'I'm not going to apologise' - Drug Foundation boss says meth advice pamphlet given to Massey High students acknowledges realities

May 3, 2018

The information included methods of smoking meth safely, advice on avoiding a jail term and more, but was necessary, Ross Bell said.

The head of the New Zealand Drug Foundation says a pamphlet given to high school students instructing them on safe methods to use methamphetamine was simply acknowledging realities.

A concerned  Massey High School parent shared two photos to Facebook  taken from Drug Help's MethHelp handbook provided to Year 13 Health students as a resource to help with research for an assignment. 

The MethHelp Handbook, which can also be found on the New Zealand Drug Foundation's Drug Help website, a programme funded by the Ministry of Health, features two pages showing "10 ways to keep well if using meth".

Drug Foundation Chief Executive Ross Bell, speaking this morning to TVNZ 1's Breakfast programme, said the pamphlet and included instructions are simply acknowledging the realities of life.

Massey University drug researcher Dr Chris Wilkins says the supply of meth coming out of Asia now is huge, which is lowering the price here.

"The bottom line for us is that the safest drug use is no drug use at all," Mr Bell said. "But we live in the real world".

"These 17, 18-year-olds are going to leaving school next year, going into a world where drugs exist.

"That information is for people who are currently using methamphetamine - I wish they weren't - but they are.

"I'm not going to apologise for that."

Mr Bell said while meth use within secondary school is low to almost non-existent, the rate of meth use among the 18-25 age group is the highest of any age group.

He said the booklet contained a lot more information than just those two pages, and that it has plenty of information designed to prevent meth use in the first place.

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