Swift move to ban legal highs

Napier City councillors are keen to contain the sale of psychoactive substances.

A Napier City Council draft "psychoactive substances" policy aimed at limiting sales to the Napier CBD has been adopted for urgent public consultation, with the council expressing disgust it has to consider allowing them to be sold.

Mayor Barbara Arnott, at her last full-council meeting before ending 12 years in the job, said it was important the policy was adopted before the issue of regulations under the national Psychoactive Substances Act, which was implemented in July.

While the act allows the substances to be sold under licences unless they are individually banned, the council decided one thing it could do was stop them being sold in suburban stores.

The council draft restricts points of sale to the Inner City Commercial Zone, mainly within Dickens, Hastings and Dalton streets and Clive Square East.

"We are attempting to contain the use and monitoring of these legal but unsafe substances to areas where harm can be minimised," Mrs Arnott said.

Cr Keith Price, a former drugs squad detective, said the council had to make it as hard as possible for anyone to sell the substances anywhere.

Cr Maxine Boag, who had helped lead the group Tu Tangata Maraenui in a campaign against the suburban sales, said: "These substances shouldn't be allowed to be sold at all".

The move seeks to control the sale and distribution of the substances, commonly known as legal highs or synthetic cannabis, or such trade names as Kronic and K2, but the mayor and the 12 at her table were clear they didn't want the substances in their community at all.

A copy of the draft, along with a view of the restricted zone, is available at the website www.napier.govt.nz, and the mayor urged councillors and the public to make sure everyone's views were heard.

Cr Mark Herbert spoke emotionally of wanting the substances out of Napier, referring to his experience of witnessing a person's battle with P and regarding the legalised substances as every bit as bad.

His colleague, Cr Michelle Pyke told the council shortly before coming to the meeting she'd been involved in having a person taken into mental health care because of the effects of the substance abuse.

The draft was adopted by the Napier City Council yesterday, and public submissions are open until October 28.