Legal high review too little too late

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Photo / Brett Phibbs

Efforts by the synthetic cannabis industry to clean up its act have been slammed by health experts as too little too late.

Up to eight industry heavyweights met yesterday after two brands - Kronic Pineapple Express, manufactured by Lightyears Ahead, and Juicy Puff, sold by Cosmic - tested positive for anti-anxiety prescription medication phenazepam.

Zaid Musa, of Enjoi Products, and Matt Bowden, who imports chemicals used in Kronic, called the meeting after the Herald reported Kronic was being advertised on mainstream radio last week.

In a statement yesterday, the industry announced that it would be cleaning up its act by making changes such as chemically testing all imported products to ensure there was no contamination. Product advertising on radio or television would stop and any advertising would only be at the point of sale.

But health experts and MPs say that is not enough. Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne was yesterday sceptical about the industry's motives, saying it probably had more to do with the impact on sales.

"When any group that has for years done absolutely nothing to help keep the users of its products safe suddenly wants to self-regulate, then you know one of two things has happened - it has either developed a conscience, or it can see a drastic impact on its cash flow," he said.

"Call me cynical but I am suspecting the latter here. These people do not have a track record of responsible dealings."

Amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act would go before Parliament in the next few weeks, despite the industry's promises, Mr Dunne said.

Labour's associate spokesman for health, Iain Lees-Galloway, said the industry needed to obey the recommendations made by the Law Commission, which urged that retailers should have to prove the drugs safe before they were put on sale.

"Currently we have a system that uses the public as guinea pigs."

Mr Lees-Galloway said that although the changes were a step in the right direction, they did not go far enough.

"Sure, they have said they will voluntarily test product coming into the country, but those tests will only determine the pharmacological makeup, not the overall safety of the product."

The industry's self-imposed advertising bans might also not be very effective, he said.

"Again there are loopholes. Point of sale and internet advertising will still be allowable."

Meanwhile, the New Zealand Medical Association is calling for tougher legislation to control the products.

Chairman Paul Ockelford said: "These products can be sold until they're proven dangerous rather than assessing their risk before they're made available for sale to the public ... this is unacceptable."

- additional reporting by NZPA