Pubdate: Thu, 26 Sep 2013
Source: USA Today (US)
Copyright: 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/625HdBMl
Website: http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/index.htm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/466
Author: Ross Bell
Note: Ross Bell is the executive director of the New Zealand Drug Foundation.

NEW ZEALAND'S SOLUTION TO THOSE UNKNOWN 'PARTY PILLS'

Test Them for Safety and Make Them Legal

While the United States is dipping a toe into drug legalization with 
medical marijuana and, in a few states, recreational marijuana, our 
efforts in New Zealand to deal with drugs outside the criminal system 
are going in another direction.

Given our remote geographic location, smuggling is risky, rare and 
expensive. Most of the drugs New Zealanders use are produced locally. 
Lately, new synthetic drugs that mimic the effects of 
harder-to-acquire drugs are gaining traction.

According to the Drug Policy Alliance, synthetic drugs are becoming 
increasingly prevalent in the U.S. as well. A recent University of 
Michigan survey found that the use of synthetic drugs among high 
school students is now second only to marijuana. A string of recent 
deaths from synthetic "club drug " overdoses in the U.S. has caught 
the attention of both federal law makers and the Drug Enforcement 
Administration.

WHAT ARE THEY?

New Zealand has yet to face those kind of deaths, but we are seeing 
harm caused by new psychoactive substances, more commonly known here 
as "legal highs" or "party pills." These untested and unregulated 
substances are difficult to monitor, and often no one, not even the 
(often amateur) manufacturer, knows what's really in them.

Users buy a small bag of non-descript white powder or plant material, 
believing it is one thing but it can be any number of endless 
derivatives of that drug or even something completely different.

All of this is exacerbated by the fact that once one synthetic drug 
is made illegal, the chemistry can be altered ever so slightly to 
produce a new substance that now falls in a gray area of law because 
it hadn't existed before. Consequently, law enforcement is often 
baffled about what is what and medical professionals have no idea how 
harmful the effects might be, especially in the long term.

ACCOUNTABILITY

With reports about increased visits by young people to emergency 
rooms due to the new psychoactive substances, we in New Zealand were 
frustrated by our inability to effectively monitor the effects of 
these drugs or hold anyone accountable for the harm they were causing.

This year, our parliament almost unanimously passed rules allowing 
domestic producers of synthetic drugs to submit to health and safety 
testing, much like traditional pharmaceutical trials. If the drugs 
pass rigorous examination and are deemed "low risk," manufacturers 
will be allowed to sell them legally under tough regulations, such as 
no advertising or sale to minors.

SUNLIGHT SAVES LIVES

The new law forces drug producers into the light of day and makes 
them responsible for safety.

It will subject these substances to a similar kind of testing that 
new medicines have to go through. Now, when people choose to take a 
legal drug, they will know exactly what it contains and have 
assurance of the drugs effects and risk.

Some of this might seem counterintuitive, but it is backed by 
evidence. The old policies were clearly not working. Our new drug 
policy emerged from a pragmatic and evidence-based approach to do 
what was needed to ensure safety. Fortunately, we were largely spared 
a debate about moral judgment, drug use or partisan politics. It is 
heartening to see that this kind of positive change can happen.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom