Police displayed weapons and drugs, including two "unusually large" rocks of crystal meth, from a bust on a Coromandel P lab.

There is compelling evidence that increasing the legal alcohol purchasing age reduces harm and saves lives, a US professor has told MPs.

A woman who fled an alcohol checkpoint and caused a crash that killed Penelope Phillips, above, has been sentenced to home detention.

The dangerous combination of a weekend of drinking and a sleeping pill resulted in Jarrad Hoeata going on a reckless drive that ended when motorists blocked him off the road.

A sole parent says she has lost a sixth of her bodyweight because she has not been able to eat properly since the Govt tightened access to training subsidies for beneficiaries.

An announcement on changes to alcohol legislation is likely in the next few weeks, Prime Minister John Key says.

Amy-Rose Allen, 22, was a beauty show contestant and an alcoholic who fell victim to what her parents described as NZ's "widely accepted" binge-drinking culture.

Kiwi parents' biggest fear is that their children will spiral into drug and alcohol addiction, a survey has found.

Broadcaster and soon-to-be brothel owner Pam Corkery has spoken of her 30-year battle with alcoholism.

John Armstrong writes that the working group's prescription for change may be blinkered by ideology such as time limits.