"Boycott shops selling synthetic drug products...."

This is the call of Auckland Chamber of Commerce head Michael Barnett following confirmation by Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne that it is possible harmful synthetic drug products might still be on sale until the Misuse of Drugs Act is overhauled next year.

Following news earlier this week that ‘new’ synthetic drug products are back on sale in Auckland shops within weeks of Parliament passing ‘temporary’ laws to ban selected products, Mr Dunne said officials checked out such ‘rumours’ and acted on them if they were substantiated.

He confirmed that it would not be until next year that a permanent law would be introduced which requires manufacturers to prove the safety of their products, and acknowledged that potentially harmful products would always be on sale until a proper law was in place.

“Parliament’s slowness to act leaves concerned parents and citizens no other choice but to boycott shops selling these products,” said Mr Barnett. “That our law makers have failed our young and continue to put lives at risk is unacceptable,” said Mr Barnett.

“I find it incredulous that Parliament continues to allow itself to be outwitted by the producers of these products.”

At the end of July, an Auckland Chamber survey of members drew more than a thousand responses within 24 hours supporting an overall of the drug laws requiring all drug products to have to prove their safety before they could be sold.

Parliament responded with a 12-month notice banning all 48 synthetic products on the market at the time of the ban, with provision for Mr Dunne to ban further products when attempts were made to change ingredients or repackage products.

The ban is an interim measure while the Government works on an overhaul of the Misuse of Drugs Act to require manufacturers to prove their products were safe before they could be sold.

Most other products are covered by laws and regulations to prove they are safe before they can be sold. “It should have been a simple Parliamentary process to ban these products and require them to prove they are safe before they can be sold.”