KEY POINTS:
Teenagers as young as 14 are trying methamphetamine or P as the price of the drug has halved in the last year, a drug education group Welltrust says.
The group, which works with youths through schools and in conjunction with police, said it was worrying that the drug that used to be targeted to adults was becoming prevalent among youth.
Welltrust executive officer Murray Trenberth said the price for a "hit" of P had dropped to $60 from $120 a year ago.
Drug dealers were also giving free samples of P with marijuana that teenagers bought.
Mr Trenberth said a 2002 Auckland University study had found that 20 per cent of youths were "problematic users" of marijuana by the age of 16.
"They are the kids who are likely to try P," he said.
The visible aging affect of P on young people after a year of use was extreme, he said.
"It's what's happens to the teeth, it's what's happens to the face - its marks and lesions. It looks like they are 10 years older or have contracted Aids."
Mr Trenberth said through counselling they educated youths about how drugs affected their brains and lives.
The group had about a 60 per cent success rate, he said.
"Some of those kids use P just to feel normal," he said.
- NZPA
