Meth madness

Last week, New Zealand Police announced that they had located 1000 clandestine drug laboratories since official recording began ten years ago. In 1996 they located just one lab. Lucky lab 1000 was the 184th for 2006.

"Quality intelligence and increased understanding of the dynamics of illicit drug markets mean we are continually improving our work in zeroing in on the supply chains and networks of manufacturers and dealers," said Assistant Commissioner Peter Marshall. But is it quality intelligence and increased understanding? Or a decade of insanity ("doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results")? I guess that depends on what results you're trying to achieve.

Since 1996 the police have

• Wasted an estimated $500,000,000 "fighting P".
• Filled our jails to overflowing with clandestine laboratory technicians, at a cost of $50,000 per inmate per year.
• Ruined hundreds of lives (it's generally accepted that a sentence to life imprisonment - the penalty for manufacturing Class A drugs - is ruinous).

Since 1996 the police have NOT

• Reduced the availability of methamphetamine.
• Reduced the number of clan labs.
• Stopped a recorded increase in violent crime.
• Stopped children using P "just to feel normal".
• Stopped children's milk for Weetbix being kept in the fridge next to P lab chemicals.

Commenting yesterday on the conclusion of a year long operation, which resulted in 9 arrests and the seizure of large amounts of cash and methamphetamine worth $1.5 million, Detective Senior Sergeant Scott Beard said that for a while there would be a gap in the methamphetamine market. "But like all things that hole will be filled." This is a very clear admission from the police that they have little to show for their expensive P fighting efforts. A decade is 10 years too long. Stop the meth madness.

Anyone seen Elvis?