Govt set to target synthetics

The Government has moved to crack down on synthetic cannabis dealers, and give police more discretionary powers to keep drug-users away from the courts.

However, the changes go far beyond the remit of synthetics, with police being encouraged to take a health-based approach to users of all drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin and cannabis. It’s a move that has drawn criticism from National, which has accused the Government of moving towards the decriminalisation of drugs ‘‘without thinking the policy through or allowing for a proper debate’’.

The two main forms of synthetic cannabis have been given Class A drug status, while a new category of class C1 has also been created to account for new drugs as they come onto the market.

This means dealing a Class A drug comes with tougher sentencing penalties – up to life in prison, and dealers flogging new as-yet uncategorised scientific compounds will no longer be able to escape charges because of a gap in the law. Police would also be given more search and seizure powers to target synthetics dealers.

In a joint announcement, Police Minister Stuart Nash and Health Minister David Clark said the Government would amend the Misuse of Drugs Act, to say police should use discretion and not prosecute for possession and personal use, ‘‘where a therapeutic approach would be more beneficial, or there is no public interest in a prosecution’’.

Provisional coroner’s figures showed 52 people had died from synthetics this year.

The Government allocated $16.6 million to boost community addiction treatment services, and to provide emergency ‘‘surge’’ responses, when there is a spate of overdoses or deaths.

‘‘To be clear, this is not the full decriminalisation of drugs recommended by the Mental Health and Addiction Inquiry. These are immediate steps we can take in response to the challenge we face with synthetics. We are considering the Inquiry’s recommendations separately,’’ Clark said.

Clark said it had been a technically involved and detailed process to get this far.

National Party leader Simon Bridges said his party supported the tougher sentencing but the Government had taken a major step towards the decriminalisation of drugs.

Provisional coroner’s figures showed 52 people had died from synthetics this year.