Has the Meth Hysteria in New Zealand Finally Been Pacified?

For many years, Kiwis have been getting their properties checked for meth in a heated frenzy surrounding the dangers of meth contamination. To finally pacify New Zealand’s meth-testing fever, the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Adviser Sir Peter Gluckman claimed to debunk the meth house contamination in a recent report, but is this the end of it?

Sir Peter and Dr Anne Bardsley issued a report and found that “there’s never been a documented case of someone getting sick from third-hand exposure to meth,” as published on Radio NZ.

“There's absolutely no evidence in the medical literature anywhere in the world, of anybody being harmed by passive exposure to methamphetamine at any level,” Sir Peter said. Dr Anne adds: "If people have no reason to think that it was [a meth lab] we would recommend them not testing - that has been driven by the industry."

Phil Twyford, NZ Housing Minister, commissioned the report, further stressing that Housing New Zealand (HNZ) has spent $75 millions dollars on testing and remediating houses over the past three years.

While the government is severely against meth testing, many are opposed to this government-issued report.

Bob Brereton, First National Real Estate Chief Executive, insists that the report utilised no new research, saying that “the report appears to be a regurgitation of pre-existing and incomplete data which has somehow been reconstructed into a recommendation to Government.”

Simon Fleming, Meth Xpert’s Director, also adds that meth-testing businesses and their services have been following standard regulations from the previous government, which were different at the time, and have recently been superseded by the New Zealand Standard.

Amidst all the conflict about meth-testing, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) is calling for guidance so they can provide clear guidance to the public regarding meth-contaminated homes, and Sir Peter recommends that property owners should only get meth checks if the Police specifically indicated that it was a meth lab.

If you require legal advice regarding meth checks, contact the Wellington property law specialists at Home Legal can advise you on the matter – visit the website at https://homelegal.co.nz/ today.