'Crap' off shelves

NO REFUND: Reti Boynton, co-organiser of last week's anti-synthetic drug march in Kaitaia, brandishing the 'legal high' he said he bought at a main shop.

A small but noisy protest against the sale of 'legal highs' in Kaitaia on Thursday morning achieved its immediate purpose, unbeknownst to the protesters.

The hikoi paused outside the main street tobacconist shop owned by Jujnovich Holdings Ltd, calling for a boycott of the business until it stopped selling synthetic drugs.

Shop manager Raymond Jujnovich agreed with one of his customers, that the protesters should have been harassing local bottle stores given his view that alcohol did more damage than any other drug, while Kaitaia's numerous 'tinnie' houses, where cannabis was available for purchase, would also have made worthy targets. But while he was making no apologies for having sold 'legal highs,' he would no longer be doing so.

"I've just stopped selling it," Mr Jujnovich said, adding that he had never advertised the drugs, and had only begun stocking them because customers had asked for them.

He noted that it was legal to sell the drugs to anyone over the age of 18, while the people who had bought them were by no means young.

"They are adults," he said.

"They are old enough to decide for themselves how they want to spend their money."

Protester Hilda Halkyard-Harawira said while it was legal to sell synthetic drugs to those over 18, they were "no good for anyone." It was suspected that two other Kaitaia businesses were selling the drugs, but that had yet to be confirmed.

Another speaker described selling synthetic drugs as "just another form of Maori genocide,'' while Far North District Council candidate John Tahana accused the government of displaying a blatant double standard.

"They changed the law so you can't get a job if you've got drugs in your system, then they legalise the drugs,'' he said.

"How is that going to help anyone get a job?''

Reti Boynton called for a total boycott of the shop.

"Don't buy cigarettes there. Don't buy chewing gum there. Don't buy souvenirs there. Don't even have a game of pool there, until they take this crap off their shelves,'' he said.

He then asked for a refund of the $20 he had spent on a packet of the synthetic drug Illusion, to prove that it was available there.

"I've finished with this now and I want my money back,'' he said, adding that
"It's all about the money, isn't it,'' when he received no response.