KEY POINTS:
The festive season rush is not just for the retail industry - the drugs industry also gets busier, a former detective says.
Mike Sabin, who is now an educator on the drug P, said the mid to latter part of the year tended to be a "pretty popular" time for meth manufacture, something he said "sounds ridiculous, but it's a commercial commodity".
Asked why, he said: "Christmas shopping. Like any commodity, people gear up for the festive season and drugs are no different. It's a big harvest time for cannabis over the summer months and I see no difference in meth manufacture."
Mr Sabin said it was common to see an increase in meth lab detections later in the year when police cannabis operations were on or being terminated before Christmas.
