Meth teens ‘disaster’ recipe
A growing number of young people in the Nelson region are falling victim to methamphetamine, as the class A drug creeps into suburban society, according to lawyers.
Nelson solicitors spoken to by the Nelson Mail said more teenagers were facing serious charges after using the drug, amid a ‘‘massive’’ increase in methrelated crime across the board over recent years.
Some vulnerable teenagers were skipping soft drugs and going straight onto meth, barrister Michael Vesty said.
‘‘I’ve acted for people in the youth court, so that’s 14-16 year olds who have been affected by methamphetamine, some very, very seriously, and going onto commit very serious crimes under the influence of methamphetamine. That’s unusual that they should go from schoolage teenagers into meth, and then that big jump into some serious crime.
‘‘Most of them are already very vulnerable, they’re already impulsive on account of their age and circumstance and usually a lack of boundary.
And then on top of that, smoking methamphetamine, it’s an absolute recipe for disaster and it happens more frequently than you think.’’
Vesty said since he started working as a lawyer in Nelson in 2005 the rising prevalence of the drug had led to an increase in serious crime.
His case load reflected police statistics that showed a big rise in meth-driven crime, including burglaries, robberies and assaults, in the top of the south over the last two years.
Mark Dollimore has been working as a criminal lawyer in Nelson for about 25 years.
‘‘Besides doing district court criminal work, I do youth court work, and I’ve noticed there are a lot of young people having P issues now, kids under 17.’’
Younger people were committing more violent crimes, and more female clients were starting to use meth, Dollimore observed.
He said the drug had become increasingly accessible in Nelson.
‘‘I’ve spoken to a lot of clients, and they’ve said it’s easier to get than cannabis.’’
Long-serving criminal lawyer Brett Daniell-Smith has also seen a significant increase in methrelated crime over the last five years, with property offences in particular now a major problem.
‘‘Anything is fair game, when somebody wants to get money for methamphetamine. People are stealing other people’s lawn mowers, which would have been unheard of once upon a time.’’
Daniell-Smith, who has practiced law in Nelson for 37 years, said a large number of his clients were now affected, one way or another, by the drug.
‘‘Whether it’s a family client, the children of a family client, the grandparents of a family client, a mental health client who has drug-induced psychosis brought about by the use of methamphetamine, or a criminal client who has committed an offence related to drug use, for instance burglaries, serious assaults.’’
He had come across situations where people had tried to arrange counterfeit documents like driving licences and passports, to conceal their identity in order to deal meth more easily.
Police said they were ‘‘actively targeting’’ those involved in dealing drugs in the top of the South island.
The methods for detection and seizure were continually evolving, Tasman Police Crime Manager, Detective Inspector Paul Borrell said.
Anyone who had concerns that a friend or family member was using methamphetamine, or other drugs, should seek help from a GP in the first instance.
‘‘The police view is that we want addicts to be able to access treatment services in order to get their lives back on track.’’ Detective Inspector Borrell said.