Hon Peter Dunne
Associate Minister of Health

4 December 2012

Dunne: expert committee to set legal highs approval standards

Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne today announced that he will establish an independent expert committee early next year to set the approval standards legal highs will need to meet.

Mr Dunne said he had directed the Ministry of Health to develop a regulatory regime consistent with international best practice, avoiding animal testing wherever possible.

He confirmed that he has ruled out the controversial LD50 test, but said that it was still early in the process of developing the new regime and no other decisions had been made.

“I have said all along that safety is paramount. We might not like these substances, but if they are not going to be illegal, then they need to be safe.”

Mr Dunne said a number of alternatives to animal tests have already been identified.

“What I need to know from officials is if a combination of these tests will be effective in proving the safety of psychoactive substances,” he said.

“This regime is being brought in after a considerable outcry from New Zealanders about their concerns around the safety of young New Zealanders using unregulated and unknown legal highs, and I make no apologies for seeking to ensure that these substances are safe.”

ENDS

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Denniston Announcement: Coal Mine Gains Access Approval

Conservation Minister Dr Nick Smith today announced his approval under the Crown Minerals Act for an access agreement for Bathurst Resources for its Escarpment Mining Project on the Denniston Plateau, near Westport.

“This approval is for an open-cast mine on 106 hectares of the 2026 hectares that comprise the Denniston Plateau. This area is not National Park, nor Conservation Park nor does it have any particular reserve status...

“The loss of conservation values is compensated by a $22 million package by Bathurst Resources. This will fund pest and predator control over 25,000 hectares of the Heaphy River catchment in the Kahurangi National Park, 4,500 hectares on and around the Denniston Plateau, as well as for historic projects on the Plateau itself. This is More>>