Alcohol and Drug Community Support Trust director Stephen King said. "The biggest group we are seeing is children of financially successful families."

# data[].attributes.headline
Key Concepts in Health Book( Blue book ) (3)

# data[].attributes.subject
Key Concepts in Health Book( Blue book ) (3)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The short-term and long-term impact of the individual

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-range 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 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.

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS LONG-TERM EFFECTS

Loss of appetite

Increased heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature

Dilation of pupils

Disturbed sleep patterns

Nausea

Bizarre, erratic, sometimes violent behavior

Hallucinations, hyperexcitability, irritability

Panic and psychosis

Convulsions, seizures and death from high doses

Permanent damage to blood vessels of heart and brain, high blood pressure leading to heart attacks, strokes and death

Liver, kidney and lung damage

Destruction of tissues in nose if sniffed

Respiratory (breathing) problems if smoked

Infectious diseases and abscesses if injected

Malnutrition, weight loss

Severe tooth decay

Disorientation, apathy, confused exhaustion

Strong psychological dependence

Psychosis

Depression

Damage to the brain similar to Alzheimer's disease, stroke and epilepsy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Short- & Long-Term Side Effects of Crystal Methamphetamine on the Body- Drug-Free World

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The short-term and long-term impact of the individual 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.

# data[].attributes.body
Methamphetamine Slideshow 'The Meth War