One in seven Kiwis touched by P

New research into the impacts of methamphetamine, or P, shows one in seven New Zealanders know someone who regularly uses the highly addictive drug.

A survey of 1000 people, commissioned by anti-P organisation Stellar Trust, found one in 10 respondents had been offered the drug and many wanted more done to combat its spread, including an increase in police powers, better education in schools and tougher prison sentences for dealers and users.

"New Zealanders believe there is so much more that can be done in the fight against P," Stellar Trust chairman Burton Shipley said.

"When you consider that government launched a set of what we believed were strong initiatives just last October, we were very surprised at the depth of feeling around the issue of P use and availability."

The survey also found about 35 percent of New Zealanders who earned more then $50,000 had been offered the drug.

"The numbers show that the more likely users of P are in the higher income, professional and sales demographics - particularly in Auckland and Wellington - and mainly male," Mr Shipley said.

There was also a "serious problem" in low income Maori homes, he said.

"Our courts are becoming clogged with P related cases, there is a serious flow-on effect into welfare statistics, and P clearly has an ongoing effect in our productive and professional sectors. We agree with the research that says we need to be doing more."

The survey, conducted by UMR Research, had a 3.5 percent margin of error.

- NZPA