Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2024 - Tonight on Sunday ` pain meds ` getting hooked, getting high and how to get off them. - You think you can just have one hit. You can't just have one hit. - I don't want people to find out I'm addicted to pain pills. You're a dirty junkie, right? - When more isn't enough. - TEARFULLY: I expected one day for her to OD, and then, when it really happened, I wasn't ready. - Is the treatment safe? - The reality is that the 'just say no' approach doesn't work. - And adults struggling with ADHD... - It's just like my brain just couldn't turn off, basically ` it was just constant thoughts. - I felt like nothing was gonna help. - ..a good doctor... - You know, I believe that if it wasn't for him, I would be back in jail. - He's a hero. (CHUCKLES) - ...who did something bad. - Dr Hanne prescribed class B controlled drugs without following the law. - Kia ora. I'm Miriama Kamo. If you've had surgery, a toothache, or even painful periods, you've probably experienced the power of opioid painkillers. Morphine, codeine, tramadol, oxycodone ` these drugs are highly effective, highly addictive, and, if you get hooked, highly dangerous. A long-running programme has had real success in treating opioid use disorder, so why is it controversial ` and are there better answers? Mava Moayyed investigates. (TRANQUIL ALARM CHIMES) - MAVA MOAYYED: It's Wednesday morning in Hamilton... (WATER RUNS) ...and Twiggy Swadel is off to her local pharmacy. (CONTEMPLATIVE ELECTRONIC MUSIC) - Morning, Twiggy. - Morning, Russell. - How are you, T? - I am tired, but good. - Good. - Twiggy makes this trip three times a week, 156 times a year. - And how much are you expecting today? - 65mg. - There you go. - Thank you. - She's here for a dose of liquid methadone. She drinks it on the spot and takes a dose home for tomorrow. - Thank you. - All good. - It's a routine the 42-year-old has been following for nearly 20 years. How was that? - All good. - How do you feel? Do you feel any different? Nope. (LAUGHS) - It doesn't give you a high. - No. Like, once you're on a stable dose, it's just` you're just normal. - Twiggy is an opioid addict. - Very used to it. (BOTH CHUCKLE) - Made from opium poppies or created synthetically in the lab, opioids work by blocking pain messages to the brain and boosting feelings of pleasure. They're prescribed to treat persistent or severe pain, from periods to surgery or cancer treatment. But while the likes of codeine, tramadol and oxycodone can be highly effective, they can also be highly addictive. Twiggy was 14 when she started taking painkillers. - I had braces, and for 15 months` - Mm. - ...and when they would tighten them, it was incredibly painful. You couldn't even eat a grape. I was prescribed codeine, and you just, like` yeah, float away. You don't feel nothing. It's all nice and soft. - When the codeine prescription stopped, she went looking for more. - I was on the street... (EXHALES) Um... I was shoplifting, um, I was stealing from friends, I was stealing from family. - By 15, she was in foster care, by 19, homeless. Eventually, the pills weren't enough. - Morphine, um, that I turned to heroin. That was bad, bad, bad. Yeah. Cos, I mean, you're injecting, like, and you think you can just have one hit. You can't just have one hit. It doesn't work like that. No. - In her teens, Twiggy met another addict, Jackie Bennet. What did you like about her? - She'd rip you off in the blink of an eye, but at the same time, she was willing to help. She would help people in any way possible. She had the biggest heart. She was one of my closest friends. - Jackie's mum, Tracy East. - Some people that come through the door have the most amazing stories to tell. And... I'm a chatterbox. (CHUCKLES) I love to talk. - For the past four years, Tracy and her husband have been running a motor camp in Hanmer Springs. Family is important to me. Because I didn't have a very good childhood, I wanted my children's lives to be different. I wanted them to have good lives. - Tracy had her first child, Jackie, when she was just 18. What was she like as a little girl? - She was difficult. (CHUCKLES) She was really difficult. She was diagnosed with hyperactivity when she was 4. Jackie was a morphine addict. Um... she started using very early, when she was about 12. She was injected, um, by another person. At that time, there was no real support. I tried everything ` and I mean everything. I asked her one day ` I said, 'Jackie, why do you use?' And she says, 'Cos it takes me out of this world, Mum.' Hid her pain, you know? Cos Jackie had some trauma in her life too. - Opioid use disorder is a complex illness. Even when the person wants to stop, physiological addiction and brutal withdrawals can make it feel impossible. To help, opioid substitution treatment, or OST, was introduced here in the 1970s. Patients are usually prescribed liquid methadone or Suboxone tablets to manage cravings and withdrawals. These act on the same part of the brain as other opioids without causing the high. Right now, about 7700 New Zealanders are on OST. Virtually all of them will stay on indefinitely. In her early 20s, Jackie joined the programme. Did her life improve materially when she went on methadone? - No. - You didn't see a change in her? - No, not at all. Not at all. In fact, I think, in a way, it made it easier for her to, um... use, really, cos that's` that's what I see the methadone as. - Not every person on opioid substitution treatment is allowed to take doses home, but Jackie was. - When a person has mental health issues the way that Jackie had mental health issues, why would you give a person a drug that could kill them? Why would you? (CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC) - One night in 2018, Tracy's three children, Jackie, Daniel and Dion, came over for dinner. - It was the first time in years I had all three of the kids together at once. So we had a few wines, and then they got in the spa pool and then Daniel got out. We were sitting on the couch, and he was sweating, and he was rubbing his chest, and I said, 'You're not having a heart attack, are you, darling?' And he says, 'Don't be so bloody stupid, Mum.' So I says, 'All right, darling, I love you. I'm off to bed.' He says, 'I know, Mum, I love you too.' And I went to bed, and he laid down and died. (CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC) I can't describe it. The pain is... terrific. I sat on the couch for a long time, lost myself. - What did you find out about his death? What was the cause? - Drug toxicity, uh, combined with his sleep apnoea and coronary artery disease. - And something she wasn't expecting. - So this is Daniel's post-mortem report. He had 0.06mg of methadone in his system. Daniel never took methadone, so... I was shocked when the result came through. - Jackie had given Daniel some of her takeaway dose. For someone without opioid tolerance, even a small amount can be deadly. - Jackie didn't have any ill intent. Jackie didn't mean to kill her brother. Um... she was trying to give him a good time. But that good time, it killed him. - I've never seen her go down that` like... that bad. She was a mess. Absolute mess. And she blamed herself so bad for it. So, so, so bad. Um... and she wished that it was her instead of him. - On the 23rd of June last year, Jackie was found dead in her home. - When Jackie died, it really broke me. I expected one day for her to OD, because it was just... the addiction, you know? And then, when it really happened, I wasn't ready. - Her autopsy showed a mix of drugs in her system, including very high levels of methadone. - When the police went in there, there was methadone bottles everywhere, prescribed to Jackie. Not a street drug ` a prescribed medication. How does that happen? - The coroner is yet to rule on Jackie's death. - I'm not anti-methadone if it's used correctly, and people consume it at the chemist. That's fine. Stop the takeaways. I think that if Jackie didn't have her takeaways, both of my children would still be alive. - Is there a limit on how long you can be prescribed methadone? - No, and there really shouldn't be. People should have access to treatment for as long as... as long as they need it. - Jason George leads a national team in drug harm reduction. Is it treatment, though, or is it just drug supply? - Well, I mean, you know, you could call it safe supply if you wanted to, but, you know, it is ` it's called substitution treatment. You substitute an illicit opioid for a legally prescribed one. (TENSE MUSIC) - The reality is that the 'just say no' approach doesn't work. We accept that people will use drugs and we want them to be safer. - 'For Jason, it's personal.' Jason, this is the methadone. - Uh, yes. Yes, this is the methadone that I have today. - What does it smell like? - It doesn't really have any particular smell. It has a pretty bitter chemical taste. - Yeah. Yeah. - So it's not` not a really pleasant thing to drink. - 'He's been on opioid substitution treatment for 18 years.' That's it ` done. - Yes, that's it. - Jason is proof of just how commonplace addiction can be. - Pretty normal upbringing, I think. I didn't have anything negative going on in the home. I went to private school, both parents there. I really started with alcohol ` I started using drugs to` as a way of coping with the troubles I'd caused myself using alcohol. - His lifeline was getting a place on the OST programme. - When I went on it, I was getting, you know, in a lot of trouble, I wasn't employed. I didn't have stable housing, relationship with the family was deteriorating, whereas now I work full-time, you know, I'm in a leadership role, pay my bills. You know, I have a much better relationship with my family. - Unlike Tracy, Jason believes there should be more options and flexibility, including injectable methadone or even prescribed heroin for those who need it. - There's an element of personal responsibility involved. I think that people should be treated like individuals. I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all option. - Twiggy Swadel knows her life would look very different without a legal supply of opioids. - I know I wouldn't be sitting in a flat that I can pay for, having healthy relationships with my family and my friends. I can't even imagine where I would be. I'd probably be dead, actually. - After the break ` Instead of spending all this money trying to keep them from experiencing withdrawals, why don't we just rip the Band-Aid off? (CONTEMPLATIVE ELECTRONIC MUSIC) - So this is one of my little spots ` so I've got a lovely little finger lime... I've actually got some peanut plants. - Oh, you can grow peanuts? - Yeah. Yeah. Little bit like potatoes, so you harvest them and they come up through the` under the ground. - Under the ground? - Yeah. - I don't know what I thought ` maybe on a tree or something? Unlike me, Vanessa Thomas has green fingers. - This is your lemongrass, um... bit of mint. - Her gardens at home in Northland are thriving ` and so is she. But it hasn't always been that way. - Would have been in my early 20s ` um... I went to the GP to discuss, actually, period pain. Um... and codeine was actually prescribed as a pain relief. I'm furious now ` you know, 50-year-old me. There should have been more of a discussion about, you know, what this medication can do to somebody, how quickly you can get addicted to it. When I tried to stop taking it, so, uh, the withdrawals would kick in very, very quickly. - What does it feel like? - It's almost like your bones are on fire. You're nauseated all the time. Um, it's` Yeah, it's awful. - The longer she took painkillers, the less effective they were. She needed more and more. - Once the doctors cut me off, I would do the rounds of pharmacies. So I would make sure that I had a little notebook to write down what pharmacies I would hit. - She was taking up to 50 painkillers a day. - It's almost like an escape. So... I mean, I used alcohol for the same thing. Codeine made it happen faster. Yeah, I was embarrassed. - Why were you embarrassed? - Cos I was addicted to pain pills. You're a dirty junkie, right? - Her marriage ended, and her relationship with her children was in tatters. She knew she needed help. Vanessa started on opioid substitution. - I actually opted for Suboxone. In my mind, it was, uh... the lesser of the evils. - Suboxone is an opioid in tablet form that dissolves under the tongue, but, like methadone, it needs to be taken under supervision at the pharmacy. - I'd have to drive all the way to Coopers Beach, which is, yeah, about an hour from where I live. - And she worked full-time. - I run a garden department, actually. Yeah, I love it. - So when her doctor suggested an alternative... - I was all for it. All for it. Nice to see you again. - How's things going for you? - Really good. - Here in Kaitaia, Dr Graeme Judson treats drug and alcohol addicts. - Historically, people are regarded as morally bankrupt, but there's a lot more to it than that. A lot of my patients have got some severe trauma in their backgrounds. - He's an addiction medicine specialist, one of only a handful in the country. - We prescribe them medication to prevent withdrawals, and so the person feels a sense of normality, or comfortable. - Instead of spending all this money trying to keep them from experiencing withdrawals, why don't we just rip the Band-Aid off, get them through the withdrawals, and then they're not dependent at all any more? - The relapse rate's about 95%. - The relapse rate is 95%? - It's very high. If we're looking at giving them a medication, it's no different to someone that's diabetic, for example, who gets insulin to bring their insulin levels back to normal, or an asthmatic who gets inhalers. - They aim to get people on opioid substitution within three weeks, and here in Northland, there's just over 200 patients. - I've seen people go from a daily injecting drug habit through to leading professional careers, or mums and dads getting their kids back to school and getting` get on with life, and they just` and people becoming... just part of society. - He admits there is a risk of overdose when patients take away their opioid doses. Doesn't it make more sense in terms of safety just to get rid of takeaways altogether? - The issue with takeaways is there's always a balance between our responsibilities to society versus fostering self-autonomy and people getting well. And, um... people can't get well and gain self-autonomy by having to attend to a pharmacy every day. - Like any treatment, opioid substitution is not perfect. Some patients use their medication dangerously, like injecting it or selling it on the street... - But most don't. Most people are doing` get on with life. - There is another option... - Hi, Vanessa. How are you? - I'm good, Harry. How you doing? - Nice to see you. - ...a long-acting, injectable form of opioid, heralded as a game-changer by doctors and patients. - Pretty sure we're on this side this week. - All good. - Vanessa's caseworker, Harry, administers the drug into her abdomen, and she only needs to get it once a month. - I can plan holidays, you know? I'm not chained to going, 'Oh, gosh, I've got to make sure I've got enough gas in my car 'to go get said medication.' So it was just a no-brainer for me. - While the drug company that makes it has supplied a limited number of doses for free, its generosity only goes so far. - What would be your message to Pharmac, then? - My message would be, 'Let's get this funded.' Particularly for patients that live outside of the main centres. It's a real benefit because they can` People get on with their lives. - Can you imagine how many people, um... would get their lives back ` that they can't trust themselves to take methadone or Suboxone ` can you imagine how much their lives would be spun around for them? I think, yeah, definitely should be funded. - Pharmac is still considering whether to fund the injection. Right now, Vanessa is the only person in Northland receiving it. - I've got a really good job. I have all my kids in my life. Um... they know I'm present. Um... anything they need, they know I'm there. It's just nice to know that I'm a reliable person in society again. - Are you proud of yourself? - I'm hugely proud of myself. Yeah. I've worked really hard for this. Really hard. (BIRDS TWITTER, CAW) (GENTLE MUSIC) - So how often do you come and walk through here? - TRACY: Every day. - Every single day? - Yep. Whether it's raining, snowing... - Why do you do it? Why do you come and walk through here? - Peaceful. Put myself back together. I can hear the kids. I can hear them in my head, and talking to me. - Tracy East lost her son in 2018 ` then, five years later, her daughter. - All of my tattoos are for my children. So this one here's for Daniel, cos Daniel always wore a fedora. This one here is for Jackie ` she loved Alice in Wonderland. - The motor camp she runs is for sale ` she's planning to move to a secluded cottage in Central Otago. - Heal. That's what I want to do, is heal ` try and put my heart back together. It's not easy. (SNIFFLES) - Both of her children's deaths involved methadone. - I believe that prescribing of methadone, the way it's prescribed, needs to change. If you're an addict and you're thinking about going on this programme to try and straighten yourself out, be careful. - Well, Tracy has asked the coroner to investigate why her daughter Jackie was allowed takeaway methadone, given her mental health problems and her abuse of the OST programme were well-documented. E whai ake nei ` how this doctor lost his licence for helping his patients. - The bureaucracy began to make it harder and harder and harder. - The current system for managing ADHD is broken. The regulations are stupid. - Hoki mai ano. We're all talking about it, have it, or know someone with this disorder. Research shows almost 300,000 of us may have ADHD. But why is it so hard and so expensive to diagnose? Tonight, Gill Higgins meets the doctor who broke the rules of a system he says is broken ` a doctor who now faces losing his career. Now, a warning ` this story deals with difficult themes. - RAPS: # Word up! MCA... - GILL HIGGINS: Different people, different walks of life, but a feeling of being different ` that is something they all share. - I definitely process and experience the world differently to everyone else. - They all have ADHD. - I liken it to if you had a picture made of glass and you put a big nail in the middle, and kind of went like that on it, and it just cracks it. That's my brain. - Distractions, noise, inner thoughts all colliding. - My mum would call me a walking time bomb. - I was having panic attacks, and they were really frightening. - So if you were just going to wait on the public system...? - She said two years ` two years minimum. I'm actually gonna start crying. - So why is it so hard to get help? - I needed help. I didn't ask for it. I didn't know there was help. - The current system for managing ADHD is broken. - And why is this GP facing the end of his career for trying to fix it? You were willing to risk everything? - Yes. I mean, I swore when I first became a doctor that my` I would look after my patients the very best I could. (GENTLE MUSIC) - We first met Dr Tony Hanne last year in the grounds of his practice in East Auckland. He is a little older than your average family GP. So you are... you know, the fine age of 86 now? - Phew. Yes. That's right. (CHUCKLES) - Why would you want to keep working? - Because I love what I do, and I... I believe it's... it matters. It makes a difference. - Dr Hanne set up his general practice here in 1967. It was only in the '90s that he became aware of ADHD. He made it his mission to become New Zealand's leading expert. - I was given the job of writing the guidelines. (CHUCKLES) So I did, and they were approved, and as far as I know, they've never been replaced since. - He's certainly widely recognised ` still is recognised as being the leader in this field. - His son Nick remembers his dad's passion. - Probably upwards of 5000 people that he's directly helped. - ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is commonly linked to hyperactivity in young males, but in adults and women, it's mostly challenges with focus and being impulsive. Many people have some symptoms ` it's when they continually disrupt your life that help is needed. - Well, the point of there being consequences, you know, job loss or marriage loss, or... or being locked up. Drug use, of course, was a big one. - In the '90s, there were no barriers to GPs treating ADHD. - Dr Hanne could prescribe a stimulant like Ritalin, or he could organise counselling. - I always emphasise it's not just a matter of taking the pills. - And what kind of changes do you see? - Oh, huge, but you see people who... who are now confident to face the world, to face life. It's absolutely amazing. - But at the end of that decade, a surge in cases in the US sparked fears stimulant use would get out of control. - The bureaucracy began... (CHUCKLES) to make it harder and harder and harder. (PHONE RINGS) - Dr Hanne could diagnose anxiety and depression, but no longer ADHD, unless he found a psychiatrist to supervise. Dr Allan Taylor, who specialised in ADHD, agreed, allowing Dr Hanne to keep treating patients for years. - Not only took their history, he would have them do various tests, questionnaires, computer tests for attention. - Dr Hanne saw he could address a serious need. - The chances of spending a night in jail are 22 times greater if you have ADHD. - He met Marsh through a drug rehab programme, then later identified he had ADHD. - I would just turn up there, and, like, um, he would make room for me. He took no money from me whatsoever. - Great to see you again. - Good to see you, Tony. - With a background of drugs and violence, it might be easy to think Marsh was beyond help. But talking continues to help. - Violence` violence was a big part of it. - Mm. - So, someone would say something, and the thoughts in my head` - Mm. - And... (IMITATES WHOOSH) I-I` you know, cos` would just keep going over and over my head, and then... - Mm. - I've spent 26 years of my life in jail, over 26` That's over half my life. - You know, having known you quite a long time, there's been a huge change, huge improvement in your life. - There has been. - Well, I won't give up on you. - Mm. Thank you, Tony. - From a life of endless trouble, the support and medication have put Marsh on the right track. - Within two months, I had a licence, I had a bank card, I had a car, and I was living back in Orakei. I'm home. (CHUCKLES) Look, I got` look at my dog. (LAUGHS) And, you know, um... I actually` I actually` I actually love Dr Hanne. You know, I believe that if it wasn't for him, I would` I'd be back in jail. (GENTLE ACOUSTIC GUITAR MUSIC) - In Papamoa, Bay of Plenty, Catherine Sylvester's life is very different. She has a nice house, husband, two great kids... - Instagram perfect. And I look at my old Instagram ` I'm smiling in them. I'm smiling. You know? - But there is so much a camera can't reveal. It was` That's the abs` hands-down darkest time in my life. I felt like nothing was gonna help. - ADHD in adults, especially women, hasn't been well understood. - When your kids were young, my kids were young, and we were just, like, trying to figure out why something that, like, was so easy for everyone else just felt so hard. - Catherine can now see there were warning signs as a teenager. - Eating issues... Uh, yeah, drinking more, partying more, really, a great deal of that was self-medicating. - Antidepressants didn't help. But, recognising ADHD-type symptoms in her 20s, she went to see a psychiatrist. - He said, 'I don't think there's anything wrong with you. 'I think this is a normal person's mood range ` this is yours.' - She muddled through for a decade ` until she became a mum. - I literally didn't know where to start. The self-narrative of that is 'you suck'. You know? You can't even be on time, be organised, vacuum the floor, pick up the toys. So I would have a Red Bull, and have another Red Bull, and have` I had eight Red Bulls a day. A lot of chocolate ` and then I put on a lot of weight, and then I felt really bad about myself. I felt afraid for my kids ` what if I just lost it and left? You know, what` you know, when every day's that hard? - The idea of ADHD came up again with a counsellor, but this time she was recommended Dr Hanne. So that diagnosis from Dr Hanne ` what difference did that make to you? - Night and day. It was lifesaving. It was like... 'Yes, that makes sense. I make sense, 'and I can do something about it.' - She was given a prescription. - First day I took meds, I sat down with` my daughter, would have been 2, my youngest, and cried, because I was interested in what we were doing. - Now she only takes meds on the days she needs them. - It was like, last year, I worked full-time in a management position. I completed my postgraduate diploma. I... (CHUCKLES) managed my kids' lives, and I came out of it in one piece. There's just no way I could have done that without treatment. (SOMBRE MUSIC) - Like Catherine, many desperate patients came to this waiting room to see Dr Hanne... - The waiting room would be filled with people. - ...but that lifeline was about to be put at risk. - I mean, I knew it was coming. - His supervising psychiatrist retired. - He was 85, and I wrote to the Ministry of Health ` I said, 'You know, I've got all these ADHD patients who are settled on medication. 'Can you provide me with somebody?' Silence. - But Dr Hanne wouldn't keep quiet. He wrote again. - I said, 'I'm going to do this in my own name.' And I did. - You knew that it was a great risk. - Yes. - For you. - Yes. (SEAGULLS SQUAWK) (MELLOW GUITAR MUSIC) - It's the weekend in Mount Maunganui ` much-needed time out for GP Dr Luke Bradford. He's frustrated. - Oh, well, I have patients phone me up on a Friday night in tears because of the way their brains work, and they can't afford to go and get help. You get frustrated by those patients who we've tried on antidepressants and anti-anxieties, and they're now drinking too much or smoking cannabis when we know that their diagnosis is ADHD. - He understands Dr Hanne wanting change, but as medical director of the College of GPs, he doesn't support how Dr Hanne tried to get it. - Because otherwise we are going to have cowboy operators go out there and pick and choose which rules they decide to stick to. Does that mean the regulations were right? No. The regulations are stupid. - Dr Hanne knew he was breaking the rules, and others started to notice too. - They were all asking, you know, 'What's going on here? What's going on?' - Then ` an official complaint. - The first one was a pharmacist who complained to the Ministry of Health, saying, 'We got this prescription, 'but you haven't got the psychiatrist's approval.' - And then finally, in 2018, there's this ultimatum from the Medical Council, you know, and they said to my father, 'You either stop now 'or you face the repercussions.' (TENSE MUSIC) - Coming up ` Dr Hanne discovers his fate... - Dr Hanne prescribed class B controlled drugs without following the law. - ...and why managing ADHD is so important. - I guess I've been relatively open about it. Drinking to excess, to just, I guess, try and quiet... my head. - Oh, it's gonna get cold today. - So, I was stoked to hear that. - Yeah, no... - We're in Wellington with 26-year-old Jessie. She's paying to see a private psychiatrist about ADHD. - I've had to save up a whole bunch of money to be able to do it, but I know people can't even do that. That's pretty cool. - Even going private, she's been on the waitlist for two years. Mind you, she's been desperate for help her whole life. - It was just, like, a lot of self-doubt from, like, a really, really young, age. Crippling self-esteem issues. So, just, like, my brain just couldn't turn off. Oh my God. And I tried medica` I was on antidepressants from... I think, in my last year of high school, and tried a whole bunch. None never worked. - There have been telling signs. - Changed my degree many times. (CHUCKLES) Um... - How many times? - Three. (LAUGHS) Um... - There was counselling at uni. And was ADHD ever mentioned in any of those sessions? - Never. Never. - And that's despite serious cries for help. - And I just went down this really dark, like, suicidal rabbit hole for a bit, um... and tried to end my life a few times. - ADHD isn't considered an emergency, but it can feel urgent to those who have it. - I don't know, I feel like just with my living experience, with my mental health and the fact that I might not be here to this day, I feel like it is a bit of an issue, to be honest. Sorry, that's very blunt. (LAUGHS) That's it. - But you gotta be blunt. - Yeah. - It's the day of her appointment. Jessie's anxious about what lies ahead, and what that could mean. - Are you, like, worried that, like, you might go for this appointment and they might come out and be like, 'This isn't ADHD.' - There is, like, a` Yeah, there's definitely a bit of a fear in the back that that could be the case. - Her journey in gives her plenty of time to think. - Kind of nervous now, yeah. Sinking in, basically. I had a bit of a reflection on the bus right here about... I don't know, I guess my whole life. I'm actually gonna start crying. - Jessie's in there for over an hour. - How was it? - So I passed with flying colours. She said there's a 99% probability I have ADHD, and I got 18 out of 18 symptoms. - Now Jessie can put her past behind her. - Life has been so rough for no reason, in certain ways, because of it. - She has been given the confidence to enrol to study law next year. - The world's my oyster, and it always was ` it's like I can actually do it now. - It was` it was fundamentally life-changing. My generation and the generation... - Green Party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick says her diagnosis eight years ago allowed her to be where she is now. - It allowed me to reorient my sense of self. - She's always looked like a great success, but there have been years of hidden struggle that started early. - The wheels started falling off a little bit as I got into my teenage years, and my brain not working in the way that I guess` suppose other people's did. Drinking to excess, to just, I guess, try and quiet... my head. - Doctors confirmed it was ADHD. - I mean, I understand that all of this can kind of sound like an excuse, but the reality is that for somebody who has a brain like mine, that those things are a little bit harder. - Chloe's helping to drive change. - We have now a system which is just massively out of date. So we pulled together with ADHD NZ, the Royal Colleges of Psychiatrists, Psychologists, paediatricians. The police came. We had Pharmac there, Te Whatu Ora, the Ministry of Health, and got, I believe, five to six commitments around necessary changes to improve access. - Oh yeah. - Including a bigger role for family GPs. College of GPs medical director Dr Bradford says most doctors welcome the idea of select GPS getting specialist training. - It would be a win for patients, because they'd have access to quicker and more affordable diagnosis. It would be a win to society, because we'd see less burdens on the education system, on the benefit system and on the prison service. - There's huge support for it, but the wait continues. - So what kind of timeframe are we talking about? - Well, I'm not in charge. (LAUGHS) But if I were, it would happen tomorrow. - The Minister of Mental Health, Matt Doocey, can push things through. He declined our interview, but said in a statement: - Making care more accessible was Dr Hanne's ultimate goal. His lawyer argued his case before the tribunal. - Everybody who gave evidence, including the ministry and Pharmac witnesses, acknowledged the system is broken. In the UK and in Canada, it's very different. Health practitioners, not just doctors, nurses in the UK can write prescriptions for this medication. - But the prosecution was unmoved. - Dr Hanne prescribed class B controlled drugs without following the law. - They've described me as a liar and a cheat, and nothing could be further from the truth. - Now his fate has been decided ` It means he can't pass on his expertise to other GPs. - It feels disappointing, because it's just part of what I want to do with the rest of my life. - Instead, he's selling the practice. His patients have to go elsewhere. - MARSH: I reckon it's sad. Oh, you know, I reckon it's shameful. I reckon shame on them. (POIGNANT PIANO MUSIC) - His possessions packed away, but not his principles. - I don't care about a legacy. (CHUCKLES) Um... I just want to help people. - He called me a success story. Yeah, and... you know, and it's... those things that he said to me that, you know, just keep me going, I think. - What do you think of the stand he took? - He's a hero to me. He's always` always has been. But a lot of people... (CLEARS THROAT) Sorry. A lot of people have, um... looked to him, really, like a father, because very few people have necessarily had the understanding and the support around ADHD throughout their lives, and I guess for them, finally, they found someone who really did get their story. - I just want to help people. I want to make a difference in people's lives, and I will keep on trying to do that, to my last breath. (CHUCKLES) - Well, Dr Hanne intends to appeal the medical tribunal's decision so he can work with other GPs in the event of a change to the system. And after more than two years waiting, Jessie is about to start ADHD medication, and is excited to see what difference it might make for her. Kia mau tonu mai ` when we come back, we investigate the death and celebrate the life of young disabled woman Lena Harrap. Nau mai ano. They are two strangers brought together by an act of horrific violence ` in 2021, Sue Harrap's disabled daughter Lena was murdered while out walking in an Auckland suburb. A tera wiki ` next week, another woman shares how she was targeted by the same killer just 24 hours earlier. (DELICATE PIANO MUSIC) - I always would call her my little warrior, um... because she fought to live, she fought to survive. - She knew it, that she has a disability, but she never feel like it was a limitation. Nothing stop her. - Just wish she hadn't done that walk that day. (FOREBODING MUSIC) - Your offending involved a high level of brutality, cruelty, depravity and callousness. - There's no other way to describe it. It was evil. - What do you think he wanted to do to you that day? - That's something that I've chosen not to think about. (GENTLE PIANO MUSIC) - Lena is best friends, of us. Can't believe that she's gone. I miss her. - We want people to remember her ` how strong she was. - She didn't let fear get in her way. She just did. She just was. And she just lived. - Well, we'll bring you this confronting yet ultimately celebratory story next week. Now, lots of feedback on last week's story about surf photographer Logan Murray ` the amazing 1970s surf shots we featured came from Clive Neeson's internationally acclaimed film Last Paradise. The footage was restored by Weta Digital, and the movie itself is now available to view at lastparadisefilm.com. Hope you enjoyed the show ` we have just one more left next week. Meanwhile, do share your thoughts on social media, or contact us at sunday@tvnz.co.nz, and you can find our stories on the Sunday page at TVNZ+. We're looking forward to seeing you next week for our final Sunday programme. Until then, nga mihi nui. Hei kona.