It has been nearly 25 years since methamphetamine use exploded in New Zealand.
Yet, despite the drug's well-documented dangers and high-profile busts, tens of thousands of Kiwi adults are estimated to be using meth every year.
Aotearoa's transmuting history with the drug, both politically and culturally, has been documented in Mad on Meth, a new book by 1News Political Reporter Benedict Collins.
He said New Zealand's meth usage began to boom in the late 90s when it was discovered pseudoephedrine, an ingredient in cold and flu medicine, could be used to cook meth in a private setting.
"It just absolutely exploded," Collins said.
"I think a lot of people don't quite realise that in the 50s and 60s, you could go to the doctor, you could get a prescription for it... they weren't very controversial, they were widely used, often media stories would just talk about [for example] a pianist trying to break a record and popping amphetamine pills as he did it."
Despite a classification on pseudoephedrine in New Zealand's Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, Collins said usage continued to grow as international rings in Mexico and Myanmar expanded and "super labs" that "churn out" methamphetamine took root in Aotearoa.
"The amount of meth coming into New Zealand now is insane," he said.
"Multiple times this year, our record for the biggest bust has been broken. Twice this year, we've had busts of about three-quarters of a tonne".
Looking forward, Collins discussed a report released by the Helen Clark Foundation and the New Zealand Drug Foundation in September 2022, which proposed trialling a "safe supply scheme" where amphetamines, meth alternatives or even meth itself are distributed to communities by the government, separating the drug from the black market and gang activity.
"Overseas, even with methadone, when you give people these drugs through a government-funded scheme, pretty quickly the use starts coming down, and [people] aren't having to commit crimes in order to raise money to get the methamphetamine in the first place," Collins said.
"I think it'd be tricky to do that, especially given the geography of methamphetamine. We know it's really concentrated in small, often Maori rural towns, that's where use is the highest.
"So rolling out a safe supply scheme, I think geographically, would be really tricky in New Zealand, but I think it's worth a shot... I would give that a go if I was the government, at least give it a shot."
SHARE ME