Source: NZ Drug Foundation Te Puna Whakaiti Pāmamae Kai Whakapiri
Statement from Sarah Helm, Executive Director, NZ Drug Foundation Te Puna Whakaiti Pāmamae Kai Whakapiri:
“We welcome the health-focussed interventions to reduce methamphetamine harm that were announced by the Government today.
“It is good to see an emphasis on health approaches in the Government’s announcement – it’s clear to everyone that we can’t arrest our way out of this issue.
“The announced funding for increased services and support is desperately needed. Methamphetamine use has surged to unprecedented levels over the last 18 months, and with it we’ve seen increased harm in the community. This has landed on a sector that has been significantly underfunded for many years.
“By helping people, communities and families to address substance use disorder, we can both reduce demand and make a dent in supply, because people with long-term addiction often have to turn to selling the drug to help them pay for their own.
“Spending on treatment and harm reduction is also a better investment of taxpayer money than criminalising people, because it results in savings downstream in health, justice and social costs.
“People need to be able to access help immediately when they are ready, because when someone has to wait the window of opportunity quickly closes. It is good to see more investment in community-level support because people shouldn’t have to wait until they are experiencing the worst harms before they can access support. We hope additional investment in community and peer support will mean people can access help earlier. Building the capacity of communities to support each other is essential.
“It can take someone who is using methamphetamine as long as ten years before they come forward to ask for help because of the stigma and fear of criminalisation. So, to be effective, the announced nationwide campaign will need to focus on destigmatising and promoting help-seeking. The communities experiencing the worst methamphetamine harms already know the negative impact it is having. A campaign that is grounded in what they’re experiencing and helps people get information and support quickly will be the most useful.”
Notes:
The NZ Drug Foundation co-ordinates Tūturu, which has received funding for expansion as part of the Government’s announcement.
Tūturu is a programme developed specifically for New Zealand schools, focussed on keeping young people in school and building their critical thinking skills around issues like alcohol and other drugs, gambling, gaming, and energy drinks.
The Drug Foundation contracts local youth and health services who work with secondary schools to identify pastoral care support needs early and make use of a wide range of teaching resources.
