Your article "Good summer makes cannabis bust a boomer", ( Nelson Mail May 28) tells us, "5266 plants were seized throughout the district". So what are the consequences of this? A higher price for the remaining leaf that was not "seized". Which in turn will attract crafty chemists to manufacture synthetics and dope addicts needing to somehow increase their income (more crime?) to pay the higher prices. And let us not forget the huge amount of police resources used up. Is it not time we took a look at how prohibition is working here in New Zealand and ask: Is there a better way? I think there is. We control tobacco, alcohol and gambling with education, taxation and regulation. Should cannabis not join this group? At the moment cannabis cultivation is funding the crims and costing the taxpayer a mint. Would it not be better turning that around and have cannabis taxed and, like the taxes on alcohol, gambling and tobacco, funding the Government instead of the criminals? [continues 58 words]
A POISONS expert has warned of risks to users' health from new legal highs that have appeared to replace synthetic cannabis. Legal highs brand Tai High has introduced a new "non-psychoactive" smoking blend, claiming to be free of cannabinoids, nicotine and tobacco. The warning comes as information provided to The Dominion Post under the Official Information Act shows girls as young as 13 were left unconscious after smoking synthetic cannabis in the final months before the drugs were banned. National Poisons Centre reports reveal that users described "black vomit", suicidal thoughts and blacking out repeatedly after smoking the substances. [continues 525 words]
The prime minister claims to be taking money from the cannabis sales and redirecting it to those affected negatively by alcohol. What a perverted hypocrisy that is. Not only can cannabis growers look forward to an increase in police attention, the Government is looking to use drug money to clean up the mess the alcohol industry has created. It has huge budgets to sponsor sporting events and teams, but no money to help the addicts it creates. This Government keeps alcohol number one as the only legal recreational drug in town, without any competition, because of the illegal status of cannabis is assisting it monetarily. This drug (alcohol), sanctioned by the Key Government is definitely number one in the cause of assaults on females, assaults and abuse on hospital staff, the number one factor in police arrests, the number one factor in the traumatisation of children and of lost opportunities and potential in youth. This indeed is the number one act of cynicism by the Key Government on this issue. Waipukurau [end]
High Court Rules Against Boy's Bid A STUDENT who was expelled after being caught smoking dope during school hours, but not on school grounds, has lost his attempt to challenge the decision in the High Court. The Palmerston North Boys' High School student, then 16, was suspended and later expelled by the board of trustees' disciplinary committee in December. That prompted his mother to seek a judicial review of the decision. After being caught by police smoking marijuana with a group of other students, the pupil - who was dressed in uniform - was returned to school. [continues 269 words]
An international horticulturist is calling for cannabis to be legalised for medicinal use. Mike Nichols, who has travelled around the world consulting on horticulture, is a member of the International Society for Horticultural Science and former Massey University horticultural lecturer. This month the health select committee at Parliament considered a petition asking it to look at the decriminalisation of cannabis for pain relief and managing symptoms of chronic illness. The petition said that, unlike opioids, cannabis did not need to be taken in increased dosages to maintain pain relief. [continues 243 words]
DARGAVILLE'S illegal tinny houses may be the big winners after the government's U-turn on the legal sale of synthetic cannabis. With the change in the law that came into effect on May 8, Dargaville retailer Jonette Bartlett has stopped selling legal highs and has sent back all her stock to suppliers for a refund. But the B'arch Wear owner says she feels that new regulations will force her former customers to go back to smoking marijuana. '' A lot of them aren't happy,'' she says. [continues 429 words]
A woman who made herself cannabis cookies for pain relief has been discharged without a conviction, partly because she needed to travel to care for ill relatives. Alexandra Purucker, 60, of Takaka, who was charged with cultivating and possessing cannabis, was discharged without conviction in the Nelson District Court on Tuesday. Prosecutor Sergeant Graeme Eden said police went to Purucker's Takaka property on February 6 for an unrelated matter and discovered five plants scattered around her property. While police searched inside the property they discovered 71 grams of cannabis in her bedroom. [continues 173 words]
An international horticulturist is calling for cannabis to be legalised for medicinal use. Dr Mike Nichols, who has travelled around the world consulting on horticulture, is a member of the International Society for Horticultural Science and former Massey University horticultural lecturer. Earlier this month, the health select committee at Parliament considered a petition asking it to look at the decriminalisation of cannabis for pain relief and managing symptoms of chronic illness. The petition said that, unlike opioids, cannabis did not need to be taken in increased dosages to maintain pain relief. [continues 239 words]
It was a true "emperor has no clothes on" moment - Auckland Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse asking her colleagues why they were tying themselves into knots over regulating synthetic cannabis use, without taking into account that the natural, illegal alternative was a safer drug. She said: "I think we need to take a deep breath in this conversation and say what are we trying to achieve? Are we going to deal with the issue that people are going to make choices to smoke things that get them stoned? Have we been able to stop people doing that? Absolutely we haven't." [continues 746 words]
A student caught smoking dope during school hours, but not on school grounds, has wound up in the High Court after his mother challenged the school's decision to expel him. The Palmerston North Boys' High School student, then 16, was suspended and subsequently expelled by the board of trustees' disciplinary committee in December. That prompted his mother to seek a judicial review of the decision. The court case comes on the back of school principals saying parents are increasingly calling in lawyers over suspension matters, turning disciplinary hearings into " mini High Court trials". [continues 451 words]
A student caught smoking dope during school hours, but not on school grounds, has wound up in the High Court after his mother challenged the school's decision to expel him. The Palmerston North Boys' High School student, then 16, was suspended and subsequently expelled by the board of trustees' disciplinary committee last December. That prompted his mother to seek a judicial review of the decision. The court case comes on the back of school principals saying parents are increasingly calling in lawyers over suspension matters, turning disciplinary hearings into "mini High Court trials". [continues 478 words]
A STUDENT caught smoking dope during school hours, but not on school grounds, has wound up in the High Court after his mother challenged the school's decision to expel him. The Palmerston North Boys' High School student, then 16, was suspended and subsequently expelled by the board of trustees' disciplinary committee last December. That prompted his mother to seek a judicial review of the decision. The court case comes on the back of school principals saying parents are increasingly calling in lawyers over suspension matters, turning disciplinary hearings into "mini High Court trials". [continues 478 words]
Your article Son of legal high critic charged over cannabis (May 17) further highlights the problems generated by our out-of-synch cannabis laws and the need for a vigorous and rational debate on cannabis policy, as recently proposed by Auckland Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse. The negative consequences of cannabis prohibition raised by [Carterton councillor Jill] Greathead - criminal conviction, potential loss of employment and travel opportunities, not to mention the emotional trauma which could have had tragic consequences - are clearly disproportionate to the offence her son committed. [continues 69 words]
Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse's call for the decriminalisation of cannabis is welcome. It is great to see someone in local-body politics willing to support change. Western knowledge of the recreational use of cannabis has been around for some three centuries. Every sector of the plant is usable - the root, fibre, hurd, leaf, flower, and crystals. From it we can source many everyday needs, including paper and wood products, concrete, plastics, oil, foodstuffs, fabrics and medicines. Before international laws were introduced in the 1930s, it was not only the most successful medicant known, but so economically valuable that even one's taxes could be paid with it. Ideas espoused 100 years ago were misguided, and need to be reconsidered for the good of all. Mark Wheelan-Lamont, Auckland Central. [end]
I agree with Penny Hulse on the decriminalisation of cannabis. The focus should be on harm minimisation because it is impossible to police the use of the drug without turning ordinary folk into criminals. To this end, it should be legal to grow and use cannabis for yourself but not to sell it. If this strategy was adopted, the price would plummet and the police would have the power to prosecute those involved in distribution. This would allow those who use the drug to do so without establishing criminal connections. Andrew Montgomery, Remuera. [end]
Treating Pot Smokers As Criminals Doesn't Work the Issue Is a Health One, Writes Ross Bell. People who have problems with cannabis need help. A WELCOME outcome of the Government's disappointing U-turn on "legal highs" has been the renewed focus on wider drug policy, namely the contrast between the approach to synthetic cannabis and its natural cousin. Last week, Auckland City Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse suggested it was time to talk about cannabis law reform as a possible means of addressing demand for synthetics. [continues 712 words]
Police say they do not support the decriminalisation of natural cannabis despite calls by Auckland's Deputy Mayor that it's safer than banned synthetic versions. Penny Hulse said it was time New Zealanders discussed the decriminalisation of cannabis, much as they had had discussions on prostitution and same-sex marriage. But a police national headquarters spokesman said there was no political will for decriminalisation and their stance on the issue was clear. "Police do not support the decriminalisation of cannabis." [continues 497 words]
Police have moved to reassure Taranaki parents that drug dealers are not targeting their children with candy flavoured methamphetamine. Mangorei School's May newsletter included a warning to parents about Strawberry Quik which "looks and smells like strawberry Pop Rocks". "They are calling it strawberry meth or strawberry quick," the newsletter read. "Kids are ingesting this thinking it is candy and being rushed to the hospital. It also comes in chocolate, peanut butter, cola, cherry, grape and orange." Principal Michael Carr said the school was approached by a number of concerned parents regarding the issue. [continues 189 words]
Police say they do not support the decriminalisation of natural cannabis despite calls by Auckland's Deputy Mayor that it's safer than banned synthetic versions. Penny Hulse said it was time New Zealanders discussed the decriminalisation of cannabis, much as they had had discussions on prostitution and same-sex marriage. But a police national headquarters spokesman said there was no political will for decriminalisation and their stance on the issue was clear. "Police do not support the decriminalisation of cannabis." [continues 498 words]
A Hamilton woman has become the first person in the country to be convicted under new law banning the sale of formerly legal highs. Nikita Awhina Pender, 19, pleaded guilty in the Hamilton District Court today, to one charge of selling a prohibited substance under amended psychoactive substance law. The charge carries a maximum penalty of two years' jail. She was convicted and remanded on bail for sentencing next month. Her partner Jason Graeme McConnochie, 31, facing the same charge, was remanded without plea on bail, with a condition that he not associate with Pender. [continues 216 words]
New Zealand should not proceed down the path of decriminialisation when it comes to marijuana, writes Bob McCoskrie. IT IS ironic that at the same time as we ban synthetic cannabis and we try to price and label cigarettes out of existence, supporters of marijuana are peddling the same myths that we believed for far too long about tobacco - that marijuana is harmless, and it can even have health benefits. Supporters of decriminalisation would have us believe that cannabis is a gentle, harmless substance that gives users little more than a sense of mellow euphoria and hurts no one else, and that legal highs wouldn't be as attractive if we just decriminalised marijuana. [continues 632 words]
Auckland Deputy Mayor Says Natural Drug Safer Than Synthetic and Should Be Decriminalised Auckland Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse says it is time to decriminalise natural cannabis because it is safer than the synthetic versions that were banned last week. The veteran councillor and former industrial laboratory technician said she had always opposed decriminalisation, but changed her mind after reading scientific papers about the dangers of synthetic cannabis. Yesterday, she told an Auckland Council committee drawing up a policy on " legal highs" that it made no sense to regulate when synthetic cannabis could be sold without considering safer alternatives. [continues 470 words]
Synthetic-High Kingpins Are Angry at Lost Investments. SYNTHETIC-HIGH manufacturers say the Government should compensate them for now-worthless stock after last week's quickfire law change, but health minister Peter Dunne has rejected their demands. Photo: Chris Skelton Losses: Stephen Beere burns his now illegal highs. Some wholesalers were left holding stock with a street value of several million dollars, but Dunne had no sympathy and said the law change specifically excused the Government from paying compensation. "And I think that is entirely as it should be. I don't think the Government has any liability in this respect. The Government intentions were made clear a good 10 days before [the ban]." [continues 565 words]
It was probably too much to expect New Zealand's innovative psychoactive substances regime to survive an election year. MPs who passed the legislation 119-1 last year have climbed over each other to "fix" the situation in recent weeks, in response to angry protests over the very visible impacts in communities around the nation - especially in smaller cities that have had one seller of these drugs since August intead of a dozen, aggregating antisocial behaviour and providing a focus for people's outrage. [continues 280 words]
From midnight, it will be illegal to sell, supply or possess psychoactive substances including synthetic cannabis, but the Government would begin recalling the products today. Anyone looking to stock up before the products were removed should "bear that in mind", Health Minister Tony Ryall said. Parliament passed a law under urgency, banning the products, last night. Yesterday, Ryall introduced the Psychoactive Substances Amendment Bill, which banned 41 products given interim approval under legislation passed last year. It also ensured the testing regime for future potential legal highs could not use animal testing. [continues 584 words]
The legal-high industry made massive multimillion-dollar profits during the Government's brief fling with regulation. In a rare insight into the legal-high industry, the Ministry of Health estimates the industry was making a 1000 per cent profit on every packet of synthetic cannabis sold. Chemicals were imported in bulk from China, processed into synthetic cannabis for about $2 a packet and sold for $20. Since the Government set up the regulated market in July last year, it is estimated that 3.5 million packets of synthetic cannabis were sold in New Zealand. [continues 423 words]
The contrast between legal highs and alcohol legislation shows how irrational drug laws are in New Zealand, and now with a knee-jerk response by Peter Dunne, in response to media-generated hysteria, there is chaos. Synthetic cannabinoids create more harm than natural cannabis, but less than alcohol. Drug experts say that if alcohol was a new drug like synthetic cannabinoids it would be banned. The prime minister debates whether rats are more acceptable than rabbits for drug testing while he prevails over a drug policy which actively encourages corporate drug testing of alcohol on young New Zealand human beings on a daily basis. The most stark example of harm being several thousand children born every year with alcohol-induced brain damage. Auckland [end]
The letter to this and other newspapers from Robert Sharpe of Washington lobby group Common Sense for Drug Policy makes the standard tired reference to a mythical "war on drugs". No such war has ever launched. What we've had is a war on the bulk supply of drugs to the lower classes coupled with tolerance to personal demand for drugs from the middle class. It's the same double standard now embodied in calls for minimum alcohol pricing. A beautiful illustration of our feigning drug war is documented in the extras of the film City of God when an honest Rio police chief starts winning the drug war in the favelas but loses it in the dinner parties when his peers can no longer procure their little indulgence. [continues 135 words]
It's possible our politicians haven't a clue what they're doing with drug policy. It's easy to see why. Drugs are outside their experience, highly emotive and dangerous politics. Politicians as far apart as Nandor Tanczos and Don Brash have come unstuck attempting a rational discussion. These two politicians constitute a grim warning across the political spectrum. The result is drug law that is incoherent and now in disarray. Within a year we have gone from prohibition to laissez faire to a regulated market and now back to prohibition. [continues 380 words]
A soggy day didn't stub the spirit of a group of marijuana supporters celebrating "J Day". About 40 people gathered at the Bowl of Brooklands for the event, which aimed at getting people talking about cannabis and how it can be used in a safe way. The smell of marijuana smoke suggested the drug was not only being talked about. The nationwide J Day celebrations were held as debate raged over the future legality of and harm caused by synthetic cannabis. [continues 274 words]
Family 'incensed' boy is being treated more harshly than local pupils. A German international student has been expelled from school and faces being kicked out of the country because he had one puff on a joint in his free time. The move has been labelled excessive by the teenager's family, who are incensed that international students are held to a different set of standards than locals, but Tauranga Boys College is standing by its decision. The 17-year-old, who wished to remain anonymous, and four other German international students met after school on March 7 and decided to procure and consume marijuana. [continues 568 words]
DRUG LAW reform campaigners have seized on the scrap over soon-to-be-illegal highs to argue for the legalisation of cannabis. Thousands of New Zealanders openly smoked cannabis in public parks and domains yesterday during "J Day" celebrations. The gatherings were organised by Norml (the National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana) and the Aotearoa Cannabis Party, who used J Day to launch its 2014 general election campaign. The national day of "celebrations" were held as debate rages over the future legality of and harm caused by synthetic cannabis. Last week Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne announced the Government would introduce legislation to remove synthetic drugs from sale within three weeks until proven low-risk. [continues 231 words]
Protests Bring Results but 'Still Work to Be Done', Reports Florence Kerr. Legal highs may have been effectively banned by the Government but a Tokoroa woman who started a nationwide campaign against the drugs is not resting. Julie King is short in stature - 1.52m tall - but this Kiwi battler has fought her demons and won. Until May last year the mother of four held herself captive in her bedroom for two years, suffering from bipolar disorder - a condition that causes people to swing between being manic and being depressed. [continues 479 words]
Eventually, for me, it came down to this. Why does a can of imported tuna display nutritional information and a list of ingredients including the type of thickener used, the percentage of tuna (57 per cent) and detail on the colouring (paprika). Thus allowing me to make an informed choice about consuming this product. Why do we know nothing about what's in "synthetic cannabis", a so-called legal high with potentially addictive and destructive qualities? In recent months, the public clamour to ban legal highs has given National a political headache and the country a new health issue. [continues 385 words]
When you make a mistake, admit it - and put it right. It has taken Associate Minister of Health Peter Dunne and the Government a long time to admit they got it wrong with legal highs, but at the weekend they did so, and next week these potentially lethal drugs will be banned. The good intentions of Mr Dunne's Psychoactive Substances Bill, passed last July, have been swept away by reports revealing the psychotic behaviour brought about by these products. The weight of evidence of the damage, coupled with the public outcry in many communities - including here in Wanganui - made the continued legalisation of these drugs untenable. [continues 228 words]
Ever since the first concerns around synthetic cannabis arose, Invercargill residents have been asking me to raise their concerns over these legal highs in Parliament. I took the concerns to my colleagues and made forceful arguments on behalf of those concerned about the effects these products were having on our communities. The Government listened, and last year the Psychoactive Substances Act came into force. The act allowed a grace period for some legal highs that had been deemed a low risk by an expert panel. [continues 317 words]
Taranaki health workers are bracing themselves for an increase in youth prostitution, alcohol abuse and experimental drug use in the wake of the ban on legal highs. Currently legal, psychoactive substances will be yanked from the shelves within weeks following a Government U-turn on how to deal with synthetic highs. Hailed by opponents as a victory for common sense, many fear the sudden change will bring unintended consequences. Lynette West of the Young People's Trust in New Plymouth said the ban would see young synthetic cannabis users taking ever more drastic measures to meet their addiction to the products, especially synthetic cannabis. [continues 417 words]
The Government has decided the 40 or so "legal high" substances not already banned under the Psychoactive Substances Act should be removed from shop shelves until they are proven to be low-risk. Legislation will be passed under urgency when Parliament next sits on May 8. Local body leaders around the Waikato will be delighted. Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne - and every MP in our region - should be embarrassed. Mr Dunne has been excoriated in recent weeks over the sales of synthetic cannabis. [continues 302 words]
Banning the sale of legal highs will lead to an increase of gangs and criminals selling the drug on the black market, Blenheim synthetic cannabis retailers say. Associate health minister Peter Dunne announced on Sunday the government would introduce legislation that would remove synthetic drugs from shelves within three weeks until they could be proven low-risk. But Boots 'n All owner Andy Hall told the Express yesterday banning the sale of psychoactive substances would give gangs and criminals a monopoly on the market. [continues 461 words]
New Zealand's nine-month experiment with "legal highs" is over. The Government's decision to cancel interim licences for synthetic cannabis is a response to a public outcry that has left all sides wiser. Nearly all parties in Parliament voted for the licensing regime last July. The Psychoactive Substances Act passed by 119-1. The solitary MP who has been vindicated by events is Act's John Banks. All other parties accepted the idea that drug regulation was preferable to prohibition and that some of the manufactured "party drugs" that have appeared in the past six years would be capable of passing a reasonable safety test. The lawmakers were so confident on that score that they wrote an interim licence into the legislation so that not all brands would be taken off the market while rules for clinical trials are finalised. [continues 482 words]
Community relief, but Drug Foundation fears Government u-turn will lead to blackmarket sales. New Zealanders whose lives have been blighted by the dangers of legal highs are thrilled by plans to pull them from sale within a fortnight - - but fears have been raised users will stockpile the synthetic drugs ahead of an increase in blackmarket activity. The Government last night announced a policy u-turn, saying it would ban all legal highs until they could be proven to be "low-risk". [continues 960 words]
Government's actions seen as an election year stunt, reports Florence Kerr. A move to ban legal highs is being seen as an "election year stunt" by those who've been fighting to get the stuff off the streets for months, saying it's too little too late for people who are now addicts of the drugs. Synthetic bye: The Waikato Times travelled to Tokoroa yesterday a town that's been fighting to eradicate the stuff to gauge reaction. Tokoroa's anti-synthetic campaigner, Julie King, said the government's delay in banning the legal highs had only seen the number of addicts grow and she was worried about what would happen to those people once the stuff was banned under urgency on May 8. [continues 447 words]
Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne announced with unseemly haste on Sunday the Government will next week introduce and pass under urgency legislation removing from sale all remaining so-called ''legal highs''. It seems something that should have been undertaken by Mr Dunne many months ago has been forced on him by pressure from local government, the public and media outlets (including the Otago Daily Times, other newspapers and television programmes such as Campbell Live); with the added knowledge Labour was due to release its policy on the same issue yesterday. [continues 610 words]
A recovering Palmerston North legal high user has condemned the Government's move to ban synthetic drugs, saying addicts will not be able to handle withdrawal symptoms without more support. "They're going to go nuts," said Anthony, who spoke on the condition only his first name was published. The 40-year-old, who decided to quit using legal highs because of the impact on his family, believed more needed to be done to support addicts when legal highs are pulled from shelves next month because the products are "more addictive than what people believe". [continues 433 words]
Hawke's Bay psychiatric and addiction services are being urged to prepare for an influx of people dealing with intense synthetic cannabis withdrawals. Experts have warned stockpiling, fire sales and an added burden on health services may occur when all synthetic cannabis products are withdrawn from sale within a fortnight. In a Government policy reversal, Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne said on Sunday all legal high products would be banned until they could be proven "low-risk", with a law change to be introduced under urgency to Parliament next week. [continues 374 words]
All synthetic drugs will be pulled off the shelves within two weeks until individual testing has proven each brand is "low-risk", the Government has announced. Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne told Fairfax Media: "While there has been a substantial reduction in the number of these products available and the number of outlets from which they can be sold, reports of severe adverse reactions continue to be received by the National Poisons Centre and Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring. "It has been impossible to attribute these adverse effects to any particular products and in the absence of that ministers accepted my recommendation at Cabinet last Tuesday to end the transitional period, taking all products with interim approval off the market. [continues 417 words]
The people have spoken and the minister has finally listened. Or the cynics will say that Peter Dunne has banned legal highs due to pressure from the media and Labour's plans to do the same. Whatever the reason, it is a win for many communities around New Zealand. Dunne was obviously feeling the pressure of constant lobbying that he reacted in such a way, despite repeatedly arguing that bans do not work. As recently as Saturday, he stated on TV that bans on selling legal highs did not work in Ireland or New South Wales. He even quoted the Irish minister of health telling him that the banning of the drugs was the worst decision his government had made. This was a message he repeated time after time. So, why the change of heart? [continues 415 words]
An underground legal-high industry - including synthetic cannabis sprayed with illegal homebake - is causing havoc across the Clutha district. While the Clutha district had no legal-high stores it had not stopped people from filling that market void, Mayor Bryan Cadogan said. He confirmed reports of people in his area selling synthetic cannabis from the back of cars and selling products in return for "favours". Others were getting overnight courier packages from Dunedin. He had anecdotal reports of workers failing drug tests after legal highs they had smoked had been allegedly laced with homebake. [continues 130 words]
A former manager of the Community Probation Service in Timaru believes cannabis should be legalised and synthetic cannabis should be criminalised. Kevin Foley said the legal highs being sold seemed to be inconsistent substances and people never knew exactly what they were going to be putting into their bodies. He said there seemed to be greater consistency with natural cannabis. "It would be much better to legalise cannabis," Foley said. He said he believed it was unfair of central government to hand on the issue of legal highs to local government for regulation. [continues 194 words]
OPINION: Harmful legal products make mockery of drug laws More than one of our national addictions was laid bare last week. It turns out that not only are we a nation of royal obsessives, but we're rather fond of our recreational drugs. The 2014 Global Drug Survey reveals some disturbing information about New Zealanders' liking for psychoactive drugs, and so-called "legal highs" in particular. It turns out that we share with the United Kingdom the dubious distinction of being the highest users (on a per capita basis, obviously) of synthetic cannabis products in the world. [continues 541 words]
Inside New Zealand
