Meth scourge sparks Taihape action
Taihape is grappling with the scourge of meth addiction.
A hui to discuss the worsening plague attracted an estimated 80 people on a freezing winter’s night at which a range of speakers talked of ways to fight back.
Police figures show that in the region drug supply has tripled, and drug use has climbed by nearly the same alarming amount.
Recently a 37-year-old Taihape woman was jailed for more than two years for supplying meth and two other women, 37 and 39, also from Taihape, are facing supplying charges.
Around the country people are talking of rehab facilities pushed to bursting point by a flood of addicts seeking help, kids as young as 14 using the drug and the police being pushed to breaking point by the pressure.
The police union has warned the force’s resources are stretched thin by the wealth generated by the meth trade.
But Police Association boss Chris Cahill said one sign of hope was the placement of more cops in provincial areas to hit the gangs supplying P.
Central District police will get 69 new staff over four years, with Cahill saying the union will be ‘‘watching with interest’’ where they are stationed.
Already Manawatu mayor Helen Worboys has fired a shot across the Government’s bows about this, saying police were getting busier in the town but they’re now being supervised from Palmerston North.
The Taihape hui heard the stories of former addicts who through meth use had lost jobs, homes and relationships but Taihape Health clinical manager Gemma Kennedy, who was there, said she wasn’t too surprised to hear them.
The centre, which has about 3700 patients on its books, was seeing more addicts seeking help, she said.
Kennedy put the rising tide down to three things: Meth was easily available, the cost was falling, and it gave users a kick.
‘‘It’s a devastating drug.’’