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A Murupara community drug and alcohol counsellor says methamphetamine is eating away at the remote forest community.
Download AudioA Murupara community drug and alcohol counsellor says methamphetamine is eating away at the remote forest community.
Police wastewater data indicates the central North Island township has one of the highest per capita meth consumption rates in the country.
Ormond Hines from Te Ika Whenua Counselling says he moved home 20 year ago, and in that time he’s seen the long term decline.
“Some people think they can handle it. And they can, they’re a functioning user until they need us more and more and more, and then they’re not functioning at all,” he says.
Mr Hines says Te Ika Whenua Counselling’s approach to rehabilitation includes not just education but reconnecting with te taiao through activities like pig hunting and harvesting watercress.
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