Stewart Barbara: Misuse of Drugs (Classification of BZP) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Stewart Barbara: Misuse of Drugs (Classification of BZP) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 13 March 2008. Volume:645;Page:14935. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
BARBARA STEWART (NZ First) 
: 
 On behalf of New Zealand First I rise to support the third reading of the Misuse of Drugs (Classification of BZP) Amendment Bill. It is my pleasure to rise and support this bill. 
This is an issue that needed to be finalised—from the manufacturer’s point of view the user’s point of view and of course from Parliament’s point of view. Further action needed to be taken; once the wheels had been set in motion the whole situation needed to be clarified. We in this House all know that this is a multimillion-dollar industry and it had geared itself up for a ban on 18 December. That did not eventuate and in fairness to the industry another specific date has been set. The writing was on the wall. The date that is now set is very clear it is specific and there is no room for any misinterpretation. 
In New Zealand First we received some information from the Social Tonics Association that recall procedures had been put in place by many manufacturers for the disposal of their existing stock. I understand that these procedures will be put in place again so that the products can be disposed of in a safe and proper manner. It is really important that this is done. It is not a little job to close down a multimillion-dollar industry in a short time; it has been around for 7 years or so. There needed to be sufficient time to do this in a planned manner. I was very pleased to see the professional recall procedures that have been put in place and I think that the Social Tonics Association can be quite proud of what it has done. The very last thing we need is for this type of product to be dumped in local rubbish bins where it can be pulled out by anyone—and we know that a lot of people fossick around our rubbish cans now. Of course if it is in a rubbish can it can also be consumed by anyone and that is definitely not an ideal situation. Being part of a manufacturing environment in my previous life I was very pleased to see this responsible response to the recall of these particular products and the Social Tonics Association and other manufacturers have to be commended for the actions they have taken in drawing up the procedures and for trying to follow them through. 
In New Zealand First we believe that Parliament—this Parliament any Parliament—has to act on the advice of the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs. Otherwise what is the point of having it and of wasting the advice of the experts on that committee? They are the experts they have all of the relevant qualifications and we need to take their advice. When we look at it they have verified what most of us suspected: this product cannot be guaranteed to be absolutely harmless. Although there are those who say that it is harmless the bottom line is that there are no scientific studies carried out on this drug by any reputable agency proving that it is safe. 
Earlier in the week I went into a pharmacy and was absolutely amazed to see a product that claimed on the header card of the display and on the product as well that it was “Tested on Australians”. I did not want to believe what I was reading. Obviously Australians are quite happy to be lab rats or perhaps they were unwittingly lab rats for some company that was testing anti-hangover pills of all things. I thought this was a really amazing piece of advertising. As a consumer it would give me no real confidence at all that it had been tested on Australians and found to be safe. Yet when I looked at the display I saw that plenty of the product had been sold. New Zealand First believes that we can be really pleased that party pills have never ever been displayed or advertised with that cavalier attitude even though when we look at it the industry could have said that the product had been “Tested on New Zealanders”. 
We realise that unfortunately this legislation will not immediately stop the party pill culture or the widespread consumption by young people of some other product that promises the same type of high or buzz. Most of our young people who are into this type of drug taking will consume the new product that comes online. 
I was talking to an elderly person who blamed all of the baby-boomers and the availability of prescription drugs for this phenomenon. Apparently we pop pills freely for headaches depression earaches and sore throats and afterwards we feel quite good that we have actually taken the pills. This person said we were modelling the behaviour for our young people. I thought it was quite a tenuous link but perhaps she had a point. 
As we know the second generation of party pills is well on the way; we read about it last year in the newspapers. We can only hope that the Social Tonics Association and its members will again take a precautionary approach. However we definitely do not want to see these substances displayed for sale in dairies and garages. 
Hone Harawira 
: Like cigarettes. 
BARBARA STEWART 
: Like cigarettes. The voluntary code for packaging quality and quality control that was developed and largely adhered to by the manufacturers of party pills was a step in the right direction and we have to hope that it will be followed again. 
Over the course of this debate we have often had parties talking about the health effects of alcohol and tobacco and saying that they are just as bad if not worse than the effect of benzylpiperazine. I have no doubt that we will hear from those speakers later on. In New Zealand First we ask why we would add another substance to this list if this product had not been banned. Enough grief is caused by alcohol and tobacco. Something had to be done and we are trying to do something here so we support this bill. It never ceases to amaze me—and more than likely others in this House—that manufacturers never had to prove that party pills were safe before they were put out for sale as happens with food and medicine. We would like to see this loophole corrected. 
New Zealand First supports this bill. We are pleased to see it reach this stage and we will watch what happens in the wider industry with a lot of interest. Thank you.