Turner Judy: General Debate 
Turner Judy: General Debate 
[Volume:621;Page:16330] 
JUDY TURNER (United Future) 
: 
 While the rest of the nation gets on with its daily living Parliament gets into election mode with members making a meal of each other. I want to move right away from the issue members have been debating and talk about the fact that we are still actually being paid to make a difference in this country. I also want to talk about an issue that is of concern to me—that is how do we best find a way to regulate the developing range of party drugs that at this stage fall outside our existing classification parameters? 
Herbal highs are now the new fashion in mind-altering substances. They are advertised marketed and sold on the Internet as well as over the counter in ordinary retail shops. They are marketed as being healthy natural and less harmful than the classified drugs they claim to be substitutes for. The benefits that customers seek are extended wakefulness additional energy enhanced and exaggerated feelings of euphoria pleasure and sociability. Advertisements refer to the products as “social weaponry”. The accompanying instructions however read more like the label on an over-the-counter pharmaceutical than on a health supplement. For instance users are cautioned not to exceed the recommended dose. They are not recommended for anyone suffering from a medical condition or mental illness. They are unsuitable for people under the age of 18. People taking them are told to avoid alcohol. And the products are not recommended for pregnant mothers. 
These instructions exist for good reasons because the negative side effects range from mild aching and palpitations through to strokes seizures renal failure and even death. In March of this year five young people were admitted to Dunedin Hospital with anxiety symptoms after taking party pills—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Interjecting across the cross benches is as the member knows very disruptive.  
Rodney Hide 
: I was just trying to liven it up. 
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: The member is warned. He himself has complained many times about it. He will give others the same courtesy. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I think he has been on the pills 
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: The member will stand and withdraw that remark. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I withdraw. 
JUDY TURNER 
: I was trying to talk about young people being admitted to hospital having taken herbal highs particularly when they have mixed those with alcohol against the advice on the labels. 
Despite the intentions of many of those who market herbal highs young people under 18 and even children have easy access to these products which are available at corner dairies and petrol stations. Retailers who claim they are trying to be responsible are not legally required to make any effort in that regard. The loudest voices on this matter to date have been the police health professionals and of course those who market and use the products. Users’ stories range from those who felt very little effect to those who claim that their experience was more potent than the experiences they had using illegal substances. Many claim to have been awake and uncomfortably strung out for much longer than the social occasion they were trying to enjoy. Doctors are concerned and while most agree that alcohol is taking the greatest toll in New Zealand these herbal highs need to be viewed with real concern. 
Police in New Zealand however seem much clearer on what they believe should be happening with regard to these substances. They want them controlled. Historically in New Zealand we have been slow to take the advice of our front-line police. It took 7 long years for Parliament to respond to police recommendations to reclassify methamphetamine from a class B to a class A drug and during that time the situation deteriorated to a crisis point. I believe it is time we streamlined the process so that subordinate legislation on these matters can be actioned in a timely way to respond to police concerns. It is such a waste of police resources to have them in catch-up mode on matters that were foreseen and could have been prevented. 
Let us be very clear why young people are purchasing these products. It is for the same unhealthy reasons that folk use any mind-altering substance. It is the very reason why the Life Education Trust is very wary of any soft message that communicates that life can be enhanced by drugs. The law on these matters is much more than a constraint. It is a very clear message about what is healthy and what is unacceptable and risky behaviour. We have to ask ourselves whether we are happy to turn a blind eye to risk behaviour that is predicated on the idea that enjoying socialising starts with a substance to help us overcome social inhibitions.