The Psychoactive Substances Act 2013 is a law in New Zealand. The purpose of the Act is to regulate the availability of psychoactive substances in New Zealand to protect the health of, and minimise harm to, individuals who use psychoactive substances. The law seeks to make manufacturers test and prove their products are low-risk before they can be sold.
Testing is expected to cost manufacturers $1 to 2 million dollars. There is also an $180,000 application fee. A later addition to the law, Section 4(f), specified that "animals must not be used in trials for the purposes of assessing whether a psychoactive product should be approved." This may mean that, in practice, approval will be difficult or impossible."The twilight state of the Psychoactive Substances Act", November 2014, New Zealand Drug Foundation magazine "Matters of Substance" So far, no manufacturing licenses have been applied for."Synthetic Cannabis 'Prevalent' – Ban hasn't fixed problem", 9 Jul 2016, Kyra Dawson, Rotorua Daily Post
The Act was brought in as a reaction to widespread concerns"Kronic ads on youth radio under fire", Nicholas Jones, 28 Jun 2011, NZ Herald over the 2005 deregulation, or decriminalisation, of selling psychoactive substances in New Zealand with the introduction of section 62 in the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Act 2005 and the Misuse of Drugs (Restricted Substances) Regulations 2008. These laws made psychoactive substances such as party pills and legal highs available in New Zealand in a relatively new experimental market aimed at decriminalising the production and sale of recreational drugs."A Kronic desire for anonymity", 12/06/2011, stuff.co.nz
References
External links Text of the Psychoactive Substances Act Psychoactive Substances Bill a ‘game-changer’ Government press release New regulatory regime for psychoactive substances Ministry of Health background info