Faafoi KrisHon KRIS FAAFOI (Minister of Broadcasting Communications and Digital Media): Sometimes when these bills come to the committee we ask members in the chair questions and because none of the questions from this side of the Chamber have been answered I think we will try in vain to ask a couple more.The Hon Tim Macindoe in an earlier contribution after I spoke asked me what my local police might think about this issue and I think that's a fair enough question. So about a month ago I spent an afternoon and an evening with our local police in an incident car just to get an idea of what they were dealing with and how much time and influence synthetic cannabis has on a daily shift.The question that I would like to put to Mr Brown is: if you think that clause 4 changing the sentencing from two years to eight years is going to change the thought pattern and the psychology of those dealing synthetic cannabis when was the last time you got any feedback from people who are selling synthetic cannabis? On that afternoon and evening that I spent with my local police we happened by chance to run into some locals who I think the local police considered to be heavy in the trade I should say. We managed to spend a little bit of time talking to them and my message to Mr Brown in a very simple sense is I don't think they'll care that the sentence is going to increase from two to eight years.In their calculation of when they are dealing the drugs the sentence of getting caught doesn't really factor high in their motivation for selling the drugs. I'll tell you what does: profits do. But also what rates higher in their calculation I'm assuming is whether or not they might get caught. In that afternoon that I spent with police when we ran into them they looked pretty sheepish about their interaction with the local constabulary. They were worried about getting caught. They knew that they were being monitored but I would hazard a guess from the type of conversation that I witnessed and the interaction that they couldn't give two hoots if this Parliament increased the sentence from two years to eight years and that is the reality of the piece of legislation that is before us.I think Mr Brown may be introducing this with good intentions hoping that the people who might get caught might change their thought process to say Well Simeon Brown has changed the sentence from two years to eight years so I'm not going to deal drugs or synthetic cannabis any more." and I would put to that member that that would be some wishful thinking unfortunately. But I think that's the reality of the thought process and the psychology of the people that are dealing synthetic cannabis. What they do need at the front line as my friend who spent decades on the front line said is more enforcement and some confidence in the eyes of the public that if they are dealing synthetic cannabis they're going to get caught. To the earlier contribution that I made where I spoke to some local principals we really care about the people who are being victimised in all of this: those people who are suffering mental health and who are suffering at the hands of this drug. You've got to deal with this issue from both ends but increasing the sentence—I'm sorry Mr Brown—I don't think will make the foggiest difference to those who are selling the drugs in our communities.So to Mr Macindoe I think it was a good question to ask as to what our police think and going out on the front line and actually interacting with some of these people who we think are dealing in these drugs—this piece of legislation won't make one iota of difference. Well-intentioned as it may be the reality is this will not enter the thought process of those people who are dealing these drugs. If you want to get real about tackling them then I think some of the actions that we're taking by increasing the numbers of police on the front line are going to make a difference.I think Mr Brown knows deep down that if we pass this legislation—and I'm not sure if it will—it won't make any difference whatsoever. Other measures need to be taken to make sure we crack down on the dealing. I think a lot of the debate in and around this piece of legislation has focused on making sure we have sufficient support for those vulnerable people in our community who are being seriously harmed by synthetic cannabis. Nice try Mr Brown but I don't think it's going to make any difference."