By 3 News online staff
The Government has unveiled more details of its crackdown on legal highs, which will cost manufacturers millions of dollars in product testing.
Companies which produce psychoactive substances will have to pay an application fee of $180,000 to the Government for each of their products.
They will also have to prove the product is safe with up to $2 million of scientific testing.
Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne says he is setting the bar high with his permanent psychoactive substances regime, which comes in June next year.
He says those who flout the law and sell untested, unregistered substances could spend up to eight years behind bars.
Consumers will also be fined $300 if found in possession of illegal psychoactive substances.
“We will no longer play the cat-and-mouse game of constantly chasing down substances after they are on the market,” says Mr Dunne.
He says the regime has always been based on reversing the onus of proof.
“I make no apologies for setting the bar high on public safety and putting in place a regime with the process costs squarely on the legal highs industry, and not the taxpayer.”
Legal high products will have a minimum purchase age of 18 and advertising the products is banned, apart from where is bought.
Packaging will also have to list active ingredients, the National Poisons Centre’s phone number and contact details for the product’s New Zealand manufacturer or supplier.
“To date, there has been no ingredient information, so no one who buys these products has the first clue what is in them, which is as ridiculous as it is dangerous and irresponsible,” he says.
Until the regime becomes law, Mr Dunne says a temporary ban – which has seen more than 50 products come off the shelves – will stay in force.
Industry welcomes regime
Matt Bowden, the man behind BZP and Kronic, says he’s been calling for industry regulation for a long time and has welcomed the move by the Government.
“What Peter Dunne is setting up is a system whereby investment will be attracted to research in this area,” he says.
He says it will draw people away from methamphetamine and other dangerous drugs and onto safer highs created and tested by pharmaceutical companies.
“We need to set the safety standard as high as humanly possible,” says Mr Bowden.
3 News