Woodhouse Michael: Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Woodhouse Michael: Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:674;Page:20195] 
MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) 
: 
 I am very happy to take a call on the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill a bill that was considered by the Health Committee when I was a member of it although I am not a member now. 
Grant Robertson 
: It’s gone downhill really. 
MICHAEL WOODHOUSE 
: I appreciate the sentiment but I am sure my colleagues are holding the fort extremely well. I am not sure whether there is any business. 
This bill was a really interesting one for the committee. We first heard about herbal tobaccos or herbal highs when we were deliberating the Smoke-free Environments (Controls and Enforcement) Amendment Bill and there was consideration of whether herbal tobacco should be included in the display bans. The amount of media coverage on and the committee’s awareness of this very harmful set of substances grew quite considerably. 
I was at a conference in Christchurch in May when a young man of about 21 talked to me about his experience with the Accident Compensation Corporation following a serious head injury. I have to say his experience with the Timaru branch was very good. The conversation turned on to the use of herbal highs and he described his experience of using Kronic Pineapple Express I think it was called. 
At that point I thought it might be worth trying. It is legal—even then it was only just classified R18—and I had contemplated giving it a go to see what the reaction might be. After the conversation with this fellow I did not. He described an extraordinary experience where he was hallucinating and where his peripheral limbs virtually went numb. He said to me that he was legally able to drive but he could hardly walk. There is a case in New Zealand where the police are investigating a fatal accident where Kronic may have been a contributing factor to a young person dying on our roads. 
This is a very important issue. Yes it is emotive. We may not have the science but I congratulate the Associate Minister of Health Peter Dunne and I encourage strength to the arm of the development of the regulatory framework that will avoid the cat-and-mouse situation that we run the risk of having over the next 12 months as Mr Grant Robertson described. I think that risk is low but real and I think we need to be extremely nimble in order to identify these products as they come on the market and to ensure that they are removed with all haste. I regret that we are not able to create that temporary regulatory framework but I understand that the definitional issues could be very challenging. I do encourage the Minister of Health and the ministry in that area. 
I will touch on the comments of ACT MP Heather Roy because I think there is a liberal streak in all of us on this side of the House that says there is an element of live and let live to this issue. I have to say that I would accept that to a point with two exceptions. One is the number of people who challenge me to ensure that our health services are accessible to the widest number of New Zealanders. I think we have done an extremely good job of providing a lot more with a little more resources but it really is not acceptable for me to stand by as a member of this House and not create a climate that prevents our young people from harming themselves to the point where they may be admitted to emergency departments around the country. I cannot then look other constituents in the eye and say that we are doing our best in the health sector. I simply cannot do it. I accept the liberal view of live and let live but these substances clearly have a very negative effect particularly on our young. To put it into our dairies and not even have an R18 classification on it—even though the manufacturers claim they encourage that—is quite a challenging situation that I am pleased we have resolved. It is about denormalising this thing. 
The Hon Damien O’Connor made some interesting comparisons with alcohol that I strongly disagree with. We could put motor vehicles or fatty foods into the same category. A lot of things will cause us harm if we use them in the wrong dosage. That is not the case with these herbal highs. None of it will do us any good. As Dr Hutchison said ingesting this stuff into our lungs has to be terribly harmful regardless of the psychoactive substances that will turn our neurons into scrambled eggs. 
In summary I really strongly support this measure. I am sorry that some members are not going to support it although I understand why. I do think this is progress and I think our children will certainly thank us for it in the long run.