I STRUGGLED to find any redeeming feature about the insidious gateway drug Kronic.
Particularly in a region where cannabis is so sadly prevalent.
After police began putting pressure on dairy owners to stop stocking the synthetic cannabis, its sale has now been suspended by the Government, to allow proper analysis of a
report into the, well, let's call it a "drug".
And a dangerous one at that, given the lack of research into its harmful effect on users. Cynics might say the ban is an election stunt.
Well, not in Northland where we need Kronic the least, and where National needs votes the least, given the huge majorities the party holds in Whangarei and Northland.
Pragmatists will offer the view it is a logical response to a growing community backlash.
The Government's stance was also backed up by the Director-General of Health's warning to retailers to stop selling Kronic Pineapple Express because it contained an anticonvulsant. And an anti-depressant component.
The ban will have a debilitating impact on the importers and wholesalers of Kronic and other synthetic cannabis products.
Sure, a black market could form around Kronic, but can you really see people paying cannabis prices for a Claytons product when they can buy the real thing?
At least with cannabis, users know the health risks and can make a stupid but informed choice. Sadly, if only banning cannabis was as easy as banning Kronic. That horse, unfortunately, bolted off into the bush some time ago, money bags jangling on its flanks.
