American rock legends The Eagles were today met with a rousing haka at Auckland's Hoani Waititi Marae where guitarist Joe Walsh took his message about kicking drug addiction to Black Power and Mongrel Mob members.
Walsh kicked his cocaine and alcohol habits 25 years ago and now takes a message around the world about overcoming addiction.
He was at the marae to talk with the Mongrel Mob and Black Power about kicking meth.
Walsh told 1 NEWS he noticed progress has been made in reducing drug use in New Zealand compared to the problem he witnessed here in the mid-2000s.
"I came here and talked about it and I notice a big difference here. Things have gotten better here," he said.
They met with gang leaders to help tackle the problem of meth.
The drug problem was "pretty scary" at the time of his previous visit, Walsh said.
"But people can make a difference. And the gangs have helped with that. And I'm very happy to see progress.
"There's still more to do but I'm really happy to see progress because this is a small country and drugs are bad," the guitarist said.
"And you don't know what's in store when you start taking them. All you know is it makes you feel good. But what's in store is hell. And we all need - those of us who have been there - to keep saying it to young people because we know."
Mark Griffiths of Mongrel Mob Waikato said he thinks a lot of people in the gangs have had enough of meth.
"There's a swing. A lot of people have had enough of that kind of behaviour amongst their peers and leaders. So they're telling people to move away from that because it's 2019, it's no longer 1996 when methamphetamine first hit the country," he said.
The band famously sang about American excess in Hotel California. Today Joe Walsh's message to gang members was one of aroha.
"It's important that we all have respect for each other. It's important that we all have compassion for each other and it's important that we take care of each other. Those are the three main things that make a difference. And we can work together," he said.
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