articles

A major new study published in the New Zealand Medical Journal has delivered the clearest evidence yet that methamphetamine contamination levels in tested residential properties have increased significantly since the 2018 government policy change. The research, led by Dr Muhammad Irfan in … [Read more...] about Meth Contamination in New Zealand Homes Has Risen Sharply Since 2018 — It’s Time to Act

Part 3 of 4: In Part 1, we looked at why a freshly painted ex-rental can warrant further questions. In Part 2, we explained why meth-related behaviour is not always obvious. This article explains the practical next steps when you suspect a meth problem: test, decontaminate, verify, and protect the … [Read more...] about What to do when you suspect a meth problem

Part 2 of 4: This is the second article in our four-part meth awareness series. In Part One: Why a Freshly Painted Ex-Rental Should Raise Questions, we explored why a clean, freshly painted property can still conceal a serious contamination issue. This article examines why the usual … [Read more...] about Meth-related behaviour is obvious – Yeah, Right

Part 1 of 4: This is the first in a four-part series for New Zealand landlords and property managers. Over the next few articles, we’ll look at why a freshly painted ex-rental can raise questions, how meth-related behaviour often goes unnoticed, what to do when you suspect a problem, and how to … [Read more...] about Why a Freshly Painted Ex-Rental  Should Raise Questions

The recent uproar over methamphetamine pipes being sold in discount stores has dominated headlines, but it exposes a more troubling reality: New Zealand acknowledges its meth crisis in rhetoric while maintaining remarkably high thresholds for actual consequences. When politicians from across the … [Read more...] about Beyond Meth Pipes: New Zealand’s High-Threshold Problem

We were told the numbers had stabilised. We weren’t told what they had stabilised at. The Q1 2026 wastewater results show methamphetamine consumption averaged 36.6 kilograms per week — 15% above the previous four-quarter average. This is not a return to earlier levels. It is the new … [Read more...] about National Wastewater Analysis Q1 2026: Record Use and the Reality of Property Exposure

Every year on June 1st, thousands of people connected to New Zealand’s dairy industry relocate as part of the new dairy season. Homes change occupants. Farm workers move regions. Contract and share milkers take over new operations. Farming operations relocate families, staff, equipment, … [Read more...] about Moving Day, Sharemilking, and the Hidden Meth Risks That Can Move With the Property

In Part 1, we looked at what wastewater testing is telling us. Meth-related behaviour across New Zealand is sustained, distributed, and no longer easy to dismiss as isolated. But wastewater is not only a public health signal. For property owners, it is a property risk signal. It does not … [Read more...] about The Canary in the Coal Mine: What Wastewater Testing Means for Property Risk

The risk didn’t increase.It was redefined. For years, methamphetamine contamination in residential property was often treated as an occasional issue — something associated with obvious warning signs, severe damage, or extreme cases. But when we step away from perception and look at measured … [Read more...] about Wastewater Testing: The Canary in the Coal Mine for Property-Related Meth Risk

A recent conversation that didn’t sit right Not long ago, I was speaking with a real estate agent during a property discussion. The comment was casual. Confident. “With the new meth regulations, buyers don’t really need to worry anymore — the thresholds have changed.” At face value, it … [Read more...] about When Law Changes — But Choice Doesn’t: Meth Regulation, Property Sales, and a Conversation That Stopped Me