Pubdate: Thu, 10 Apr 2003
Source: New Zealand Press Association (New Zealand Wire)
Copyright: 2003 New Zealand Press Association

LIFE IMPRISONMENT FACES SPEED DEALERS

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 yesterday, 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're very worried about the expediential 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 per cent 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:

# classifies methcathinone - an anti-depressant widely misused in Russia 
and in parts of the United States - as a class B1 drug.

# 4-methylthioamphetamine - commonly called 'flatliner', similar to, but 
more powerful, than MDMA or ecstasy and used in Europe - to be classified 
as class B2.

# pemoline and aminorex as Class C5. Aminorex is used to stimulate the 
nervous system. It is known as u-4-e-uh (pronounced euphoria) in the United 
States.
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MAP posted-by: Alex