The National Poisons Centre said two people in the Bay of Plenty, two in Christchurch and one in Nelson had been hospitalised with acute kidney injuries.
Bay health professionals have reported young people experiencing psychotic episodes after using the drugs.
As this paper has stated before, given the harmful side effects associated with this legal high, something had to be done.
The makers of these herbal highs have proven to be adaptable when it comes to adjusting to bans on particular substances. They can change ingredients to skirt around legislation.
The good news is that they are unlikely to be able to skirt around a new regime, which will require makers to prove their products are safe before they can be put on the market.
A parliamentary committee opened hearings yesterday on a bill that would shift the onus of proof on to anyone selling psychoactive substances to prove that their products are safe.
If passed, the bill is expected to become law in August.
The Health Ministry has estimated that the array of testing of a product to fulfil the onus of safety could cost the manufacturer about $1 million to $2 million, and each clinical trial could take up to two years.
Hopefully this will limit the supply of these awful products by making the whole enterprise unprofitable for those who manufacture them.
The police crackdown may also make shops reconsider whether they should be selling synthetic cannabis.
