Cannabis Drought Linked to Rise of Meth

According to a new report, Recent Trends in Illegal Drug Use in New Zealand, the nation is currently in a cannabis drought as synthetic drugs, including meth, are on the rise. Dangerous synthetic drug abuse is noticeably higher in areas where cannabis is rare, such as New Zealand’s South Island.

The report was released by Massey University in Auckland, New Zealand. Chris Wilkins leads the research team that is based at the SHORE and Wh?riki Research Centre. Wilkins blames the unavailability of cannabis, among other things, as the root cause of the rise in synthetic drugs.

“There have been anecdotal reports in recent years of a ‘cannabis drought’ in New Zealand, particularly in the South Island,” researchers noted. “Findings from the 2014 [report] provide some support for these claims.” In Christchurch, for example, only 54 percent of interviewees reported that they could find cannabis within an hour, as compared to 76 percent in 2014.

The decrease in cannabis availability coincided with rises in synthetic drug use. “What we found was an increase in methamphetamine use amongst the police arrestees that we interviewed,” Wilkins told Newshub. Nearly 38 percent of the 800 interviewees stated that they had used methamphetamine in the last year, a 12 percent increase since 2010. In addition, the price of methamphetamine has fallen to $168 per gram in New Zealand.

He’s also worried about spice, which is poorly called “synthetic cannabis,” although it doesn’t contain any cannabis. “One of the interesting things is we found increasing synthetic cannabis dependence, increasing strength of synthetic cannabis,” he added. “There seems to be the effects of the development of this black market.” This year, 20 New Zealanders have died so far from synthetic cannabinoids.

The rising rates of MDMA, ephedrine, cocaine, opioids and morphine in New Zealand were also observed. In New Zealand, cannabis is measured by a “tinny,” or a unit of about 1.5 grams. According to the report, the median price of a tinny was $20 and the median price of an ounce was $350 in New Zealand. The study provides valuable insight into the relationships between cannabis and synthetic drugs.