1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,120 Speaker 1: So where are we at with our drug use? The 2 00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:05,360 Speaker 1: annual Mass University Trend Survey out this morning method is 3 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:09,200 Speaker 1: getting cheaper access to cocaine easier, its users increasing too. 4 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:10,800 Speaker 1: We've also got to change in the use of tobacco, 5 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: cannabis and psychedelics. Messy University drug researcher Chris Wilkins with 6 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 1: US Morning, Good morning. Are we a drug eduled nation? 7 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:22,319 Speaker 2: I think we're part of a global drug system that's 8 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:25,279 Speaker 2: changed quite a bit in the last few years. So 9 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 2: now we've got increasingly more synthetic drugs and so we've 10 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:37,120 Speaker 2: got digital markets, so that's social media, encrypted apps and darknet. 11 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: Wow, the stuff that you produce, the detail you produce, 12 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:41,919 Speaker 1: how accurate is it? 13 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 2: Well, what we do is we it's a convenience survey, 14 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:49,640 Speaker 2: but we talked to ten thousand current drug users in 15 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 2: New Zealand and basically we also look at our results 16 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 2: and compare them to other researchers going on other data 17 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:02,840 Speaker 2: that's going on, so like west Uder testing, police seizures 18 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:07,120 Speaker 2: and police operations, and we often find very consistent resorts 19 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 2: results compared to those data sources. 20 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:12,039 Speaker 1: How much is driven by price. 21 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:17,120 Speaker 2: Prices? Well, drugs are just like any other commodity, so 22 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,520 Speaker 2: prices of course key, and that's part of one of 23 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 2: the indicators that we collect with the survey, and what 24 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:27,199 Speaker 2: we've found is a declining price over the last since 25 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 2: twenty seventeen. So one of the key findings this year 26 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:34,840 Speaker 2: was that the price of methamphetamin's actually declined thirty five 27 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:38,479 Speaker 2: percent since twenty seventeen. And of course we're all going 28 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:41,760 Speaker 2: through a cost of living crisis where we ice just 29 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 2: go up, but it seems in the legal economy the 30 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 2: cost of drugs just get cheaper. 31 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 1: Well at least it's not inflationary. I suppose that's encouraging. 32 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: Do you get depressed by this when you see this 33 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: sort of stuff? 34 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:56,520 Speaker 2: Well, as I said, well, it's really interesting for us 35 00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 2: in as kind of academic way because you know, as 36 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,800 Speaker 2: we've had this cross the looms that we're expecting prices 37 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 2: to go up. But this is really some really global 38 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 2: drives about drug use. As I said, synthetic drugs versus 39 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 2: plant paid drugs, which additionally used to and also if 40 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 2: you're from my generation, you kind of think about place 41 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:19,600 Speaker 2: baked drug markets where you meet someone in person, you 42 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:22,280 Speaker 2: exchange the drugs. You know, you only know the people 43 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,640 Speaker 2: you know, but increasingly young people have a digital drug 44 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 2: market where they're open to all types of office for 45 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:32,760 Speaker 2: drugs and different prices and markets, and a lot of 46 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:36,400 Speaker 2: those apps are encrypted, so it's just a different world 47 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 2: in terms of how the drug market operates. 48 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:40,240 Speaker 1: You mentioned the word global. How much of our drug 49 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: use is global as and supplied globally versus a bit 50 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:44,359 Speaker 1: of cannabis which has grown up the road. 51 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 2: Most of it comes from overseas. So one of the 52 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 2: interesting things this year that you might have kind of 53 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 2: heard about in recently of Mexican cartels, which is something 54 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 2: you haven't probably heard about previously. So it's a global market. 55 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,360 Speaker 2: So a lot of them method and famine we have 56 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:06,240 Speaker 2: traditionally used has come from Southeast Asia, but Australian police 57 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:08,839 Speaker 2: are saying that seventy percent of the myth they now 58 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 2: see is actually from North America, South America maasically Mexican cartels, 59 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:18,280 Speaker 2: and they're essentially just like in the other market, they're 60 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:22,560 Speaker 2: seener market opportunity and they're selling at a cut price. 61 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 1: So what's happening with there seems to be a tremendous 62 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 1: amount of cocaine about. 63 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 2: The place that's right. So that was another really surprising 64 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 2: finding was that the level of cocaine use lever of 65 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 2: cocaine availability obviously in Auckland, but also in northern and 66 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 2: may have plenty, but really all over New Zealand. And 67 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 2: this may well be some overlap with that Mexican cartel 68 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 2: and of course they're in the cocaine trade, and if 69 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 2: they're selling myths to New Zealand and to Australia, then 70 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:55,480 Speaker 2: cocaine is also another thing that's obviously got access to. 71 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:59,000 Speaker 1: Can you tell how many New Zealanders don't smoke, don't vape, 72 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: don't do drugs? Is there anyone left not? 73 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 2: With this survey? So we purposely target current drug users 74 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:10,640 Speaker 2: because we want to know about what's happening in the 75 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:14,240 Speaker 2: drug market. So it's not a representative national survey. But 76 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:16,240 Speaker 2: if you go to the Ministry of Health Health Survey, 77 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:19,480 Speaker 2: you'll see you can find out that stack. 78 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:22,159 Speaker 1: Appreciate your time. That is Chris Wilkins Out of Masses. 79 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:25,479 Speaker 2: For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to 80 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 2: news talks that'd be from six am weekdays, or follow 81 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:30,279 Speaker 2: the podcast on iHeartRadio.