Psychoactive Substances Bill passes second reading

More than 45 deaths have been attributed to synthetic drugs this past 12 months alone. File photo.

The Psychoactive Substances Bill has passed the second bill reading in parliament.

MP for Pakuranga Simeon Brown says synthetic drugs are a blight on your society, and those who deal and profit from them have been put on notice.

'More than 45 deaths have been attributed to synthetic drugs this past 12 months alone, with a countless number of people also being admitted to hospitals requiring treatment due to harmful side effects.”

Simeon says his bill will increase the maximum prison sentence for those caught dealing synthetic drugs from two years to eight years, which will deter suppliers and give out justice system more power to keep these criminals away from the vulnerable people they prey on.

'We cannot simply reclassify a couple of strains here and there and hope the problem goes away. Illegal manufacturers have had a little difficulty reworking their drugs to differentiate them from those we've identified and regulated, so blanket penalties are required to get them off the streets and this is what my Bill will accomplish.

'Enough is enough, and it's time for the rest of the Government to get on board and take this issue seriously before more irreversible harm is done. As a Parliament we need to be united in our ambition to care for and protect our fellow New Zealanders, and my Bill is an important step in the fight to eradicate harmful synthetics.”

Last month, the Tauranga City Council approved the Psychoactive Substance policy, in a move council says to ‘protect the Tauranga community should any of those substances become approved for sale in the future.'

In adopting this policy, TCC has set rules on where in Tauranga any future approved products can be sold to protect sensitive communities and make it more difficult for users to access substances.

Tauranga City Council's Community and Culture Committee's deputy chair Leanne Brown says although there are currently no approved products in New Zealand, products could be approved by the Psychoactive Substances Regulatory Authority at any time, and someone could apply for a license to sell them.

'If that ever happens, this policy will help prevent a store from setting up next to a sensitive site like a school.”

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