Matters of Substance Story updates

This new regular feature will keep readers updated on previous stories.

February 2007

Pain, pot and politics

• The first reading of the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill, sponsored by MP Metiria Turei, due to be debated this month, is likely to be postponed, once more, until votes sending it to the Health Committee are secured.
• Medsafe has produced guidelines for doctors applying for approval to use the cannabis based pain-relief medicine Sativex [links to MS-Word doc].
• In the US, Sativex developer GW Pharma is testing the drug with cancer patients. It expects to receive approval in 2011.

Calling time on self interest

• Two members' bills on alcohol advertising are languishing on Parliament's Order Paper. It's not known when they'll be debated.
• Meanwhile, the government is expected to introduce its own bill in response to recommendations by the 2007 review of alcohol advertising regulations.

Drinking for two

• Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder will have greater prominence in the new National Alcohol Strategy; a specific FASD action plan is currently being developed [links to MS-Word doc].

May 2007

The poppy problem

• Afghanistan's opium production has hit record levels for the second year running and shows no sign of slowing. Land devoted to poppy cultivation increased from 165,000ha in 2006 to 193,000ha in 2007. White House drug czar John Walters called the news "disappointing", while William B Wood, the American ambassador to Afghanistan, said, "I think it is safe to say that we should be looking for a new strategy."

Culture and addictions

• The Aussie-Kiwi combined addiction treatment conference, Two Nations, Ten Cultures? was a huge success, with a record 738 delegates, nearly 300 papers across 17 streams, over 100 posters, 10 workshops and 20 lunchtime meetings.
• The conference also received significant media attention, including a cover story in the New Zealand Herald. The 2008 Cutting Edge conference will be held 4-6 September in Christchurch.

America's methidemic

• The Montana Meth Project's award winning television advertisements have been selected by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to be included in a new national meth prevention campaign.

New chief on the block

• ALAC Chief Executive Gerard Vaughan has appointed two new senior staff to lead the agency's operational and research work, which will be guided by a new five-year strategic plan launched last December. Andrew Hearn, formally Deputy Chief Executive of the Department of Building and Housing, is the new Strategy and Research Manager, and Tuari Potiki, previously ALAC's Southern Region Manager, has been appointed Manager of Strategic Operations.

August 2007

Rehabilitating our criminal justice system

• Ombudsman Mel Smith has called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into criminal justice to get "constructive and clear headed public debate about the issues confronting justice".
• The National Health Committee is carrying out consultation as part of a review of the health of prisoners and their families.
• New Corrections Minister Phil Goff introduced the Corrections Amendment Bill, which he says will further assist prisons' crackdown on drug use, saying, "In 1998, more than a third of inmates tested positive for drug use. Today, that figure is down to 13 percent. This bill should ensure a further decline in drug use." The bill also allows an exemption for the use of communion wine in church services.

05 will save lives

• No progress has been made on Police, ACC and ALAC calls to lower the blood alcohol content limit. However, the Land Transport Amendment Bill (No. 4), which legislates for compulsory impairment testing of motorists suspected of having taken drugs, has been referred to Select Committee, and hearings are expected to begin in February 2008.

Trading extraordinary commodities

• A meeting of Pacific region trade ministers last August agreed to continue excluding tobacco from the Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA), but will discuss this again in 2009. However, they also agreed that countries can consult on alcohol trade liberalisation.

Bringing down the powerwall

• The Ministry of Health is reviewing regulations relating to cigarette displays. Public submissions closed earlier this month. The Cancer Society is leading a campaign to have retail cigarette displays - known as ‘powerwalls' - banned. Youthline has added its support to the campaign.

Party turns sour

• The Virginia parents jailed for serving alcohol to teenagers at their son's 16th birthday party were released on parole after five months. They were originally sentenced to eight years after police broke up a party at their home in 2002.

Strawberry meth

• On the heels of the strawberry meth myth, visiting Hawaiian ‘drug expert' Gary Shimabukoro claimed that methamphetamine was "being eaten, mixed with soda or made into milkshakes". As with the strawberry meth myth, Shimabukoro was unable to back his claims with any evidence. That didn't stop the Waikato Times running the scare story on 27 October 2007.

November 2007

Undie 500 aftermath

• Charges against 16 students for rioting following Dunedin's last Undie 500 mayhem have been withdrawn. Police said they had decided charges would be "very difficult to prove".

Party pill ban bill

• The Misuse of Drugs (Classification of BZP) Amendment Bill has been reported back by the Health Select Committee. However, Parliament was not able to pass the bill before the end of its working year. The bill allows a six-month amnesty for possession for personal use only. In anticipation of the ban at Christmas, many retailers had BZP on sale, and were already promoting ‘BZP-free' party pills. The bill is likely to be passed within the next few months.

Seeing past the smoke

• Researchers at Auckland University's Clinical Trials Research Unit are testing an electronic cigarette which delivers nicotine without the harmful effects of tobacco. The e-cigarette is smoked like a normal cigarette, and even glows at the tip when inhaled. It delivers a measured dose of nicotine similar to other products such as patches or gum.