New Zealand must invest in bold action to reduce demand for methamphetamine in the face of a recent surge in consumption, the NZ Drug Foundation says.

Wastewater testing data shows that methamphetamine consumption has doubled in the last year, with acute social and health impacts being reported in areas with the highest rates of use.

Drug Foundation Executive Director Sarah Helm says being overly reliant on supply-side interventions like seizures and drug busts won’t shift the dial and that seriously addressing demand is the only way to solve the issue.

“We’ve seen a doubling of methamphetamine use in spite of record-breaking seizures by Police and Customs,” she says.

“If we don’t address demand and addiction, supply-side measures are short-lived, because as one supply source is removed another supplier steps in to meet the demand. We need to be bold and get serious about reducing demand, preventing harm and making addiction treatment much more accessible to people.”

Helm says there are a range of proven and emerging interventions that the Foundation and the sector are urging the government to adopt, including:

• A rapid escalation of addiction treatment, including investment in accessible community-based, peer-led groups
• Revamping and expanding proven health-based responses like Te Ara Oranga
• A campaign that reduces stigma and encourages people to have conversations about their use with loved ones and to access help
• Ramping up prevention by tackling unmet health needs by:

--offering better support and treatment for people who use methamphetamine and have ADHD (one Australian study showed 45% of people who use illicit stimulants regularly screened positive for ADHD)

--investigating medication-assisted treatment options for people with methamphetamine dependence

Increasing harm reduction service availability, for example access to sterile injecting equipment to prevent communicable disease impacts

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Helm says that she’s optimistic about progress, especially as Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey has experience in the addictions sector and understands the issues.

“We’ve had many years of inaction on drug issues, but we have had very positive engagement with the Minister, including at a summit with almost 200 people from across the sector who offered up advice on how to tackle the serious challenges we are facing, so we are hopeful for progress,” she says.

Helm also acknowledges that demand reduction measures on their own risk being band aids without addressing the underlying social and economic drivers of methamphetamine use.

“Ultimately, this issue is bigger than any one sector or government portfolio and there are no quick fixes, but that doesn’t need we shouldn’t start doing what we know will work.”

Note:

Methamphetamine consumption (mg/day/1000 population) 2019- 2024

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