Gap seen in addiction services

More early intervention services are needed to help people fighting drug addiction in the Nelson region, a local Ma¯ ori health provider cautions, as it backs a campaign for an overhaul of New Zealand’s drug laws.

Top of the South Island Ma¯ ori primary health provider Te Piki Oranga said punitive legislation had failed to bring down drug use rates, and the group supported a national call for people to be referred to health services rather than face prosecution for drug use.

Te Piki Oranga, which runs an alcohol and other drugs [AOD] counselling service in Nelson, Tasman district and Marlborough, said too few drug users in the region were able to access services for help with addictions when they needed it.

A report from Nelson Marlborough Health last month stated everyone referred to its addiction service was being seen within 1-2 weeks, or straight away if there was an urgent need.

Some people had told Te Piki Oranga they had to wait a month to be seen by AOD counsellors across the Nelson region, general manager Anne Hobby said.

Counsellors at its hubs in Nelson and Motueka were struggling to meet demand, providing a service beyond what was funded, she said. The two AOD staff at each centre often dealt with more than 30 people each, at any one time.

‘‘I’ve seen case managers with 50 on their books ... there are new people coming in all the time.’’

Most were seeking help with alcohol but an increasing number were being seen for class B drugs cannabis and amphetamines, Hobby said. Fewer were seeking help for class A drug methamphetamine, which incurred higher penalties. ‘‘Wha¯ nau ... are coming to us really concerned for their family member, and the only options they seem to have are ringing the police.’’

The government needed to fund more AOD counsellors to help people deal with their addictions earlier on, Hobby said.

It should be made more acceptable for drug users to ask for help, and more people in frontline jobs needed training to deliver key intervention messages.

A ‘‘reasonable proportion’’ of any funding increase would need to go towards services for Ma¯ ori, whose drug use was twice as high as the total population, Hobby said. ‘‘We haven’t been funded for any specific youth AOD counselling, which I think is a huge shortfall, and of course that’s where the bulk of Ma¯ori population is.

‘‘We have schools ... ringing us wanting help.’’

A police officer in Nelson, who didn’t want to be named, said most of the jobs he was called out to on a regular basis related to methamphetamine or alcohol.

‘‘A lot of the time the only way to actually help them is a clean break through prison time.’’

Growth in meth use in the Nelson region in recent years reflected an increase in gang presence, and police were focused on prosecuting gang bosses, he said. ‘‘A lot of the people that have drug problems ... they’re just people that are caught in a cycle so we try to help those people. But the people that are feeding it to them, they don’t want them to have a successful rehab or get off the drug, because it’s bad for business.’’

Police already refer many people who want help with addictions to the Te Pae Oranga iwi community panels, established last year, which allowed low-level offenders to access services rather than face court.

A coalition of seven health, social justice and Ma¯ori health groups last week launched a campaign to double the yearly budget for drug-related prevention, education and treatment.

The ‘‘Health not Handcuffs’’ coalition, led by the Drug Foundation, said replacing penalties for drug use and possession with a health referral model would have better outcomes by addressing the reasons people used drugs.