Tough new regime for legal highs

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Tough new regime for legal highs

3News NZ

K2 is the latest synthetic cannabis that's being tested because of fears it may have dangerous side effects (file)

K2 is the latest synthetic cannabis that's being tested because of fears it may have dangerous side effects (file)

By Adam Ray

The Government's dealt an expensive blow to the manufacturers and retailers of drugs like synthetic cannabis.

K2 is the latest synthetic cannabis that's being tested because of fears it may have dangerous side effects. A Dunedin teenager suffered seizures after smoking it, and a family friend says the teen faces a long recovery.

“When he got to hospital he had a massive seizure and it took six people to hold him down, and we're talking about a 16-year-old boy,” says Debbie Hannan.

Ms Hannan says the Government needed to take action, and the Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne today announced a tough new regime for makers and sellers of psychoactive products like K2

From next year they'll have to pay an application fee of about $210,000, and another $1m to $2m to cover testing before their product can go on shelves.

“For those products that come through all that and come through, we would be confident of their safety,” says Mr Dunne.

He says he could have banned legal highs, but some of them may be safe to use.

The new rules will also force manufacturers to display each product's active ingredient on labels, and will ban them from dairies.

Anyone caught with unapproved products will face a $300 fine, but this won't be a criminal offence.

“We're not going to criminalise that offence because we don't want to penalise the young people who may be involved,” says Mr Dunne.

But it will be a criminal offence to sell an unapproved substance under the new regime, and it could land offenders with up to eight years in jail.

The industry faces huge costs and smaller manufacturers will be forced out, but one expert says big players will survive.

“Investment will be attracted to research in this area, so probably larger companies, pharmaceuticals, will be able to afford research so that'll create safer alternatives,” says legal highs entrepreneur Matt Bowden.

Mr Bowden says the new regime will mean people will be able to get high without buying illegal street drugs.

“The only thing that will draw us away from the more dangerous drugs is provision of safer alternatives – and that's what these regulations allow us to do.”

But Mr Dunne says the Government isn't encouraging the use of legal highs – it’s just making it safer for those who do.

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Comments

11/10/2012 9:17:06 a.m.

Miko wrote:

ok, so 1 teen has a fit because he smoked a legal high? he should of drunk some beer and smoked some lung cancer and gone for a drive on the road to get some meth and weed.....the government is thick as two short planks!!...all u taxpayers are suckers hahaha

11/10/2012 8:54:35 a.m.

Chris wrote:

Cannabis has undergone 2,700 years (at least) of safety testing and killed no-one. How are they going to match that level of testing for new chemicals.

11/10/2012 2:37:34 a.m.

J wrote:

Cannabis is safer than any one of these legal alternatives, if you put cannabis through these trials you would see it come out on top and if legalized it would be available in larger amounts for less and would therefore not need to be smoked removing more health risks. please just take control on the trade witch will never be beaten and make it the useful and acceptable thing it is.

11/10/2012 1:14:39 a.m.

Jimbo Jones wrote:

*sigh* "But Mr Dunne says the Government isn't encouraging the use of legal highs – it’s just making it safer for those who do." Shouldn't he be saying that about Cannabis - The drug that actually helps prevent seizures not give them. I know many people who take synthetic cannabis - They use it to get around drug tests, etc. I just seems they're wanting more money out of these synthetic cannabis producers and open the way up for pharma to get it's leg in on the action. However it's sad that one of the main reasons Cannabis is illegal is directly related to the pharmaceutical companies not wanting a medicine on the market which you can grow in your back yard that helps remedy headaches, body pains, menstrual cramps, phantom limb syndrome, seizures, headaches clusters and so so so so many more illnesses... One day Human civilisation will look back to our prohibition past and realise how stupid/misleaded we were.. Bring on hemp cars, hemp buildings, hemp rope, hemp ethanol, hemp paper (think treeless paper!), etc, etc /rant

10/10/2012 11:15:49 p.m.

Andrew wrote:

so the Minister is hammering these small time dealers while hes quite happy for this country to operate as a tax haven for overseas rich folks so drug cartels , arms dealers and so on can launder their ill gotten gains through our system and even goes on TV saying tax avoidance is quite acceptable.

10/10/2012 10:58:57 p.m.

Stephen May wrote:

Perhaps the government should consider legalising and encouraging legal highs - then hopefully there would be less deaths from huffing butane and other deadly substances. My sympathies to the young man who suffered the seizures but... I've seen many folk having seizures due to alcohol abuse and they're not banning that! The government doesn't want to send the 'wrong message' about drugs but is clearly happy to send the 'wrong message' about blatant double standards.

10/10/2012 10:52:12 p.m.

Rob wrote:

just legalize Marijuana for god sake at least its natural!!!

10/10/2012 8:16:33 p.m.

Dan wrote:

"But Mr Dunne says the Government isn't encouraging the use of legal highs – it’s just making it safer for those who do." Hmm so why don't we extrapolate that logic to illegal highs such as marijuana and LSD. Why isn't Mr. Dunne advocating legalising and regulating those illegal highs since he would not encouraging its use just making it safer for those who do...