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Parents living in affluent Auckland suburbs are being warned their daughters may be targeted by drug dealers to get them hooked on the methamphetamine drug P.
North Shore area commander Inspector Les Paterson said P was the "grim reaper" of the drug world.
He said it often took only one hit to become addicted and the drug could destroy lives.
Mr Paterson said those targeted were often young women from good, caring and loving North Shore families.
While parents often suspected something was wrong, by the time they sought help or guidance, it was often too late.
He said the most vulnerable age was from 18 to 22 years.
Young women were introduced to dealers at parties, bars or nightclubs or through word of mouth.
He said parents should look for signs of their daughters using the drug.
"They'll have some dodgy looking friends, they are out all the time, they will be making excuses about where they have been and what they have been doing, they will appear a bit hyperactive and will probably get a bit snaky."
He warned that anyone convicted of drug offences could have trouble travelling internationally or getting jobs.
"It is a scar that will stay with them forever."
Mr Paterson said often drug dealers gave the first hit away for nothing. That led to an addiction, drug debts and the pressure to pay.
"They rack themselves up in debt and then it is how do we repay that debt, which could at that stage have reached $4000 or $5000 quite easily."
The young person often turned to fraud within the family or were used by the dealers for sex or for acts of subterfuge such as smuggling things into prison.
He also said they could lose their appetite, their skin could deteriorate and they could have trouble sleeping.
Psychological changes could include paranoia and temperament problems. They could begin lying.
Mr Paterson said even if they overcame a P addiction, they faced a battle to say "no" for the rest of their lives.
- NZPA
