Scientists in dark on Kronic's ill effects

Photo / APN

A top Government scientist says there is an "appalling" lack of information about synthetic cannabis products - but tests so far do not indicate serious mental or physical health risks.

Products such as Kronic which are available in dairies throughout New Zealand contain chemicals that closely mimic the effects of cannabis.

Tests by the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) have detected a dozen different active chemicals in Kronic, most of which are described by ESR forensic general manager Keith Bedford as experimental and poorly researched.

"But I think although there's an appalling lack of information on the risks and toxicity of these new substances, every indication seems to be that they are not a high or even medium level of risk - there's a low level of risk."

Dr Bedford said he backed the Government's moves to make "legal weed" products restricted substances instead of banning them outright.

He said a "moral panic" was fuelling attitudes to ban the products instead of restricting them.

A legislative amendment expected to be passed next year will clamp down on where the products can be sold and advertised and force distributors to state on packaging what substances they contain.

While banning is the traditional approach to drugs classed as dangerous, a regulatory "no-man's-land" exists around substances which do not clearly pose a "medium" level of risk, Dr Bedford said.

"I know that harm minimisation has got a mixed press in some cases, but there's a lot to be said for trying to manage and contain the situation rather than almost a knee-jerk reaction of banning without the evidence to back that up," Dr Bedford said.

Banning the products would also prove difficult for authorities faced with the myriad synthetic substances involved.

"You're trying to describe a group of chemicals which, in some cases, are quite different from each other and from THC, the active ingredient in cannabis.

Dr Bedford's comments follow a number of anecdotal reports that using Kronic can lead to long-lasting and heightened negative emotions and send heart rates soaring.

A Herald investigation showed that buying synthetic cannabis was as easy as buying an icecream for under-18s.

This week, a father whose son was admitted twice to mental health facilities after heavy Kronic use called for the products to be outlawed and encouraged parents to boycott dairies that sell them in the meantime.

And Dr Tim Kerruish, clinical leader of Dunedin Hospital's emergency department, told the Otago Daily Times how some users had suffered anxiety, increased heart rates and, in one case, a seizure as a result of smoking the product.

Dr Bedford acknowledged reports of "extreme reactions" but said these left open questions as to the amount consumed and whether it had been combined with other drugs.

"Anecdotal reports are of interest but they have to be treated with a great deal of caution. It's not evidence from a controlled trial.

"I'm not dismissing the reports, but at this stage there's no evidence of severe reaction."