Search

Background: Few countries have developed detailed legislative proposals for legalizing cannabis. New Zealand recently released the Cannabis Legalization and Control Bill (CLCB) that will be the subject of a referendum in September 2020. Aims: To assess the CLCB, drawing on emerging evidence from cannabis legalization overseas, public health research on alcohol and tobacco and the attempt to establish a regulated market for 'legal highs' in New Zealand. Discussion: The CLCB proposes a strictly regulated commercial cannabis market that resembles the Canadian approach, but notably without on‐line sales or regional heterogeneity in retail distribution. The objective of the CLCB of lowering cannabis use over time appears at odds with the largely commercial cannabis sector that will focus on expanding sales. The CLCB includes provision for home cultivation and social benefit operators, but it is not clear what priority these operators will receive. A potency cap of 15% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) for cannabis plants is included, and this is at the high end of black‐market cannabis. The proposed progressive product tax based on THC will be challenging to implement. There is no formal minimum price, but rather discretionary powers to raise the excise if the price drops too much. The CLCB includes a comprehensive ban on advertising, but non‐conventional on‐line promotion will be difficult to suppress. The central government cannabis authority is tasked with developing local retail outlet policies. We caution against the temptation to employ an interim regulatory regime following a positive referendum result, because a partially regulated market will expose users to health risks and undermine public support. Conclusions: New Zealand's Cannabis Legalization and Control Bill's objective of reducing cannabis use via a commercial market will be challenging to achieve. The bill could be strengthened with formal minimum pricing, lower potency cap and greater clarity concerning social benefit operators and the role of local government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors discuss the failure of a referendum to legalize cannabis in New Zealand in 2020. They state that there were questions on if the Cannabis Legalization and Control Bill (CLCB) would have been able to reduce cannabis use over time through a commercial market and question if the referendum's defeat was due to concerns about cannabis legalization in general or about concerns about the CLCB. They comment on how the black market can pressure legal competition to lower prices.

Background: Some commentators have suggested legal highs (LH) might reduce existing illegal drug use and contribute to lower drug-related harm. However, no studies have specifically investigated substitution between LH and other drugs.Aims: To explore the extent to which police detainees substitute LH for illegal drugs.Method: A total of 848 detainees at four central police stations were interviewed about their drug and LH use. Detainees were asked what impact their LH use had on their other drug use (i.e., 'no change', 'more', 'less' or 'stopped'). The detainees were placed into four groups: (i) no LH use; (ii) LH use and 'no change' in drug use; (iii) LH use and 'more' drug use; (iv) LH use and 'less' or 'stopped' drug use. Demographics and levels of drug use in the past month were compared between groups.Results: Ninety-six percent of the LH using detainees had used synthetic cannabinoids (SC), and, of those who reported substituting a drug, 94% had substituted (natural) cannabis. Overall, 54% of the detainee sample had not used SC, 34% had used SC but not changed their cannabis use, 9% had used SC and used 'less' or 'stopped' cannabis use, and 3% had used SC and used 'more' cannabis. The SC users were more likely to have recently been in drug treatment. All those who used SC had higher cannabis consumption regardless of substitution behaviour. The SC users who used 'more' cannabis also used more methamphetamine and ecstasy.Conclusion: Twenty percent of those who used SC and cannabis reported reducing or stopping their cannabis use while 6% increased their cannabis use, suggesting a modest overall reduction in cannabis use. Further research is required to quantify the magnitude of substitution changes, the impact on drug-related harm, and extent to which substitution occurs for other LH and other populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Legal highs containing benzylpiperazine (BZP) were widely sold in New Zealand until BZP was prohibited in 2008. We examined the impact the prohibition had on the availability and price of BZP over following years. Methods Two national population surveys of BZP use were conducted in 2006 and 2009. Four annual targeted surveys of frequent drug users (FDU) were conducted from 2007–2010. Availability and price measures were obtained. Inflation-adjusted real retail prices were calculated. Other drug markets were monitored as quasi-controls. Results The proportion of BZP users from the general population who considered the availability of BZP to be ‘very easy’ declined from 76% in 2006 to 21% in 2009. The proportion who thought BZP had become ‘harder’ to obtain increased from 5% in 2006 to 71% in 2009. The proportion who reported the price of BZP was ‘higher’ increased from 27% in 2006 to 51% in 2009. FDU who considered the availability of BZP to be ‘very easy’ declined from 98% in 2007 to 15% in 2008, and then increased to 42% by 2010. The real retail price of a BZP tablet increased from $9.86 in 2007 to $15.83 in 2010. The proportion who considered the price of BZP to be ‘increasing’ rose from 3% in 2007 to 47% in 2010. Conclusions The availability of BZP declined immediately following its prohibition. Availability recovered in subsequent years, but not to the pre-prohibition legal level. The price of BZP increased slowly over a number of years following the prohibition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and Aims. A large legal market for party pills containing benzylpiperazine (BZP) and trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine (TFMPP) developed in New Zealand after 2004. The use of these party pills has been associated with adverse health effects. The purpose of this paper was to assess a general population sample of party pill users to investigate the relationship between (1) patterns of use of BZP/TFMPP party pills and concurrent use of other drug types, and (2) adverse side effects from BZP/TFMPP party pill use. Design. A national household survey of the use of BZP/TFMPP party pills was conducted using a computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) facility. The quantity of BZP and TFMPP in each brand of party pill was obtained from the National Poisons Centre. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors of having experienced adverse side effects from party pills. Results. The mean quantity of BZP/TFMPP taken on an occasion of greatest use was 533 mg (median 400 mg, range 43 - 2500 mg). Being female, using cannabis and other drugs concurrently with BZP/TFMPP party pills, taking large quantities of party pills in a single session and taking 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) recovery pills at the same time as party pills were independent predictors of having experienced an adverse problem from party pills. Conclusions. Females may be at greater risk of experiencing problems from BZP/TFMPP party pills due to their smaller physical size. Taking 5-HTP 'recovery' pills with party pills may increase the risk of adverse effects as both substances increase users' levels of serotonin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug use imposes a range of health and social costs on New Zealand society. Measures of the availability of drugs are important for understanding levels of drug use and changes in drug use over time. Policy makers can directly affect levels of drug availability through a range of policy tools, including age restrictions, vendor regulation, varying levels of enforcement, and changing the legal classification of drug types. This paper presents population-level data on the current availability, and recent change in availability, of the 11 most commonly used drug types in New Zealand. Alcohol, tobacco and BZP/TFMPP party pills (i.e. the legally available drugs) were found to be by far the easiest drug types to obtain. Cannabis was the most easily available illegal drug, although it was much less available than the legal drugs. Cannabis was assessed by last-year users to be relatively more difficult to obtain in 2006 compared to 1998, 2001 and 2003. Amphetamine was also assessed to be relatively more difficult to obtain in 2006 compared to 2001. The decline in the availability of amphetamine occurred during a period after 2001 of sustained focus by drug enforcement agencies on disrupting clandestine methamphetamine manufacture and supply. A fall in the availability of nitrous oxide in 2006 followed a tightening of the rules concerning its sale by the Ministry of Health. Our findings suggest that policy makers can negatively affect the availability of a drug and, in turn, its level of use, with effective policy interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this Harm Reduction Digest Sheridan, Butler, Wilkins and Russell address the emergent phenomenon of so-called 'legal party pills' which have become a significant drug issue in New Zealand and elsewhere. Although banned in a number of countries, they are currently legally available in New Zealand where they are marketed as 'safe' alternatives' to 'illicit' drugs often used in the dance scene such as MDMA and amphetamines. The authors describe the availability and use of these substances in New Zealand, summarize what is known about their effects, and speculate on harm reduction interventions and mechanisms of control and their possible sequelae. The paper provides a timely account of an emerging drug issue of relevance to harm reduction internationally. Simon Lenton Editor, Harm Reduction Digest [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: New Zealand has a number of unusual geographical features that may influence the price of illegal drugs including international isolation, numerous rural communities, and two separate islands (North and South Islands).Aims: (1) Collect data on the prices of different drug types from all regions of New Zealand; (2) Identify independent predictors of the reported prices.Method: An online drug survey was promoted via a targeted Facebook™ campaign. A total of 6331 respondents completed the survey. Normal regression models were constructed to identify predictors of the reported price of an ounce of cannabis, gram of methamphetamine, pill of ecstasy and tab of LSD using demographics, drug use frequency, drug market indicators, region, community size, type of seller, and location of purchase as predictor variables.Results: Higher availability was a predicator of lower prices for cannabis (-3% per higher availability category), methamphetamine (-4%) and ecstasy (-5%). Those living in the North Island (-26%) and buying from gangs (-5%) paid lower prices for methamphetamine. Those living in rural communities reported higher prices for methamphetamine (+5%) but lower prices for cannabis (-3%). Daily cannabis users (+4%) and those on social welfare (+2%) paid higher prices for cannabis.Conclusion: Lower prices for methamphetamine in the North Island may reflect the concentration of methamphetamine manufacture there. The fact that gangs offer lower prices for methamphetamine suggests they do not have monopoly control of this market. Gangs may be able to offer lower prices for methamphetamine due to scale of production/trafficking and lower risk of victimisation. Higher prices for methamphetamine in rural areas may reflect less competitive markets. Lower prices for cannabis in rural communities may be due to proximity to growing locations. Daily cannabis users and those on social welfare may be less able to delay their cannabis purchases to low price harvest months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and Aims: New Zealand is considered to have unusual drug use patterns by international standards. However, this understanding has largely been obtained from social surveys where respondents self-report use. The aim of this paper is to conduct the first wastewater study of drug use in Auckland.Design and Methods: Wastewater sampling was completed from 2 May to 18 July 2014 at 2 Auckland wastewater treatment plants which service 1.3 million people. Samples were analysed for 17 drug residues by using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Consumption of methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), cocaine, codeine and methadone (mg/day/1000 people) was estimated by using a back-calculation formula.Results: Methamphetamine, codeine, morphine and methadone were detected with high frequency (80-100%), followed by amphetamine (~60%), MDMA (~7%, i.e. 8 occasions) and methylone (3 occasions). An overall mean of 360 mg of methamphetamine and 60 mg of MDMA was estimated to have been consumed per day per 1000 people. Methamphetamine consumption was found at similar levels in both catchments (377 and 351 mg/day/1000 people). Cocaine was only detected in 1 catchment and on only 8 occasions. JWH-018 was detected in 1 catchment and only on 1 occasion. Methamphetamine, codeine and other opioids were detected at a consistent level throughout the week. 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine and methylone were detected only during the weekends.Conclusions: Wastewater analysis confirms that methamphetamine was one of the most commonly detected illegal drugs in Auckland and was detected consistently throughout the week. In contrast, cocaine and MDMA were rarely detected, with detection limited to weekends. [Lai FY, Wilkins C, Thai P, Mueller JF. An exploratory wastewater analysis study of drug use in Auckland, New Zealand. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017;00:000-000]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]