Pubdate: Tue, 22 Aug 2003
Source: Hawke's Bay Today (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2003, Wilson & Horton
Contact:  http://mytown.co.nz/hawkesbay/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2947
Author: Marty Sharpe
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

INMATES TALK OF 'TAKING OUT' DRUG COOKS

Prisoners and community workers at the coal face aim to deal with suppliers 
of pure methamphetamine, or P, by "taking out the suppliers", according to 
a report on the drug commissioned by the Ministry of Health.

The report, compiled by anti-P campaigner Denis O'Reilly, of Napier, 
gathered information on how to battle the drug from eight meetings held 
around the North Island over the last two months.

Two meetings were held in Hawke's Bay - at the Hawke's Bay Regional Prison 
and the Taiwhenua o Heretaunga.

The draft "Methamphetamine - Community Resilience and Self-Prohibition 
Scoping Study", will be used by Associate Minister of Health Jim Anderton 
who chairs the ministerial action group on alcohol and drugs.

Mr O'Reilly said opposition to the drug was widespread, with even 
"counter-culture" elements considering co-operating with the police to 
stamp out the drug's use.

"There is a feeling of fear and anger. There are suggestions of vigilante 
action," Mr O'Reilly said. "Some of the most aggressive actions suggested 
against methamphetamine makers and distributors come from their peers in 
prison and on the street," he said.

Examples of comments included - "Take out the cooks", "Take out the 
supplier ourselves", "Whanau, gang members, community take out suppliers 
and manufacturers with the help of the police", "Blow the P manufacturers 
to little pieces", "Have a seminar on P in your Hood", "Looking at it from 
a Maori perspective," "That it did not come on our canoe", "gangs talk to 
gangs, street girls talk to street girls, its a peer thing".

While the report aimed to study the Maori perspective of P, the findings 
applied to any community in which the drug was used, Mr O'Reilly said.

"Basically we were looking at how the Maori community was going to counter 
the issue. It is not more of a Maori issue, but how they handle it will be 
different.

"We talked to gang leaders, patients, prisoners, methamphetamine users, 
mental health workers, community people," Mr O'Reilly said.

He had been surprised at the low number of Maori at last week's public 
seminar on the drug in Hastings, especially when more than 20 percent of 
Hawke's Bay residents were Maori.

"I would have expected a stronger Maori presence," he said.

The numbers of young people in Hawke's Bay reportedly using the drug was 
the most alarming issue facing the region, he said.

A Hastings community worker, Karen Nicol, said she had seen children as 
young as 11 selling the drug to feed their addiction.

"If they're using it then it's nuclear fall-out material," she said.

"If they're using at school call the police, call out the fire brigade, 
call civil defence. There's something really bad going on there," Mr 
O'Reilly said.

"The stuff costs $1000 a gram, and no-one's giving it to school kids for 
free are they?" he said.

At last week's meeting Mr O'Reilly suggested the Government ban 
pseudoephedrine, an ingredient in over-the-counter flu remedies, which was 
used to manufacture P.