All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Editorial: Ban legal highs from our town

Kelly Makiha
By Kelly Makiha
Multimedia Journalist·Rotorua Daily Post·
8 Jul, 2013 09:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Come next week, the rules around buying synthetic cannabis are likely to be much tougher.

The Psychoactive Substances Bill will have its third and final reading on Thursday and when it comes into force a week later it will be illegal to sell synthetic products in dairies and non-specialist shops.

Our local MP Todd McClay, who is the new Associate Health Minister, has taken over responsibility for the Bill and has trumpeted the importance of taking the issue seriously.

The Bill places strict prohibitions on the sale to under 18-year-olds and businesses will have to apply for a licence to sell the stuff. Plus, manufacturers will have to prove their products do not have harmful effects, Mr McClay said "These drugs are causing considerable concern to parents and increasing levels of harm to those who take them". Damn straight.

The Bill sounds well and good but it doesn't go far enough.

All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Sure, it won't be available in the likes of dairies anymore but addicts will still be able to pop down to a licensed store and buy it.

What really needs to happen if we are to really make a change is do what Putaruru has done this week.

As of yesterday, the Waikato town is legal high-free.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The community has taken a stand and no outlet will be selling the legal drugs.

More than a decade ago in Rotorua, local chemists took similar action after a spate of aggravated robberies and burglaries by those linked to P cooks who wanted to get their hands on pseudoephedrine products. The result was banning the products completely.

It was worth it for our community. It would be nice to see Rotorua convince its local legal high stockists they can make money other ways.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Premium
Rotorua Daily Post
|Updated

'Hiding from the council': Rotorua's secret pod shelter for homeless

Rotorua Daily Post

'Huge relief': Owner successfully appeals Dolly's 'dangerous dog' classification

Rotorua Daily Post

Small town's mayor says campus closure would condemn locals to poverty


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Recommended for you

'Huge relief': Owner successfully appeals Dolly's 'dangerous dog' classification
Rotorua Daily Post

'Huge relief': Owner successfully appeals Dolly's 'dangerous dog' classification

One month of new $824m highway: No crashes, no potholes, no complaints
Hawkes Bay Today

One month of new $824m highway: No crashes, no potholes, no complaints

French PM proposes cutting national holidays to cut debt
World

French PM proposes cutting national holidays to cut debt

Motorcyclist dies after crash with car in Hamilton
Waikato Herald

Motorcyclist dies after crash with car in Hamilton

Trump denies urging Ukraine to target Moscow, opposes missile supply
World

Trump denies urging Ukraine to target Moscow, opposes missile supply

John Torode sacked from MasterChef over upheld racism complaint
Entertainment

John Torode sacked from MasterChef over upheld racism complaint



Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Premium
Premium
'Hiding from the council': Rotorua's secret pod shelter for homeless
Rotorua Daily Post
|Updated

'Hiding from the council': Rotorua's secret pod shelter for homeless

The council says that like all accommodation, the Village of Hope needs consent.

15 Jul 09:20 PM
'Huge relief': Owner successfully appeals Dolly's 'dangerous dog' classification
Rotorua Daily Post

'Huge relief': Owner successfully appeals Dolly's 'dangerous dog' classification

15 Jul 09:00 PM
Small town's mayor says campus closure would condemn locals to poverty
Rotorua Daily Post

Small town's mayor says campus closure would condemn locals to poverty

15 Jul 06:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search