OPINION: It is time for a reality check - meth is everywhere in New Zealand and we are never going to get rid of it.
Sadly, "P" is now an embedded social problem - it has been around for 20 years and is worse than ever. The meth problem has crossed generations now.
I realised this when I went to the town of Feilding this week and met a group of 10 addicts or recovering addicts. It was heartbreaking and I spent most of the time with tears in my eyes looking at the waste of good people’s lives.
Ten people with a meth problem is a lot for one small town - and they are the ones who have sought help.
And if you go to Waiuku, Stratford, Dannevirke, or Gore you will find the same thing. P has taken hold in our small towns.
And it just ruins people.
I’ve known for a while that it wrecks lives. Like many Kiwis, people I care for have become addicted. This includes someone I am really close to.
The pain is just massive, especially for the families. There is a huge stigma with it. I know the parents in particular really suffer.
It is a tragedy for every family when someone gets addicted to P.
I’m thankful the Feilding group fronted up. Because for those who haven’t been exposed to the destruction of P, they can actually watch it and see.
The broken families. Mothers losing their kids. Attempted suicide. Crime. Psychotic behaviour. The easy availability of P. The lack of help even if you want it.
And that is the nub of the problem for me. You can easily get P, but you can’t get help to get off it. The loved ones of addicts can’t get help either.
The truth is, our addiction services are failing. We don’t have them in our small towns, and there are waiting lists for proper rehab.
So much has been said and written about P down the years. But we can’t get fatigued about it. We need to keep fighting it.
I was inspired when I met social worker Robyn Duncan in Feilding this week. She is getting people off P one-by-one. That’s huge - one person off P just saves so much human cost and taxpayer cost too. It makes the market smaller - less addicts, less people buying P.
One thing really stood out about Robyn. She does not give on people. I call her "the angel in the darkness of meth".
We must learn from Robyn. Yes, bust the gangs and the cooks. But don’t give up on our people.
Treat it like any other health issue and spend the money to help people get off it. Yes, it will be expensive. But not as expensive as the inter-generational addiction that has already begun.
We must not give up on our people that get addicted. By helping them, we help stop the evils of P.
We simply must not give up on fighting meth.
Patrick Gower is Newshub's national correspondent
