Concerns over 'chemical cannabis'
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A widely available "chemical cannabis" is being monitored by the Government after being banned in other countries.
The chemical compound JWH-018, sold as Spice or Dream, was recently banned in Austria and was this week outlawed in Germany after tests showed it affected the brain like THC, the natural psychoactive substance contained in cannabis, but was four times stronger.
Drug agencies in New Zealand are calling for it to be classified as a restricted substance, giving health authorities some control over its sale and promotion.
They say the Government now has the legislation to protect consumers from unspecified and untested chemical substances and should employ it faster.
Drug Foundation director Ross Bell said JWH-018 should be listed as a restricted substance.
New Misuse of Drugs Act regulations meant the Health Minister could place a substance on a restricted list, allowing authorities some control.
Controls included restrictions on things such as its sale at licensed premises, petrol stations and places where children could gather, as well as restricting sales to those aged over 18.
The product must also be clearly labelled as a restricted substance and include contact details for the National Poisons Centre, Bell said.
The ingredients listed on JWH-018 product packaging made it appear "all natural or made of things like pixie dust and fairy tears", he said.
However, its ingredients were unknown, posing a risk to those who took it.
"What is of concern to us is that the industry is behaving in a similar way now as they did with party pills.
"They are selling the product with a list of whatever ingredients they want and there are no controls in place or no health and safety information to protect people buying it."
Ministry of Health spokeswoman Luz Baguioro said it was monitoring JWH-018 products as well as hospital admission data to identify adverse effects.
The ministry commissioned studies on the self-reported adverse effects of non-regulated substances, including JWH-018, which will be finished this year.
Baguioro said the ministry had not seen the international forensic research confirming JWH-018 was the substance responsible for the cannabis-like psychoactive effects.
Internet reports from users of JWH-018 praise its effectiveness, with one saying "everyone who tries it reports near the exact same thing - a very cannabis-like high, more stoney, less psychedelic, munchies, dry mouth, red eye, strong about one to two hours then tapering off over six hours".
A Christchurch woman who tried JWH-018 said it made her slightly nauseous because of its strong scent and taste.
It provided a "buzz" which lasted about an hour and a tingling in the arms and legs.
Campaign Against Drugs on Roads (Candor) spokeswoman Rachael Ford said the chemical cannabis was a big risk because the general toxicity levels were not known.
Ford said Candor wanted a "suitably rapid response" from the Government to clamp down on sales.
She called on the Health Ministry to regulate JWH-018 at the earliest convenience until tests demonstrated it was completely safe.
- © Fairfax NZ News
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What about if they say "This product is not for human consumption" and call it incense instead?
"just ban it!" - yeah right, like that's worked for pot, meth and all the other illegal drugs. No one uses them at all! Prohibition is such a huge success we should just ban everything you don't like. I'm sure the gangs will be happy. Can you please post a list of everything you don't like, and we'll get to work immediately.
Yes, that makes a lot of sense: every single chemical invented for whatever purpose requires authorization for human use...
Are you insane? What would THAT cost us? We simply can't afford it.
Far better to simple legalise everything, and treat drug use as the health issue it is, rather than a legal issue, which it isn't.
If we examined what effects drugs have on people, there's no freaking way alcohol would EVER be made legal, so your approach is so bad, I'm going to classify it as "not even wrong".
We need to accept the fact that humans have been doing drugs since before we developed language, and that humans will continue to use drugs for recreational purposes until the end of time. Legalising drug use actually REDUCES usage. Countries where drugs are legal demonstrate this point precisely - drug use falls significantly.
The drug in question is different only in that it is an alternative to drugs which are currently illegal. They may be dangerous in the long term, or not - we simply don't know until some time has passed. What we CAN say however, is that if Cannabis were legal, then almost no one would waste their time with such stupid chemicals.
The illegal nature of proven safe drugs (like Cannabis) pushes people to obtain untested and untried drugs which may have very bad effects on people.
It's 100% true that the law is an ass.
No health and safety benchmark is applied to decide if a drug becomes illegal, only how socially acceptable the drug is. I have not heard studies on 'spice', but for BZP the study highlighted several health risks with the drug. However these could be applied to a far greater degree with alcohol; namely the ratio of how much requires to get you high/drunk:how much will kill you was less favurable than BZP, the main argument for banning BZP. I have not read any research on 'spice', but the BZP decision, and readers comments make it likely spice may suffer a similarly unjust fate, regardless of health problems
cannabis should not be allowed in this country
Where can i get this from?
Mean. Where do I get some?
Ive tried spice and it didnt do anything apart from give me a bad taste in my mouth. I also have friends who tried it with me and it didnt do anything for them either,so saying "everyone who tries it reports near the exact same thing" is untrue.
Perhaps they should have to label the ingredients of things so people can make an informed choice rather than just banning everything. If people dont like spice when they try it they dont have to have it ever again.
I think we should stop treating everyone like children and let them learn for themselves,they will never be able to if they dont get a chance.
Is JWH-018 the chemical that is released when the plants in Spice are burned, or is it added?
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Alcohol is known to be the root of a lot of health problems and is unfairly blamed for violence often, personally I don't understand how they can re-classify THC before conclusive evidence is found that it is a greater risk than alcohol to public health, not to mention alcohol and tobacco should be judged equally and the law's wrath equally imparted upon these acceptable drugs/intoxicants. There must also be the distinction made in cases of mental harm, between abuse of a chemical (alcohol is a chemical too don't forget) and casual use of a chemical.
There is clearly a market for those who don't wish to get drunk, but do want to enjoy a chemically induced intoxication in whatever various forms that might come in, why are we not looking to use our science to cater for these people 'safely'? Too many knee-jerk reactions and media spin are leading us astray, not to mention any documentaries tend to only show the darker underbelly of the so-called "problem", rather than showing the decent folk, those who smoke cannibis and similar chemicals to help manage pain because their prescriptions aren't effective enough for example - who's thinking about the bigger picture?