INMATES TALK OF 'TAKING OUT' DRUG COOKS

Prisoners and community workers at the coal face aim to deal with suppliers
of pure methamphetamine, or P, by "taking out the suppliers", according to
a report on the drug commissioned by the Ministry of Health.

The report, compiled by anti-P campaigner Denis O'Reilly, of Napier,
gathered information on how to battle the drug from eight meetings held
around the North Island over the last two months.

Two meetings were held in Hawke's Bay - at the Hawke's Bay Regional Prison
and the Taiwhenua o Heretaunga.

The draft "Methamphetamine - Community Resilience and Self-Prohibition
Scoping Study", will be used by Associate Minister of Health Jim Anderton
who chairs the ministerial action group on alcohol and drugs.

Mr O'Reilly said opposition to the drug was widespread, with even
"counter-culture" elements considering co-operating with the police to
stamp out the drug's use.

"There is a feeling of fear and anger. There are suggestions of vigilante
action," Mr O'Reilly said. "Some of the most aggressive actions suggested
against methamphetamine makers and distributors come from their peers in
prison and on the street," he said.

Examples of comments included - "Take out the cooks", "Take out the
supplier ourselves", "Whanau, gang members, community take out suppliers
and manufacturers with the help of the police", "Blow the P manufacturers
to little pieces", "Have a seminar on P in your Hood", "Looking at it from
a Maori perspective," "That it did not come on our canoe", "gangs talk to
gangs, street girls talk to street girls, its a peer thing".

While the report aimed to study the Maori perspective of P, the findings
applied to any community in which the drug was used, Mr O'Reilly said.

"Basically we were looking at how the Maori community was going to counter
the issue. It is not more of a Maori issue, but how they handle it will be
different.

"We talked to gang leaders, patients, prisoners, methamphetamine users,
mental health workers, community people," Mr O'Reilly said.

He had been surprised at the low number of Maori at last week's public
seminar on the drug in Hastings, especially when more than 20 percent of
Hawke's Bay residents were Maori.

"I would have expected a stronger Maori presence," he said.

The numbers of young people in Hawke's Bay reportedly using the drug was
the most alarming issue facing the region, he said.

A Hastings community worker, Karen Nicol, said she had seen children as
young as 11 selling the drug to feed their addiction.

"If they're using it then it's nuclear fall-out material," she said.

"If they're using at school call the police, call out the fire brigade,
call civil defence. There's something really bad going on there," Mr
O'Reilly said.

"The stuff costs $1000 a gram, and no-one's giving it to school kids for
free are they?" he said.

At last week's meeting Mr O'Reilly suggested the Government ban
pseudoephedrine, an ingredient in over-the-counter flu remedies, which was
used to manufacture P.