Paraone Pita: Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill (No 3) — In Committee Third Reading 
Paraone Pita: Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill (No 3) — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:626;Page:21518] 
PITA PARAONE (NZ First) 
: 
 I rise on behalf of New Zealand First to speak to the third reading of the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill (No 3). I will say straight off that New Zealand First supports this bill which might surprise some people on the Government benches. However I have been asked on behalf of my caucus to extend our appreciation to the Health Committee and in particular to the officials for the time they spent with the committee ensuring that it was totally informed about the many aspects of this legislation and about the inclusion of legal and illegal substances in the same legislation. 
New Zealand First was disappointed that the Supplementary Order Paper submitted by my colleague Barbara Stewart was not supported. However New Zealand First did recommend that these groups of substances be treated in the same way as all other controlled drugs and included on the appropriate schedule. I note that during the earlier debate in the Committee stage the Green Party member made light of our suggestion particularly in terms of products like Coca-Cola. I say to the Green member and indeed to other members of this House that if warnings were applied to the sale of products like Coca-Cola then the general public would be aware of the dangers of the particular drugs contained in them. We believe that harm minimisation as a strategy does not address the issues and needs of those most at risk from abuse of these substances. 
So while we support the Supplementary Order Paper put in by the honourable member Jim Anderton we view it as a first step only. New Zealand First believes that there should be no softening of drug laws for these new designer drugs. We believe that these party pills should be classified as controlled drugs. 
We would have liked to see these substances guaranteed as harmless. We believe that until this occurs they should not be legally available for sale. We look forward to the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs completing further research into the potential harms of these psychoactive substances. The manufacturers of these products claim that they are safe and that they are keeping people away from the more dangerous amphetamines. In fact we believe that by creating a culture in our young people that it is acceptable and even desirable to take some pills to get high we are increasing the number of our young people who would dare to try harder drugs. 
The real answer to substance abuse is education against the pill-popping habit that party pills have so dramatically created. We are told that these products are safe if they are taken according to the instructions—that is not to take them with alcohol and to follow the recommended dosage. At best this argument is flawed because a large number of people do not comply with these instructions. Even with prescription medicines where the patient receives verbal instructions from the prescribing doctor and then from the pharmacist compliance is not always guaranteed. 
Add this to the fact that these products are designed and promoted for use at parties where alcohol is mandatory and where there is pressure to take extra doses and it takes a very strong-willed young person to resist. Compliance under these circumstances would be well below the pharmaceutical average. Because of that we may see many more people hospitalised. 
I was pleased to read in a recent letter from the Social Tonics Association that it is recommending limiting the amount of benzylpiperazine contained in each pill. That appears to be a sensible measure. We are aware that a small number of operators have been basically exploiting the unregulated market and producing low-quality products with variable amounts of benzylpiperazine without warnings or labels. The level of benzylpiperazine can be two to three times higher than the dosages outlined as potentially dangerous by the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs. 
We are also very pleased with the new offences created by this bill. This bill has needed the attention of the House as both the police and customs have needed the support of the law in their fight against the misuse of drugs and this bill provides for that. New offences are created that will close the loopholes that currently exist. Any legislation that helps with the early apprehension of those involved in the misuse of drugs must be good for our country. 
One of the other reasons why my caucus colleagues and I support this bill is that we are looking to the future and in particular to the next generation of members of our families. We would like to think that we have been responsible for putting in place legislation that will help to protect the forthcoming generations from the dangers that the misuse of illicit drugs will cause to our young people. In conclusion New Zealand First supports the passing of this bill.