Meth awareness needed to help loosen drug’s hold on society

The hold methamphetamine has on society is real and it is more destructive than ever, and now it is their biggest issue, police say.

Senior Sergeant Cynthia Fairley, of Gore, spoke with a group of employers and concerned citizens at a Safe In The South meeting yesterday in Invercargill.

She talked about the effects, causes and troubles police and the public face from the rising use of the class A drug. ‘‘It’s so mobile and so obtainable now, it is our biggest problem for police.’’

The awareness and community engagement with helping to stop the spread of this drug was essential in combating the drug’s hold on society, she said.

‘‘It’s a problem that we face in our communities, and that’s why communities need to be aware of what it looks like and the impact it has so we can build a picture and work on it together.’’

While it was accepted that meth was not the only drug causing damage to the country, it was important to highlight what the issues were, she said.

Methamphetamine was predominantly brought into New Zealand, whether it be in a chemical form and made here, or directly imported from elsewhere in the world, she said.

Fairley discussed ways to get the community behind stopping the growth of the drug in their communities.

The first way to keep drugs out of people’s hands was to educate them to not even touch it once, she said.

‘‘We have to try to disrupt supply chains to keep our communities safe.’’

The issues had been seen elsewhere in the world, with the United States having seen these problems about 15 years ago, she said. ‘‘We’ve still got a lot of meth in our society at the moment.’’ While meth was the biggest issue at present for police, Fairley said she couldn’t shy away from the issues surrounding synthetic cannabis. ‘‘Anybody who has seen the effects, it is just as addictive as meth and it causes a lot of harm.’’ Fairley said the people who cooked the drug were likely to be armed and advised that if anyone saw or heard anything, they should ring police and not try to enter the property. ‘‘If you look into the cooking, nine times out of 10, there is a firearm involved.’’

Being charged with possession could see someone be jailed for six months at a maximum, while supplying the drug could mean a maximum of life in prison, she said.

It was everyone and anyone from all walks of life that were effected by the drug, Fairley said.

‘‘It’s not just the shady guy out the back wearing all black and getting in trouble with us, it’s every work group and it’s all people.’’

At the meeting, employment law specialist Janet Copeland said there were many ways to monitor the use of the drug among staff, but employers often had issues with implementing their drug policy correctly and in line with legislation.

There were many gaps in some policies and it was always best to be assertive but cautious when dealing with any drug testing, rehabilitation programme or dismissal, she said.

‘‘It’s so mobile and so obtainable now, it is our biggest problem for police.’’ Senior Sergeant Cynthia Fairley