RESPONDS:

The recreational cannabis referendum will in no way distract police, Customs and other law enforcement agencies from their work disrupting the supply of methamphetamine and synthetic cannabis into our communities.

Police and Customs are working together to combat the organised criminal groups who are supplying meth, and our investment in 1800 extra police staff will go a long way in this area.

Police Minister Stuart Nash advises me these extra police include 200 staff in districts with a specific focus on preventing crime related to drugs. In addition there are 500 national positions focused on combating the harm caused by organised crime and the supply of methamphetamine in our communities.

Reducing drug harm is not just about enforcement though. It requires a multiagency approach focused on prevention, treatment, and harm reduction as well.

We recognise that drug users caught in the web of addiction will usually benefit more from health treatment options than from prosecution.

We don’t want to ruin lives by putting people in jail at a cost to taxpayers of $110,000 a year when a better option is to help them get the treatment they need to get off drugs.

Fear of prosecution can deter people from seeking help to deal with addiction issues. That’s why this Government has reaffirmed in law the existing police discretion about when to prosecute and explicitly requires consideration of whether a health-centred or therapeutic approach would be more beneficial.

For example our pilot in Northland, the Te Ara Oranga programme, has resulted in police referring 257 people to the DHB for addiction treatment for methamphetamine.