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NZ's meth crisis: The rural towns bearing the brunt

Jared Savage
By
Investigative Journalist·NZ Herald·
9 mins to read

Two decades after meth first took hold, New Zealand has failed to curb the drug's popularity and the devastating social harm caused by addiction. New data from wastewater testing shows the burden is not shared evenly. Jared Savage reports.

Struggling rural towns are taking the brunt of New Zealand's methamphetamine crisis, according to a Herald analysis of national drug use data.

The analysis reveals that small regional centres with high levels of deprivation — including Kaitaia, Ōpōtiki and Wairoa —

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