poledriver
Bluelighter
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- Jul 21, 2005
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NZ - Call to curb dairy 'drug dealers'
Dairy owners have been described as "drug dealers of the community" who should be banned from selling legal highs as soon as the law allows, opponents of the products say.
Legislation includes a provision to ban dairies from selling legal highs, such as synthetic cannabis and party pills, but they will not be forced to pull products off shelves instantly.
Timaru Mayor Janie Annear told the parliamentary health select committee in Wellington yesterday that synthetic- drug suppliers were telling dairy owners to stockpile products as there would be a delay in the ban.
She described those dairy owners as "drug dealers of the community", some of whom sold to young people at any time.
One dairy owner sold legal highs overnight from his back door to people who text-messaged the password "milky way".
"The kids that are buying it are not going to go down to the tinny house."
Going to the dairy was much easier, and legal, Mrs Annear said.
The legislation, expected to come into force in August, will reverse the onus of proof, making all psychoactive substances illegal until approved.
However, products on sale for more than six months will not be removed from shelves but will still have to be tested to ensure they are safe.
People will be fined $300 for possessing a banned substance and there will be a minimum purchasing age of 18.
The New Zealand Drug Foundation said the Psychoactive Substances Bill needed to be given more teeth, but it was never going to be a silver bullet.
"It's not going to be a panacea; it's not going to stop products making their way as they already have on to the black market," executive director Ross Bell said.
He agreed dairies should be barred immediately from selling legal highs.
Massey University's Chris Wilkins, part of an illegal-drug research team, said testing should be funded and done separately from the synthetic-drug firms to ensure results weren't manipulated.
Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne said last year that manufacturers would have to pay a $200,000 application fee and testing costs of up to $2 million to have a substance passed as safe for sale by a regulatory watchdog. Testing would take about two years and could be tested on animals before humans.
Dr Wilkins said the substances should also be tested alongside alcohol use to see what the effects were when mixed.
Fairfax NZ
http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/8650716/Call-to-curb-dairy-drug-dealers
Dairy owners have been described as "drug dealers of the community" who should be banned from selling legal highs as soon as the law allows, opponents of the products say.
Legislation includes a provision to ban dairies from selling legal highs, such as synthetic cannabis and party pills, but they will not be forced to pull products off shelves instantly.
Timaru Mayor Janie Annear told the parliamentary health select committee in Wellington yesterday that synthetic- drug suppliers were telling dairy owners to stockpile products as there would be a delay in the ban.
She described those dairy owners as "drug dealers of the community", some of whom sold to young people at any time.
One dairy owner sold legal highs overnight from his back door to people who text-messaged the password "milky way".
"The kids that are buying it are not going to go down to the tinny house."
Going to the dairy was much easier, and legal, Mrs Annear said.
The legislation, expected to come into force in August, will reverse the onus of proof, making all psychoactive substances illegal until approved.
However, products on sale for more than six months will not be removed from shelves but will still have to be tested to ensure they are safe.
People will be fined $300 for possessing a banned substance and there will be a minimum purchasing age of 18.
The New Zealand Drug Foundation said the Psychoactive Substances Bill needed to be given more teeth, but it was never going to be a silver bullet.
"It's not going to be a panacea; it's not going to stop products making their way as they already have on to the black market," executive director Ross Bell said.
He agreed dairies should be barred immediately from selling legal highs.
Massey University's Chris Wilkins, part of an illegal-drug research team, said testing should be funded and done separately from the synthetic-drug firms to ensure results weren't manipulated.
Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne said last year that manufacturers would have to pay a $200,000 application fee and testing costs of up to $2 million to have a substance passed as safe for sale by a regulatory watchdog. Testing would take about two years and could be tested on animals before humans.
Dr Wilkins said the substances should also be tested alongside alcohol use to see what the effects were when mixed.
Fairfax NZ
http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/8650716/Call-to-curb-dairy-drug-dealers
