Synthetic cannabis alert after deaths

Police have issued a stark warning after the deaths of at least seven synthetic cannabis users in Auckland over the past month.

‘‘If we don’t do something about this, further people are going to die,’’ Detective Inspector Gary Lendrum said at a press conference yesterday.

‘‘We’ve got reports of 13-year-olds right through to 64-year-olds using this product, so it’s right across New Zealand, and right across society.’’

Lendrum said synthetic cannabis had been a problem for some time, but there had been a sudden unexplained spike in recent months.

‘‘There is clear evidence that it’s being distributed by gangs. Where it’s being manufactured, and how, is less clear,’’ he said.

The deaths were confirmed in a joint statement released yesterday that included a further warning from Chief Coroner Judge Deborah Marshall.

‘‘I’ve also been advised by St John that there have been a significant number of non-fatal cases where people have been hospitalised after using the drug, which is known to cause potentially fatal seizures,’’ she said.

‘‘While the police and coronial investigations are still at an early stage, and the final causes of death have yet to be established, the number of cases where synthetic cannabis appear to have been a contributing factor has prompted me to issue this public warning.’’

Lendrum urged users of synthetic cannabis to stop immediately, and also called on their family members to intervene.

Synthetic cannabis can be much stronger than organic cannabis, and is an illegal substance in New Zealand.

Legal highs were permitted here until May 2014, when they were banned unless they could pass a strict testing regime to show they were safe.