A lethal drug with the street name "Zombie" is surfacing in the Napier CBD.
Commonly known as "synthetic" or "synnies", police told Hawke's Bay Today it was classed as a "lethal drug" due to the potent additive AMB-Fubinaca.
AMB causes synthetics to be 85 times more potent than cannabis and the effects can be fatal.
District prevention manager Inspector Dean Clifford said police are working hard to stop the presence of the drug in the Hawke's Bay community.
"The biggest concern is that AMB has been linked to a number of deaths. It's a known additive that's been used around the country," Clifford said.
"We've heard about a lot of other additions including rat poison and horse tranquiliser, but it's very hard to test for those things, we're focusing on AMB because that's the most potent chemical."
Clifford said police are working hard to target sellers and getting the users to stop.
"Hawke's Bay in the legal high days had a significant problem, but this is not a legal high.
"There's a perception that it's still an alternative to cannabis. It's not.
"The current material used is so much more potent and has a lot more harmful effects.
"It's not synthetic cannabis. It's a synthetic drug and the consequences are so much higher."
Although the drug was in sporadic use around Hawke's Bay, police were noticing a significant presence in the Napier area, particularly in the CBD.
"It's present in the homeless community in particular within Napier, people who are vulnerable to mental distress are impacted severely and of course some of our lower income families are dealing with this as well.
"It causes a lot of concern with the families and the community because people who are intoxicated are visible, and it creates anxiety and concern within the business communities."
Despite making progress with search warrants and arrests, Clifford said the drug issue was a persistent challenge.
"This is where we want the public to help. We want information around selling, that's what we are most interested in. We obviously want people to get help, we've been giving out pamphlets and medical information to those found using these drugs."
While police were asking users to seek help, they were also researching why people were taking the drug to seek out methods to help them stop and reduce the market for it.
While some of the drugs were being manufactured in Hawke's Bay, Clifford said they were also imported.
"The danger with these drugs is you don't know what you're getting.
"It's not synthetic cannabis, it's a drug in its own right with unknown consequences.
"The users are putting themselves and others in danger of using it, but we want to target suppliers and put a stop to it."