SYNTHETIC cannabinoid retailers and users were expecting a regulation announcement, but instead the government announced that Kronic and similar substances will be temporarily banned.
Prime Minister John Key says cabinet-approved amendments to The Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, are expected to be made law by the end of the week.
Owner of Cosmic Mark Carswell says the move will cause more damage than good.
“It seems crazy, saying that you can’t sell it, but that people can still possess and consume it. They’re just going to buy it in bulk and smoke it anyway. The Government are talking about harm minimisation, but they’re doing the opposite,” he says.
The makers of synthetic cannabinoid Kronic have discounted their prices, and put a message on their website that says, “…You can have as much Kronic as you want stashed away to beat the blues & you should stock up right now.”
A Newtown dairy owner who didn’t want to be named says, “I haven’t been selling very much lately but since the Government said the stuff’s on its way out I’ve sold a bit more… Half of my customers will just go and buy tinnies from the tinny houses again, and I happen to know a tinny house man who’s very happy about that.”
Cosmic’s Carswell is not so happy.
“It’s anti-business to give someone two weeks to knock a product on the head… Our staff levels, investment and commitment are set up around certain revenue, and when you lose that revenue you’ve got to find a way to meet the cost.”
Prime Minister Key says, “It’s unacceptable to the Government that a product that causes potentially lethal risks is available freely to our young people”.
Users say: what risks?
“We’ve been selling it for years and I’ve never had a person come back with a problem.
A lot of those ‘risks’ are from anecdotal ‘evidence’ in the media, who are always after a more sensational story,” says Carswell.
“James”, 27, has used synthetic cannabinoids regularly for the last six months.
“I haven’t experienced any negative side effects at all, aside from the odd headache - and that’s usually when I’ve been drinking too. I don’t get paranoid, there are no after effects the next day, it’s convenient, and it doesn’t last too long.”
“Desmond”, also 27, says he has experienced some negative side effects – but that they are identical to those associated with marijuana use.
“Sometimes I’ll get a bit anxious, and it affects general motivation levels – but those are the exact same downsides as smoking weed. It’s basically a quantity thing – if you do it in moderation it’s fine.”
Both James and Desmond say they’d prefer to know more about what chemicals and ‘vegetable matter’ they are smoking, and would be happy for cannabinoids to be better regulated.
“At the moment it’s pretty in-your-face, they’re selling it in dairies, and advertising on the radio. Even if you were considering legalizing weed you wouldn’t advertise it,” says Desmond.
“Edwin”, a 63-year-old user, says prohibition won’t do anything to help the situation.
“It’ll close down the selling of these things and annoy some people… But it’ll also put the price of marijuana up a bit which will strengthen the gangs and lead to more squabbles between them,” he says.
“The question we should be asking is, ‘Why do people need to get out of it?’ Often it’s the people who can least afford these things who pay for them, which suggests the real world is a pretty uncomfortable place for some people.”
Bill Logan is a Wellington-based counsellor and celebrant, who works with patients on addiction issues.
“The discussion is a subordinate side phenomenon to ‘what to do with marijuana’. I don’t think we should fool ourselves that marijuana is harmless – people sometimes get into the habit of using a lot of it, it’s demotivating, in some cases people become quite seriously depressed and it can also do bad things to kids – but we have to be more rational and educative about it. At the moment people don’t talk about it, so there’s no social norm on what’s a reasonable amount of marijuana to use.”
“In many cases it’s not the actual drug causing the harm but the laws against the drugs. Marijuana causes very little death and harm, on its own – but the social framework in which marijuana exists creates a violent gang culture, which hurts everyone. It’s not the drug causing the harm, it’s the attempt to stamp out the drug.”