A hikoi is being held in Kaitaia tomorrow to protest the ongoing sale of synthetic cannabis in the Far North town.
The march will leave the Mana Party office on North Rd at 10am and make its way down Commerce St for a picket outside a tobacconist selling synthetic drugs. The marchers will then continue through town, ending their hikoi at the park opposite the clock tower.
It is being organised by Reti Boynton and Lisa Popata, who hope the hikoi will raise awareness of the drugs' dangers, increase pressure for a total ban, and embarrass shopkeepers who continue to sell "death trash" to Far North families.
Although the newly-passed Psychoactive Substances Act forced the synthetic drug K2 off the shelves in July, Mr Boynton said the manufacturers simply changed the name, tweaked the chemical formula and started selling it again. The drug now went under names such as Insomnia and Illusion, selling for $20 a packet.
Under the new law manufacturers are required to prove their products are safe, list active ingredients on the label and provide a health warning. It also bars dairies and other nonspecialist shops from selling legal highs and bans the sale to, and consumption by, people under 18.
Mr Boynton knew of one tobacconist selling synthetic cannabis in Kaitaia and was checking out rumours of other outlets. Former retailers claimed to have destroyed their stock or put it into storage, but he would keeping an eye on them to make sure it did not end up back on the shelves.
He contrasted the law's treatment of a natural drug, cannabis, with drugs made in a chemical lab.
"We're pretty annoyed that people can be arrested for having cannabis but not for having this stuff, which is 20 times worse," Mr Boynton said.
Although the hikoi was organised by Mana members it was not a political event.
"At the end of the day it's killing our community, so we need the community's backing."
They would also be collecting signatures for a petition calling for a ban on synthetic drugs.