Hāpai Te Hauora joins the Health Not Handcuffs Coalition to petition the Prime Minister to invest $150m in drug harm reduction

Today Hāpai Te Hauora supported the launch of a petition urging the Prime Minister to double the investment for drug-related treatment and harm reduction initiatives in Budget 2019. This would see $150 million extra allocated for the under-resourced drug harm reduction sector.

Call to regulate synthetic drugs to stop 'head in the sand' approach

Risk of death from synthetic drug use can be significantly reduced if the system gets it right, the head of a Maori public health provider says.

As of August 1 this year, 10 people are believed to have died as a result of using illegal synthetic drugs within the space of one month.

And without a law reform these "tragic" numbers may become worse, Hapai Te Hauora Tapui chief executive Lance Norman said.