Pubdate: Tue, 29 Apr 2014
Source: Otago Daily Times (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2014 Allied Press Limited
Contact:  http://www.odt.co.nz/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/925

CHEAP POLITICS IN AN ELECTION YEAR

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.

Mr Dunne will take to Parliament on May 8 amending legislation to put
the measure in place.

It will be introduced and passed through all stages under urgency and
come into force the day after receiving the Royal Assent.

Timing is everything.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters released a statement at 3.01pm
on Sunday calling for manufacturers of legal highs to be immediately
required to prove synthetic drugs are safe before being sold.

What NZ First wanted was a ban.

At 4.54pm, Labour leader David Cunliffe released his statement saying
Labour was planning to introduce legislation to remove synthetic
cannabis and other psychoactive substances from sale
immediately.

Labour warned at the time the Psychoactive Substances Act was passed
it was being rushed and mistakes were likely to be made, he said.

At 5.11pm, Mr Dunne made his announcement about removing from sale all
remaining legal highs.

Whether Mr Dunne will find himself now facing a legal challenge from
his son, a spokesman for the legal-highs industry, is a side issue,
but one worth considering.

Manufacturers and suppliers of legal highs have a lot at stake,
including the loss of substantial income.

While not many New Zealanders, except perhaps users of the foul
substances, will be overly sympathetic to the industry, the war
against synthetic drugs is likely to be far from over.

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull summed up the feelings of many when he said
the move to ban the substances was in line with the public's view
legal highs should be banned, not controlled, and it was better late
than never.

But it also raised questions, given the Government had previously
maintained it was not possible to ban the products and had instead
abdicated responsibility to local government.

Without the pressure from bodies outside of Parliament, and from
Opposition parties within, would Mr Dunne have rushed this legislation
out late on a Sunday when perhaps a more media-friendly time could be
arranged?

As it is, politicians stand accused by some of putting the health of
some New Zealanders, indeed potentially their lives, at risk through
the delay in taking a firm position on these products.

Toxicologist Leo Schep, of the National Poisons Centre, in Dunedin,
says people trying to quit are suffering pronounced adverse effects,
including severe, persistent vomiting, to the point of bringing up
blood.

He is worried about the long-term effects of the drugs.

The emerging chronic effects trouble him and he is only just starting
to see them now.

For some people, there could be permanent health issues.

The rush to ban the products without providing support to help those
already addicted has raised concerns.

Social agencies will be expected to take up the challenge, but
without, it is suspected, a rush of funding from the Government.

Parents of young addicts may find themselves dealing with the horror
consequences of their children trying to find alternatives to what
they have been able to in recent years buy from a corner shop.

The emergence of a black market in replacement substances is almost
certain.

The Government has had about 18 months in which to work out how to ban
the products, plus deal with the consequences.

In that time, probably thousands of New Zealanders, and their
families, have been grossly affected by legal highs.

With just over a week to go before the legislation is introduced to
Parliament, the onus is now on Mr Dunne to state clearly how he
intends dealing with the fall-out from his delayed actions.

Anything less will be seen for what it is: cheap politics in an
election year.
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MAP posted-by: Matt