The New Zealand Arrestee Drug Use Monitoring (NZ-ADUM) study monitors levels of alcohol and other drug use, and related criminal offending, among police detainees in Whangarei, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch central city police stations (see Wilkins et al., 2010b). NZ-ADUM tracks key drugs of concern, including methamphetamine, cannabis, opioids, pharmaceutical medicines and new psychoactive substances (NPS) (so called ‘legal highs’), as well as the emergence of entirely new drugs. NZ-ADUM also documents levels of alcohol and drug related harm, demand for drug treatment services, and changes in key illegal drug market indicators, such as availability and price.
This report presents the findings from the 2014 NZ-ADUM and compares them with the findings from the previous four years of the study.
Purpose
The aim of the New Zealand Arrestee Drug Use Monitoring (NZ-ADUM) study is to monitor trends in alcohol and other drug use, and related harm, among police detainees in New Zealand. NZ-ADUM tracks the use of key drugs of concern, including alcohol and methamphetamine; illegal drug market indicators, such as availability and price; and identifies emergent new drug types, such as synthetic cannabinoids. NZ-ADUM informs the understanding of the drivers of crime and drug misuse, and strategic responses to alcohol and other drug issues.
Methodology
The 2014 NZ-ADUM interviewed 832 police detainees at four central city police watch houses (i.e. Whangarei, Auckland Central, Wellington Central and Christchurch Central) from mid-April to the end of July 2014. This report presents the findings from the 2014 NZ-ADUM and compares them with the previous four years of the study.