"Until we make it socially unacceptable, it won't stop. A number of my guys get assaulted [when working] and now we need police along too. One moment a person can be fine and then they go completely ballistic, or they go home and the wife asks a simple question and they blow their load. They go nuts and it's getting worse."
Senior Sergeant Nathan Davis of the Tararua police had stepped in at the last minute to lead the meeting after a member of the Police Clan Lab team was called to a job.
"If one person is using, it's a problem," he said. "Meth is now the drug of choice in New Zealand. Labs are so transportable they can be carted anywhere and we (police) stumble across them on a regular basis. They can book into a motel room and make a $100,000 cook and be gone. Spending $120 to $150 a night to rent a motel room, they can make significant money. The most dangerous are the idiots in charge of the process."
However, Mr Davis said he hadn't heard of a lab here in Dannevirke.
"We do have a meth problem, yes, we've got users. But are prisons the place for drug addicts? I don't know. If we attack their motivation and behaviour and address their addiction we are going to have better fathers, brothers and husbands. The only way you can have a $1000-a-day habit is to get involved in crime."
And Mr Davis confirmed it's organised crime which is making the money from meth in our community.
"Sometimes it's gangs, but not all the time," he said. "At $15,000 an ounce there's huge money being made."
Dannevirke resident James Kendrick was adamant the drug problem was the responsibility of our community.
"It's everyone's problem and we're naive if we think it isn't. A lot of people sitting here in this meeting know someone on P, so I'm hoping people here tonight will step up and help. There's a lack of role models and we have to fix what's wrong in the home."
Mr Davis agreed this wasn't a police problem.
"We're not going to solve drug habits by putting people in prison," he said. "If you're happy for your mates, work colleagues and family to smoke drugs . . . This isn't bigger than Ben Hur, so let's own what's going on in our homes. Keep having tough, courageous conversations."
Jocelyn Pomana, a drug and alcohol support worker with Rangitane, said she's seen the ripple effect drugs have on whanau. "It's hard to cope, hope can fade and feelings of powerlessness can be overwhelming and isolating. We are proposing to start a support group to share knowledge, provide support and stop the isolation."
Co-worker Margie Delaney said it's difficult for people to admit they have a problem with substance abuse.
"It can help if a family behave in a way that doesn't support the habit," she said. "We need to take a different approach and we need to look at what is driving drug abuse. It often takes more than one attempt to quit and unfortunately there will be some people who don't stop. Family members have to open their eyes as to what's happening."
Clan lab signs to look out for:
* Chemical odours - solvents mainly.
* Chemical containers.
* Exhaust fans.
* Blacked out windows.
* Frequent visitors at odd hours.
* Access denied to landlords, agents etc.
* Containers with labels removed.
* Stained soil and dead vegetation.
