30 May 2002

"The Government is a Johnny-come-lately to the meth epidemic," says National's Police spokesman Tony Ryall.

"For months, National has been warning the Government that young New Zealanders are baking their brains on this stuff and only now - with an election looming - are they talking about it.

"To smash this illicit industry the Government needs to crackdown on the gangs. This means taking the leaders out of circulation and confiscating their ill-gotten assets."

He says spending $250,000 on a study into the effects of meth on young people is a waste of money and misses the point.

"Talking to drug counsellors and the police tells me this will do nothing to control this increasing problem. Government should spend this money on putting more police on the beat," Mr Ryall concluded.

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