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PoliceNewsThe Voice of PoliceAssociation supports Law Commission’srecommendations on ‘legal highs’By Steve Plowman, Editor, Police NewsThe NZ Police Association has lentits support to the Law Commission’scall to regulate the supply of syntheticcannabinoids – known as “legal highs” –before they enter the marketplace.In its recent review of the Misuse of DrugsAct 1975, the Law Commission reportedthat “new psychoactive substances canbe manufactured, imported and soldwithout restriction until they are provento be harmful and scheduled either asrestricted substances or controlled drugs”.The Commission recommended thatmanufacturers and importers of a newsubstance should have to obtain anapproval before releasing it onto themarket, meaning that the onus of proofis on them to prove its safety rather thanon the Government to prove its harmretrospectively.Under Section 5 of the Misuse of DrugsAct, the Minister can appoint suchadvisory or technical committees.The recent controversy around the saleof Kronic, a New Zealand-made productthat contains legal synthetic cannabinoids(chemicals), designed to mimic the effectsof cannabis, is a case in point.Cannabis alternativesKronic, which has been marketed as alegal alternative to cannabis, has beenlinked to adverse effects in some users. It’sready availability to school-aged childrenthrough outlets such as dairies hasalarmed parents, teachers and doctors,among others. Accident and Emergencydoctors have increasingly been concernedabout patients presenting with side-effectssuch as anxiety, increased blood pressureand heart palpitations. Police Newsunderstands that Auckland Hospital’s Aand E Department has been treating anaverage of two patients a day displayingvarious side-effects after smoking Kronic.Other A and E doctors around the countryhave reported patients displaying similarside-effects.Police News has also learned through aCorrections Department source that,since the ban on smoking instituted inprisons recently, some inmates have beeningesting the ‘legal’ synthetic cannabinoidsby putting it in beverages such as tea.In March, the Associate Minister ofHealth, Tariana Turia, announced plans toschedule a group of synthetic cannabinoidchemicals, known as naphthoylindolederivatives, (includes: JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-398, JWH-200, JWH-081,4-Methyl-JWH-073, JWH-015, JWH-194August 2011122, JWH-210, JWH-019, JWH-007)as restricted under the Misuse of DrugsAct 1975 (MODA). This group includesJWH-018 and JWH-073, which havebeen identified in Kronic and four othersimilar smoking products.DeveloperThe man who developed the compoundknown as JWH-018, among manyothers, is North Carolina-based Dr JohnW Huffman, who is a retired ResearchProfessor of Organic Chemistry. DrHuffman has warned users of Kronic“It is difficult, if not impossible,for legislators to keep up with thefast-evolving synthetic cannabinoidsmarket, as an overarching definitionfor ‘synthetic cannabinoids’ isnot possible under the currentlegislation. This is an issue facedby most countries that do not usegeneric definitions to control widerdrug categories.”- Detective Inspector Stuart Mills of theNational Drug Intelligence Bureau.to “stop immediately, or risk seriouspsychological problems…it’s not knownif they are irreversible.”Dr Huffman said the compounds differedgreatly from the tetrahydrocannabinol(THC) that is the active component incannabis sativa (marijuana). The JWHcompounds were originally developedby a pharmaceutical company and DrHuffman says his team was trying tofigure out how the two different classesof compounds reacted with the samereceptor.450 compoundsDr Huffman’s name is associated withabout 450 compounds – all carrying hisinitials JWH.Contrary to popular belief, thecompound was not developed as anappetite stimulant as Dr Huffmanrecently explained: “It was developedto investigate receptor interaction withthat particular class of cannabinoids. Itwas basic science and it had no ulteriorusage.”His research began in 1984 and wasfunded by the National Institute ofDrug Abuse. His team began developingthe synthetic cannabinoids with a viewto aiding the treatment of multiplesclerosis and AIDS, and in the use ofchemotherapy.In 1998 Dr Huffman and his colleaguespublished their research.By 2005 Dr Huffman produced apaper outlining the pharmacology andtoxicity of the compounds. “This stuffis not easy to make. It cannot be madein your kitchen like crystal meth,” DrHuffman told Radio NZ’s Jim Mora ina recent radio interview. “It takes somefairly sophisticated synthetic procedureswhich are carried out in the most partwith the compounds that are made inChina,” he added.2008 developmentDr Huffman said the first he had heardof JWH-018 being produced as arecreational drug was in 2008. Two ofthe compounds were used to producemarijuana alternatives, which were soldin Germany under the brand names “K2”and “Spice”.Dr Huffman said that this was as result ofwhat he termed an “enterprising Chineseguy, who decided to make himself a lotof money” by producing the compoundsas ‘legal highs’.Dr Huffman said one of the interestingdifferences between the effects of productssuch as Kronic, which contain syntheticcannabinoids as opposed to the THC inmarijuana, was that the former raisedblood pressure and the latter lowered it.He conceded that the effects were knownonly anecdotally – through hospitaladmissions and the like – but that he hadcome to the conclusion through talkingto medical professionals that it was “adangerous drug”.“There are studies that need to be donearound the effects, now that these havebecome drugs of abuse,” he said.Interestingly, Dr Huffman said thathe considered cannabis a “relativelyharmless drug compared to cocaine,methamphetamines - or these JWHcompounds.”