Refuge predicts 'awful' times

Women's Refuge Manager Angela Warren-Clark is preparing for huge influx of people due to synthetic cannabis ban.

It's "batten down the hatches" at Tauranga Women's Refuge as staff prepare for synthetic cannabis to be removed from shelves.

Refuge manager Angela Warren-Clark spoke to the Bay of Plenty Times about how the centre was expecting an influx of women and children as partners experienced withdrawal symptoms when all legal highs were removed from sale in the next fortnight.

"It's batten down the hatches here as their partners come off synthetics. We've had a lot of women report that the violence is really intense and unpredictable when partners have been on synthetics, and they certainly experience the come-down as being a really awful time for them."

Ms Warren-Clark said the refuge supported removing synthetic drugs from sale because in its experience legal did not equal safe.

"There have been no positives come out of the use of synthetics. A lot of women have talked about their partners changing from marijuana to a legal high and thinking that was the right thing to do for their family, getting away from illegal substances so they won't be failing a drugs test at work."

Synthetic cannabis was not the cause of violence, Ms Warren-Clark said, as that was just making an excuse for the behaviour. Continuing to use a substance that made a person violent was a choice.

"But what's happening is these men are awful to be around, horrible, violent and unpredictable.

"Most of the women who live with domestic violence learn ways to manage their partner's violence and keep him calm but when these guys are using that stuff, it's very similar to P and the come-down is awful."

A lot of women had been coming to the refuge for advice and support since the impending ban was announced.

Ms Warren-Clark said her clients had spoken of their partners' withdrawal symptoms lasting about two weeks, including diarrhoea, vomiting, sweats, grinding of the teeth and feeling anxious.

"They're the sorts of things we equate with coming off hard drugs. We've been noticing it has been slowly taking over the problems we've been having with methamphetamine. Certainly we still have meth use but on a day-to-day basis we hear of the partners using synthetics."

While some users may be stockpiling the drugs, Ms Warren-Clark believed many would not be able to afford to do so and a large proportion of the using population would be suffering withdrawals at the same time.

As a crisis centre, there was not much the refuge could do before trouble struck, but Ms Warren-Clark said whether at home or in the safe house, the women and their children would be looked after. "We will work as hard as possible to keep these people safe."