8. JONATHAN YOUNG (National—New Plymouth) Link to this
to the Associate Minister of Health
What measures has the Government taken to control new psychoactive substances?
Hon PETER DUNNE (Associate Minister of Health) Link to this
The Government has decided to amend the Misuse of Drugs Act to enable the issue of temporary class drug notices for currently unregulated substances of concern. This new mechanism will place a temporary ban on such substances for up to 12 months while their risk is assessed, and will enable us to deal with synthetic cannabinoids like Kronic. I expect that once this amendment is passed, temporary class drug notices for these substances will be gazetted, and the substances will be off the shelves a week later.
We will certainly be monitoring the industry’s activities very closely, but I say to the industry that the moment it attempts to bring a new product on to the market, we will invoke the powers of this legislation, gazette the product, and have it off the shelves within 7 days.
Iain Lees-Galloway Link to this
Does he still claim that taking action on drugs such as P and Kronic is a priority for his Government, given that the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill has been buried on the Order Paper since November last year?
Absolutely. In fact, we have been making sure that the measures the bill contains, when put in place, will work effectively. If the member looks at what has happened overseas he will see a number of jurisdictions that have imposed short-term bans that have not worked. We have done the job comprehensively and properly. These restrictions will work.