KEY POINTS:
Special drug courts should be able to force addicts into treatment and authorities should have powers to conduct drug tests, a select committee was told yesterday.
Mike Sabin was a detective who investigated clandestine drug labs for 12 years before he left the police in 2006 to set up MethCon Group, aspecialist methamphetamine consultancy and educator.
He presented his research paper, Solutions to the Methamphetamine Crisis in New Zealand, to the law and order select committee at Parliament.
Mr Sabin reviewed international studies and interviewed specialists around the world.
He said drug abuse needed to be treated as a mainstream health problem and the Government needed to give it a high priority and target it in a co-ordinated way, while making the drug business uneconomic.
"In analysing what works and what doesn't on the global stage, in particular within the United States, it is clear that New Zealand's national drug policy of the last 10 years _ which focuses on harm minimisation _ will continue to fail."
A focus on harm minimisation did not work and a zero tolerance approach to all drugs _ including cannabis, which Mr Sabin said was a gateway drug _ was needed to make it harder for people to keep using drugs.
Research showed campaigns targeting youth, drug testing in schools and workplaces, screening, drug treatment services and drug treatment courts were highly effective.
Mr Sabin said that since 2001, when the United States launched its national drug control strategy focused on intervention plus blocking access to precursor substances, there had been a 64 per cent drop in methamphetamine use and a 25 per cent cut in cannabis use.
"It is clear that there is no one silver bullet but it is apparent that in the absence of successful demand reduction through a more balanced approach, police and customs will be largely ineffective at tackling the subsequent supply."
There was no national approach, with different agencies dealing with different parts of the problem.
"The lack of consistency or co-ordination and prioritisation is why we see what we do now."
Cabinet minister Jim Anderton, who is in charge of drug policy, said he would make sure the report was considered but took issue with some of its findings.
He said Mr Sabin was wrong to say there was no national approach to the methamphetamine problem.
"We do co-ordinate our approach," he said.
"All the agencies working in this area are doing so together, and we have a structure in place to make sure of that."
Mr Anderton was not sure a recommendation to compulsorily drug test all workers and students was helpful.
"There has been legal action in this area, and the courts have ruled clearly against such proposals."
Mr Anderton said the Government knew methamphetamine was a serious problem.
It was reclassified as a Class A drug in 2003, which increased the maximum jail term for manufacturing or supplying it from 14 years to life imprisonment.
"Further legislation is in the House currently to further enhance enforcement powers.
"NZPA
