Wednesday, November 28, 2012 • Marino Harker-Smith
FOREST workers are still turning to “legal highs” to get around workplace drug testing.
Synthetic cannabis products such as K2 are not detectable in initial drug tests but New Zealand Forest Owners Association health, safety and training committee chairman Sheldon Drummond says it is only a matter of time.
While some substances might not show up in the immediate test, it can still be detected through laboratory examinations.
“It is an ever-changing space because the drug lords keep changing what they are selling to get around testing, but testing is also adapting to include these new substances. People are going to get caught eventually.”
The forest sector is becoming renowned for its rigorous drug-free stance, with compulsory drug testing. Records show a downward trend in drug use among the workforce Mr Drummond says.
But in the wider community, drug use is getting worse, with more pre-employment tests coming back positive.
“The community has a real problem that needs to be addressed— not just on the East Coast but nationally. There are so many kids out there taking ecstasy and God-knows-what and it is so bad.”
K2 is the latest synthetic cannabis product to be banned under the Government’s Temporary Class Drug Notices and will take effect from December 6.
It joins other synthetic cannabis products such as Kronik and Spice, which were added to the ban earlier this year.
Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne announced the ban this week after a chemical known as EAM-2201 was detected in two K2 products seized by police from a retail outlet.
The Health Ministry considers EAM-2201 to pose a risk at least comparable to other already-banned synthetic cannabis substances. The product has been causing concern in the lower South Island, where it has been linked to elevated heart rate, vomiting, anxiety and psychosis.
The Herald is aware of one shop in Gisborne selling K2.
A Gisborne man says he knows a few people who smoke K2 instead of weed because it does not show up in the drug test.
There would not be a market for synthetic cannabis if the Government decriminalised marijuana, at least for people over 18, he says.
Mr Dunne says the latest ban means 32 ingredient substances have now been banned under the Temporary Class Drug Notices, which has led to more than 50 products removed from the market.
“This is clearly not a product we want in the market place. The fact that it is on the market tells you that we have an industry that does not give a damn about the safety of its customers.”
A permanent psychoactive substances regime will be in place by the middle of next year, reversing the onus of proof so manufacturers and distributors will have to prove their products are safe before they can sell them, said Mr Dunne.
Products that pass testing will still have age and other restrictions applied.
“The regime will fix this industry once and for all, and make it comply with proper standards.
“K2 is just another example of why you cannot trust these people to self-regulate and conduct themselves responsibly.”