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:21504] 
PITA PARAONE (NZ First) 
: 
 I think it is timely that I enter the debate particularly in terms of what the two previous speakers have spoken about. My colleague Barbara Stewart has put forward a Supplementary Order Paper that suggests that benzylpiperazine party drugs herbal drugs and all other psychoactive substances should be included in the list of drugs prohibited from being available to the general community. Now as the Hon Jim Anderton the Minister in the chair mentioned there is no evidence about benzylpiperazine available at the moment but I would suggest to this Committee that given the impact that the use of illicit drugs has had on our society it would be better to err on the side of caution than to run the risk of waiting in the meantime for research to take place. We do not know how long that research will take and in the meantime benzylpiperazine and other drugs will be available to our young people to use in the way they feel fit. 
New Zealand First believes that all party drugs including benzylpiperazine and other psychoactive substances should be placed on the controlled drugs schedule. Although we are pleased some regulation is being placed around party pills—in relation to their place of sale age limits for use and manufacturing practices—we believe that that does not sufficiently address the problems and possible long-term health effects upon young users. 
I found it very interesting that during the course of the debate on this very important bill we had a group of young people in the Chamber. They would have been listening intently to the respective views and wondering whether some people in this Parliament really have their future as a concern. How can the effects of those drugs be considered low-risk? New Zealand First does not think they are and we are waiting for the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs to carry out further research into that area. The research as we all know is desperately needed; no one is sure of long-term effects. We do not want to see a whole age group of young New Zealanders harmed from possible toxicity or brain damage from substances that currently are legally available. 
Simon Williamson Manager for Drug Investigations in the Customs Service has said: “These pills are literally pouring into the country in huge quantities and New Zealand seems to be a unique market for them. In my view this is a clear case of the current regulations not keeping pace with the influx of synthetic designer substances that are available.” Further on he says that the people “pushing this stuff” have invariably got a vested interest in its sale: “These people are making a lot of money by arguing that this is a safe alternative to illegal drugs and all I can say to that is its”—I cannot use the word in this Chamber! “The pills are central nervous system stimulants and there is evidence becoming available now which suggests that they are toxic in content and damaging to the brain in high doses.” 
So although we are pleased to see some regulation of those substances we would like to see stronger regulations surrounding their sale. It is particularly noticeable that manufacturing standards cannot be guaranteed under current regulations. One of the most urgent problems is the continued supply of benzylpiperazine in excessive and sometimes dangerous doses by irresponsible operators. As Mr Anderton well knows that is particularly problematic in Christchurch. This is also something that should be addressed in this Committee stage. If we are to hold the manufacturers accountable under this law we need to be sure that justice is seen to be done. 
I refer to a press release put out by my colleague Barbara Stewart which quoted a medical toxicologist from the National Poisons Centre as saying that the adverse effects of these drugs are just beginning to show and that the pills should not be sold in New Zealand without a prescription. That reinforces our view that there should be no softening of drug laws for these new designer drugs. To that extent I hope the Committee will support the Supplementary Order Paper put in by my colleague.