Still losing the war on P

The latest Indicators and Progress Report for the Government’s Tackling Methamphetamine Action Plan [PDF] is out, and naturally the government is trying to put a positive spin on things and claim that it is winning its war on P. But while there's some good news - overall usage has reduced as P has become unfashionable and people have realised that its no fun turning into a raving psychopath - the core indicators around price and availability have remained unchanged. Methamphetamine still costs around $100 a point or $700 a gram, with possible a slight reduction in the bulk price. The price of precursors for cooking has dropped by around 25%, from $12 - $16,000 to $8 - $12,000. Availability is pretty much static. If that's "victory", then its a "victory" which changes nothing.

Meanwhile, we're pissing tens of millions of dollars a year away on an approach which is manifestly not working. It is a futile waste of time, money, and people's lives. There has to be a better way than this.