Synthetic drugs seized by police last year. Photo / Supplied
Synthetic drugs seized by police last year. Photo / Supplied
Hawke's Bay police are targeting the suppliers and manufacturers of Maraenui's synthetic cannabis scourge.
District prevention manager Inspector Dean Clifford said although it was occurring nationally, "it has been a "long-standing issue" for parts of Napier, since it was a legal high.
"Certainly, the impacts are a lot more visible than it has been in the past.
"We know that it has links to the gang culture in terms of the supply, so we want to focus on those dealers and those locations that are dealing to people that are addicted.
"There have been a number of prosecutions and warrants, and we are going to continue with that focus; it's certainly not something we are going to turn our vision away from."
Clifford said the notion that there was currently a "bad batch" is incorrect.
"That infers that there is a good batch and there isn't. It is a very dangerous drug that we don't know at any given time the impact it could have, so people should stay well clear of it."
He said there is a variety of substances that are either imported or used locally.
Inspector Dean Clifford. Photo / File
"It varies from place to place depending on whose making it and it is completely unregulated."
Hawke's Bay District Health Board general manager Māori Health Patrick le Geyt said looking at the data, presentations of methamphetamine "far outweigh" that of synthetic cannabis.
"That is not to say synthetic cannabis is not prevalent in communities, it's just those people impacted by that are not showing up to hospital."
He said it is not about the DHB "having the answers", but rather meeting with community leaders and working in partnership.
A Hawke's Bay District Health Board spokesperson said one thing being considered is an outreach clinic, but they need to "understand if the community would welcome and support that, or if there are other options".
Plant material containing the synthetic cannabinoid AMB-FUBINACA, with microscopic image showing visible crystals. Photo / Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited (ESR)
Napier Mayor Bill Dalton said: "Sadly there is no easy answer to this problem.
"There will always be people who are prepared to ruin their health by using and abusing chemicals.
"When we got rid of them from our CBD, we knew they wouldn't go away. But at least we managed to clean up the CBD and allow our retailers to get on with their business."
Provisional national figures from the coroner show between 40 and 45 people died in the year since last June, significantly higher than the previous five years where there were two confirmed deaths.
