By Lloyd Burr
The Government has revealed its party pill crack-down plan which requires manufacturers to prove they are safe before they can be sold.
The psychoactive substances drug legislation, which Cabinet has agreed to, will be introduced to Parliament later this year and in force by mid-2013.
It will require manufacturers and distributors of party pills and legal highs to prove they are safe before they can go on sale.
Currently, it is up to the Government to ban harmful chemicals in the products which often occurs after they have been made available for purchase.
Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne says the Government is following through with its promise to reverse the onus of proof with party pills.
“If [producers] cannot prove that a product is safe, then it is not going anywhere near the marketplace,” says Mr Dunne.
“The new law means the game of ‘catch up’ with the legal highs industry will be over once and for all.”
He says companies will need to conduct toxicology tests, clinical trials and may need to specify a minimum purchase age. Rules on where they can be sold may also be implemented.
Once manufacturers have tested the products, the will have to be approved by a regulator set up in the Ministry of Health which will have to deem them safe.
“It will be akin to approving new medicines coming into New Zealand and they will also need to apply to MedSafe - there are a number of hurdles there,” he says.
However, Mr Dunne could not give definitions of what ‘safe’ or ‘harmful’ meant, only saying products would pass if they could be “reasonably held as safe”.
He says the new measures had a yearly cost of $1-2 million which would be paid for by the industry and taxing the products is yet to be considered.
Last year, Mr Dunne put in place a temporary notice in the Misuse of Drugs Act which saw 28 chemicals banned and resulted in 50 products coming off the shelves.
That temporary law will be extended until the new legislation comes into effect.
Mr Dunne says there has been a 75 percent drop in emergency calls relating to synthetic cannabis products since the temporary law was introduced.
He says he would personally like to see party pills disappear altogether.
“We are winning the battle and we are about to deliver the knockout blow with this legislation,” he says.
Drug Foundation: Current law an ‘absolute joke’
The New Zealand Drug Foundation has welcomed the planned legislation, saying it is long overdue.
Its executive director Ross Bell says existing laws are an “absolute joke” and Mr Dunne has helped “slay the party pill hydra”.
“We have seen time and time again that when one substance gets banned another similar substance or substances pops up in its place,” he says.
“It makes sense that the industry should have to jump through hoops to prove its products are safe before they go on sale.”
3 News