Pubdate: Fri, 11 Apr 2003 Source: Otago Daily Times (New Zealand) Copyright: Allied Press Limited, 2003 Contact: http://www2.odt.co.nz Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/925 Author: NZPA SPEED DEALERS FACE LIFE SENTENCE IF LAW PASSED Wellington: Those who import, manufacture or supply methamphetamine will face life imprisonment under proposals set to be quickly passed in Parliament this month. In a report tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, the health select committee said it recommended the drug - known as speed - be moved from a class B drug to class A. Drugs are classified according to their risk of harm to the public, with those deemed the most dangerous given a class A classification. Committee chairwoman Steve Chadwick said changes proposed in a notice of motion were likely to be debated on the first sitting day after the Easter recess. She said the process had been fast-tracked as "this is a very dangerous, very dangerous, drug". We are very worried about the rapid growth here, Ms Chadwick said. "It isn't like the old amphetamines; it's not just an upper that gets you through the night as a party drug. "It has huge potential for harm, so we wanted to move fast." There was likely to be a time-limited debate in the House, then a vote that all parties apart from the Greens were likely to support. It was anticipated the reclassification "should" reduce the prevalence of the drug in New Zealand in the long-term, the committee said. Crime statistics released last month showed a 28.4% increase in drug crimes involving amphetamine-type stimulants, largely due to a rise in local production and distribution. Penalties would increase to a maximum of life imprisonment for importation, manufacture or supply. Possession of the drug could result in a prison sentence of up to six months, a $1000 fine, or both. MPs are all but certain to back the changes. While the Green Party expressed a minority view, other parties were thought to back the recommendations. The Green Party said it did not believe "any sound arguments" had been made to justify increasing the classification beyond that adopted by the United Nations. "We are astonished that there has not been a major educational campaign outlining the risks of these drugs, and strongly support an educational campaign as the most effective mechanism for reducing and discouraging its use." Ms Chadwick said changes in the notice of motion were just one arm of a comprehensive strategy. "Everything [the Greens] have called for in their amendments, we can't argue about," she said. The report did talk about education, but the immediate need was to act quickly, Ms Chadwick said. Information supplied by experts consulted by the committee came as no surprise to Ms Chadwick. "It affirmed what I had heard when I worked with mental health workers; they're saying this is getting bigger," she said. "When you are talking to [school] principals, they're saying we're worried about this, this isn't a cannabis outbreak here, we've got a feel for that one, this is something pretty evil and growing very fast." National health spokeswoman Lynda Scott said the party was pleased with the recommendation to reclassify speed. "I am most concerned that the Greens, who get upset about arsenic in playgrounds and are against treated timber in houses, oppose this harmful drug being given a higher classification," she said. The report also recommends classifying methcathinone as a class B1 drug, 4-methylthioamphetamine be classified as class B2, and pemoline and aminorex be classified as Class C5.