Synthetic cannabis manufacturers are putting lives in danger as they tweak products to get around bans, a forensic scientist says. New Plymouth teenager Logan Wilson was admitted to hospital last week with kidney and heart failure after smoking the legal high Kryptonite. The 19-year-old spent five days in the intensive care unit at Taranaki Base Hospital, where he was put in an induced coma and was on a ventilator. Jake Bertie, of NZ Forensic Consultancy Solutions, told the Taranaki Daily News manufacturers were making minor modifications to the chemicals used in the products to get around government bans. [continues 412 words]
Community concerns are growing over the use and potential abuse of potent synthetic cannabis substitutes being sold in New Plymouth. The Taranaki Daily News spoke to educators, employers, and police about their worries, yesterday. The substances have a different structure to traditional cannabinoids, including THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, but stimulate the same receptors in the brain. They are cannabimimetics, drugs that mimic the effect of cannabinoids. The synthetic dope does not show up as positive in a drug test. [continues 645 words]
Drivers may soon be forced to stand on one leg and take other tests if police believe they are under the influence of drugs. Parliament passed the Land Transport Amendment Bill (No 4) last week and it will come into effect on December 1, allowing police to make drivers take a compulsory impairment test. If the test shows a driver is impaired, it will be followed by a blood test to determine if they had taken drugs. A Ministry of Transport spokeswoman said the walk and turn, one leg stand and eye tests had been specifically developed for identifying drivers on drugs, in conjunction with experts from the United Kingdom. [continues 249 words]
Many parents think addiction is a problem "other people's children" face, a drug and alcohol campaigner says. Taranaki parents wondering if their children are taking illegal drugs are about to get a helping hand from the Managers' Guild Trust. The trust, formed by senior police, will distribute a journal early in the New Year to give parents the latest information about drugs available to children today. Campaign co-ordinator Jeremy Anderson said most parents liked to think other people's kids used drugs, rather than their own children. [continues 332 words]