Annual NZ Arrestee Drug Use Monitoring Report released

The 2015 New Zealand Arrestee Drug Use Monitoring Programme Report (NZ-ADUM) shows some positive trends in reduced cannabis and alcohol consumption, but also notes growing demand for methamphetamine among Police detainees.

The NZ-ADUM study is an annual Massey University study that has been funded by Police since 2010.

Between March and August 2015, 835 detainees were interviewed and 198 urine samples were taken at four police watch houses.

The 2015 study found the proportion of detainees who reported they had used cannabis in the previous year declined from 76 percent in 2011 to 69 percent in 2015.
The mean number of days the detainees had used cannabis in the previous year declined from 187 in 2010 to 155 in 2015.

The proportion of detainees who felt they were dependent on alcohol declined from 26 percent in 2013 to 17 percent in 2015.The proportion of detainees who had been drinking prior to their arrest declined from 41 percent in 2013 to 28 percent in 2015.

However, the proportion of detainees who had used methamphetamine in the previous year increased from 28 percent in 2012 to 36 percent in 2015.
The proportion of detainees who felt dependent on methamphetamine increased from 22 percent in 2011 to 35 percent in 2015.

Deputy Police Commissioner Michael Clement said the NZ-ADUM study was one of the research sources used in the Government’s Tackling Methamphetamine: Progress Report, released in October 2015.

“The proportion of detainees with convictions who had ever received treatment for drug and alcohol problems increased from 20 percent in 2010 to 40 percent in 2015,” Deputy Commissioner Clement said.

“Last month the Prime Minister announced that almost $15 million seized from criminals will be invested in anti-drug initiatives, with a greater focus on treatment."

“As part of that, Police has received just over $6.2 million for initiatives focused on sharing information with Chinese law enforcement colleagues to disrupt the flow of illicit drugs from southern China to New Zealand.
This funding will also enable the expansion of asset recovery and financial investigations, recovery of legal costs, and a joint initiative with the Northland DHB focusing on reducing demand for methamphetamine.”

“Police believes that together with our partner agencies and our communities, we can successfully reduce the presence of this drug in New Zealand.”

The 2015 detainees were interviewed at Whangārei, Auckland Central, Wellington Central and Christchurch Central watch houses.

The report is available on the Police website: http://www.police.govt.nz/about-us/publication/new-zealand-arrestee-drug-use-monitoring-nz-adum-report-2010-2015

ENDS

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