WELLINGTON, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government is responding to increased drug-related deaths by cracking down on the suppliers of synthetic drugs while making it easier for those with addiction problems to get treatment, Health Minister David Clark said on Thursday.
"Under the current laws, synthetics and other dangerous drugs are killing people and fueling crime while dealers and manufacturers get rich. The current approach is failing to keep Kiwis safe and can't be continued," said David Clark.
The New Zealand government has announced a suite of measures to tackle synthetic drugs, including classifying as Class A the two main synthetic drugs that have been linked to recent deaths, which will give police the search and seizure powers they need to crack down on suppliers and manufacturers, who will also face tougher penalties up to life imprisonment.
"To be clear, this is not the full decriminalization of drugs recommended by the Mental Health and Addiction Inquiry. These are immediate steps we can take in response to the challenge we face with synthetics. We are considering the Inquiry's recommendations separately," Clark said.
Police Minister Stuart Nash said frontline police are targeting dealers and suppliers with an increased focus on organized crime and transnational crime as a result of extra resourcing in Budget 2018.
"We are striking a balance between discouraging drug use and recognizing that many people using drugs need support from the health system, or education about harm reduction," Nash said.
Clark said the government is allocating an additional 16.6 million NZ dollars (11.4 million U.S. dollars) to bolster addiction treatment services, and 8.6 million NZ dollars as part of an Acute Drug Harm Response Discretionary Fund over four years to help communities respond to acute issues such as a surge in overdoses or deaths.
