Search

The focus of current research on social media drug markets is the use of mainstream platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. No research currently exists examining how lesser-known social media platforms may facilitate online drug supply. This paper presents the first analysis of the use of the social media platform Discord to buy and sell illegal drugs. The study utilizes observational data and qualitative interviews with Discord drug market participants in New Zealand, including sellers and a drug server administrator ( n = 12). Our findings demonstrate that the Discord platform, which was initially established for gaming, is also being used to facilitate drug transactions. Discord is used to establish local drug selling groups called “servers,” which can be joined by accessing an “invite-link.” The advantages of Discord drug servers cited by interviewees included competitive prices and the ability to greatly expand local seller and customer bases beyond pre-existing personal networks. However, accessibility, server size and management varied considerably between drug servers, giving rise to a range of issues and concerns. We use drug market typologies based on theory of “open” and “closed” markets to understand how “lower tier” and “higher tier” Discord drug servers provided different buying and selling environments. “Lower tier” drug servers were generally characterized by greater ease of entry, larger size, higher rates of opportunism among participants and variable server management. Conversely, “higher tier” drug servers typically involved tighter market entry controls, more active server management and were generally smaller in size. The emergence of Discord drug servers illustrates how the evolution of social media platforms presents their users with new spaces that can be adapted to function as drug markets and the tensions that may emerge during the process of learning to buy and sell in a new social media space.

Misinformation has challenged the rollout of COVID-19 vaccination around the world. In 2021, professional bodies for several regulated occupations (including doctors and lawyers) initiated investigations into the conduct of members who engaged in vaccine misinformation, including on social media. This commentary discusses key controversies surrounding this novel disciplinary issue, with the focus on the legal profession in New Zealand and Australia. We consider the difficulties of defining "vaccine misinformation", differentiating between public and private social media use, giving proper scope to rights of free speech, and challenges in identifying financial conflicts of interest and unethical client solicitation practices (eg, profiting from spreading vaccine misinformation). The chilling effect upon freedom of expression when lawyers are disciplined for their social media posts that are deemed unscientific is discussed.

The availability of legal and illegal drugs is widespread across New Zealand. All drugs have the potential to cause harm to those who use them, and to others. Understanding the nature and extent of these harms depends upon the ongoing and systematic collection of relevant data, which is crucial in achieving the current national policy goal of minimising drug harm. Thus, we aim to describe how information on drug harm is currently collected and measured in New Zealand.This article maps and evaluates harm data within New Zealand, explores data collection methods and timing, and identifies the substances and types of harm assessed to date. We review large and predominantly administrative datasets that provide a measure of harm, which are collected more than once and/or are updated periodically.We highlight a number of key gaps and limitations that exist within the current data landscape, and outline barriers to ensuring greater utilisation. We recommend more frequent data collection, including improved data on harms to others, and inclusion of a wider range of drugs.Implementation of these recommendations will improve the understanding of comprehensive drug harm in New Zealand, to guide effective local harm reduction policies and interventions.

New Zealand recently held the world's first national referendum on cannabis legalisation involving a detailed bill to regulate retail sale and supply of cannabis for recreational (non-medical) adult use (i.e. the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill; CLCB). The referendum generated significant domestic debate and lobbying from both sides of the issue. The CLCB was narrowly defeated, with 48.4% voting to support versus 50.7% opposed. In this commentary, we discuss the referendum campaigns and other political and social factors that may have contributed to the result. Voting patterns appeared to largely follow traditional conservative-liberal, urban-rural and age divides. The referendum format created a public campaigning environment that encouraged persuasion and selective use of evidence rather than rational discussion of all the evidence and related knowledge gaps. The self-imposed neutrality of the centre left Labour Party and its popular leader may have been a decisive factor in the narrow defeat. It did not appear to be the case that anti-CLCB groups outspent the pro-CLCB movement in online promotional advertisements, and the leading digital media appeared largely neutral or mildly in favour of reform. The recent New Zealand experience illustrates the uncertainties of attempting to achieve cannabis law reform via a public referendum vote.

Background Existing studies have highlighted the potential for increased drug market risks from buying drugs via social media involving strangers, such as receiving adulterated drugs or being robbed. However, social supply-driven social media drug markets may also offer enhanced social dealing and harm reduction opportunities. Aim To explore how social media platform features that enable expanded social networking may also support safer social drug dealing and other harm-reduction behaviors. Method Thematic analysis of anonymous online interviews with 33 people who buy and sell drugs via social media in New Zealand. Results Participants (median age 24; 22 male, 10 female, 1 gender diverse) accessing drugs via social media mostly utilized established social networks. These personal networks offered many benefits commonly associated with social media drug trading (i.e., safer and secure drug purchasing). Benefits included reducing the risk of receiving adulterated substances and being victimized. Social media affordances, which participants used to expand their everyday social networks, could also increase participants’ ability to leverage a broader social drug supply network and access related harm reduction benefits. Some participants used darknet markets to buy drugs, which they then resold to “friends” via social media platforms, facilitating supply channels that were largely “separated” from local physical drug markets and associated problems of fraud, violence, and organized crime. Conclusion Social media drug markets offer a range of harm reduction benefits that contribute to a lower-risk local drug market. We suggest this may reflect a closer alignment between social media platform affordances and their adaptation to social supply drug trading.

This study investigates the rates and types of criminal convictions encountered by New Zealand's Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (HPDT) over a 15-year period. Criminal convictions appeared in 24% (n = 101) of cases, with male practitioners (p0.01) and pharmacists (p0.05) being significantly over-represented. The most frequent types of convictions included crimes against rights of property (33.6%), sexual/morality/decency crimes (21.9%) and misuse of drugs (8.4%). Criminal behaviour settings were evenly split between personal and professional life for medical practitioners (56.5% professional life) and nurses (56.5% professional life) but disproportionately in professional life (85%) for pharmacists. Criminal conviction cases were significantly more likely to result in registration cancellation (p0.001) and practice suspensions (p0.05) when compared with non-criminal cases, although fewer fines were ordered (p0.001). Profession-specific risk factors, alongside how to rehabilitate members of the subgroup who may later seek to renew their practice are areas for further research, are discussed.

Background Few countries have developed detailed legislative proposals for legalizing cannabis. New Zealand recently released the Cannabis Legalization and Control Bill (CLCB) that will be the subject of a referendum in September 2020. Aims To assess the CLCB, drawing on emerging evidence from cannabis legalization overseas, public health research on alcohol and tobacco and the attempt to establish a regulated market for 'legal highs' in New Zealand. Discussion The CLCB proposes a strictly regulated commercial cannabis market that resembles the Canadian approach, but notably without on-line sales or regional heterogeneity in retail distribution. The objective of the CLCB of lowering cannabis use over time appears at odds with the largely commercial cannabis sector that will focus on expanding sales. The CLCB includes provision for home cultivation and social benefit operators, but it is not clear what priority these operators will receive. A potency cap of 15% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) for cannabis plants is included, and this is at the high end of black-market cannabis. The proposed progressive product tax based on THC will be challenging to implement. There is no formal minimum price, but rather discretionary powers to raise the excise if the price drops too much. The CLCB includes a comprehensive ban on advertising, but non-conventional on-line promotion will be difficult to suppress. The central government cannabis authority is tasked with developing local retail outlet policies. We caution against the temptation to employ an interim regulatory regime following a positive referendum result, because a partially regulated market will expose users to health risks and undermine public support. Conclusions New Zealand's Cannabis Legalization and Control Bill's objective of reducing cannabis use via a commercial market will be challenging to achieve. The bill could be strengthened with formal minimum pricing, lower potency cap and greater clarity concerning social benefit operators and the role of local government.

The contamination of houses from clandestine methamphetamine manufacture emerged as an issue in New Zealand in the early 2000s. This perspective reviews and discusses the series of policies developed to address methamphetamine contamination in New Zealand houses over a 15-year period, ending with the reversal of the established policy approach in 2018. The policies addressing methamphetamine contamination of New Zealand properties were influenced by a range of sources including overseas scientific guidelines, local scientific reviews, public housing agency policies, and the local methamphetamine testing industry. A post-remediation methamphetamine level of 0.5 μg/100 cm2 was initially implemented in 2010, leading to the termination of public housing tenancies, suspensions from the public housing list, and financial charges for decontamination on public housing tenants. Subsequent reviews of the policy led to some increase in the thresholds (up to 1.5-3.8 μg/100 cm2 ) and the adoption of less punitive sanction processes. A scientific review in 2018 recommended a substantial threshold increase to 15 μg/100 cm2 (a 30-fold increase on the 2010 standard), resulting in HNZ initiating a plan to compensate previously sanctioned tenants. Overreliance on the "precautionary principle"; strict interpretation of scientific guidelines; and the public housing agency's "zero tolerance approach" to drug use, contributed to an overly punitive policy approach to methamphetamine contamination in New Zealand that negatively impacted vulnerable public housing tenants, landlords, and property owners. Investigation into the extent that all possible influences had on the development of the policies, as well as the consequences of their implementation, should be undertaken.

Introduction: New Zealand’s Alcohol Licencing Trusts (ALTs) are community-owned entities that sell alcohol in their districts and return profits back to the local community.Aim: To investigate supp...

Background: A number of jurisdictions are considering or implementing different options for cannabis law reform, including New Zealand. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) helps facilitate the resolution of complex policy decisions by breaking them down into key criteria and drawing on the combined knowledge of experts from various backgrounds.Aims: To rank cannabis law reform options by facilitating expert stakeholders to express preferences for projected reform outcomes using MCDA.Methods: A group of cannabis policy experts projected the outcomes of eight cannabis policy options (i.e., prohibition, decriminalization, social clubs, government monopoly, not-for-profit trusts, strict regulation, light regulation, and unrestricted market) based on five criteria (i.e., health and social harm, illegal market size, arrests, tax income, treatment services). A facilitated workshop of 42 key national stakeholders expressed preferences for different reform outcomes and doing so generated relative weights for each criterion and level. The resulting weights were then used to rank the eight policy options.Results: The relative weighting of the criteria were: "reducing health and social harm " (46%), "reducing arrests " (31%), "reducing the illegal market " (13%), "expanding treatment " (8%) and "earning tax " (2%). The top ranked reform options were: "government monopoly " (81%), "not-for-profit " (73%) and "strict market regulation " (65%). These three received higher scores due to their projected lower impact on health and social harm, medium reduction in arrests, and medium reduction in the illegal market. The "lightly regulated market " option scored lower largely due its projected greater increase in health and social harm. "Prohibition " ranked lowest due to its lack of impact on reducing the number of arrests or size of the illegal market.Conclusion: Strictly regulated legal market options were ranked higher than both the current prohibition, and alternatively, more lightly regulated legal market options, as they were projected to minimize health and social harms while substantially reducing arrests and the illegal market.

New Zealand’s 2020 cannabis legalisation referendum was narrowly defeated. Some post-referendum commentary claimed that the anti-reform campaign dominated the information space. Digital media represented a new forum for referendum advocacy. We analysed reporting on the cannabis referendum by six leading New Zealand digital news providers and Facebook advocacy campaigns ‘for’ and ‘against’ legalisation during 3 months pre-referendum. The mean sentiment score of media articles was marginally supportive of reform (+0.4 on a scale of −2 to +2). On average, pro-legalisation articles were re-published more often (2.3 vs 1.5 times for anti-reform), received better website placement (52% of articles published in the prime website section) and had more Facebook interactions (mean 1129 vs 771 for anti-reform). Ninety six per cent of articles were shared on Facebook, including via paid advertising. The principal pro-legalisation campaigner spent four times as much on Facebook advertising as the principal anti-legalisation campaigner. The networked map of Facebook posts illuminated links between digital media and cannabis advocacy. We find that pro-legalisation campaign dominated the digital information space, while the anti-legalisation campaign relied on traditional media, such as billboards. Combining media sentiment analysis with network analysis of social media posts provided new insights into the cannabis referenda debate.

Social media is increasingly being utilized to facilitate the buying and selling of illegal drugs, particularly by young people. However, the range of social media and messaging platforms means people must make 'choices' around which platforms they will use to conduct drug transactions. Polymedia theory suggests that people use different media to manage their social relationships, 'choosing' appropriate channels or platforms based on platform features and the social context of the relationship. This paper uses polymedia theory to explore how buyers and sellers navigate platform 'choice' for drug trading, and how this bears similarities to the ways in which they move between different platforms in their daily lives. We conducted anonymous online interviews with thirty-three people who buy and/or sell drugs via social media and encrypted messaging apps in New Zealand to explore the factors shaping their selection of platforms for drug transactions. Our findings highlight the importance of the relationship between the buyer and seller in shaping how interviewees weighted the relative importance of platform security and convenience. Though more commercial drug sellers exercised considerable influence in directing buyers of drugs towards a given platform, this pattern was less characteristic of how platform 'choice' was navigated in contexts of drug supply between friends. In social supply contexts, platform 'choices' were often not explicitly made, but rather exchanges were channelled through platforms already in use within the social group. We highlight the tensions that arise between seller preferences for a more secure platform and buyer preferences for greater convenience in contexts of friendship. Our findings highlight the importance of understanding social media drug market engagement as shaped by broader patterns of social media engagement, and the distinctions between different social contexts and personal relationships, consistent with polymedia theory.

To investigate medicinal cannabis users' intentions to transition to the new prescription Medicinal Cannabis Scheme (MCS) in New Zealand.An online survey of 3,634 past-year medicinal cannabis users completed prior to implementation of the MCS in New Zealand in April 2020. Logistic regression models were fitted to identify predictors of intended future engagement with the MCS.Seventy-eight percent of respondents were aware of the new MCS and 66% intended to use it. Higher income (OR=1.57), younger age (OR=1.02) and smoking cannabis (v. vaping (OR=2.0) or oral ingestion in edible form (OR=2.22)) predicted intention to engage with the MCS. Conversely, Māori (OR=0.63) and those who grew their own cannabis (OR=0.52) were less likely to intend to engage with the new prescription MCS.The lower intended engagement with the MCS by Māori, lower income groups and those who home-grow cannabis may reflect their perceptions of the MCS as restrictive and expensive.

Background There are increasing reports of social media being used to buy and sell illegal drugs internationally. Studies of social media drug markets to date have largely involved general explorations of social media drug transactions in select countries. Social media drug markets may operate differently for different drug types and in different country contexts. Aims To identify predictors of the use of social media to purchase cannabis, methamphetamine, LSD and ecstasy/MDMA in New Zealand using a large-scale online survey sample. Methods The annual New Zealand Drug Trends Survey (NZDTS), an online convenience survey promoted via targeted Facebook™ campaign, was completed by 23,500 respondents aged 16+. Logistic regression models were fitted to identify demographic, drug use and drug market predictors of reporting the use of social media to purchase cannabis, methamphetamine, LSD and ecstasy/MDMA. Results Fifty-one percent of the sample had purchased cannabis, methamphetamine, ecstasy/MDMA or LSD in the past six months, of which 22% had done so via social media (n = 2,650). Cannabis was the drug type most purchased from social media among drug purchasers (24%), followed by ecstasy/MDMA (13%). Sixty percent of social media purchasers had used Facebook™, 48% Snapchat™, and 20% Instagram™. The leading advantages of social media purchasing were “high convenience” (74%), and “fast transaction speed” (43%). Younger age was a significant predictor of social media purchasing for all drug types (particularly among 16–17 year olds). Purchasing from someone identified as a “drug dealer” was a predictor of social media purchasing among respondents for all drug types. Conclusion Social media drug markets may have significant implications for drug purchasing by youth through providing greater access to supply and breaking down age-related barriers between social supply and commercial drug markets. Our findings highlight the importance of incorporating social media platforms into youth drug prevention and harm minimisation strategies.

Background A national referendum to legalise recreational cannabis use and supply in New Zealand via the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill (CLCB) was recently narrowly defeated. Understanding the underlying factors for this result can inform the cannabis legalisation debate in other countries. Aims To investigate predictors of voter support for and opposition to the CLCB. Method A representative population panel of 1,022 people completed an online survey of intended voting on the CLCB referendum, which included questions on demographics, drug use history, medicinal cannabis, perceptions of the health risk and moral views of cannabis use, political affiliation, religiosity, community size and reading of the CLCB. Regression models were developed to predict support for the CLCB, with additional predictor variables added over successive iterations. Results The most robust predictors of support for the CLCB were use of and policy support for medicinal cannabis use, voting for a left-wing political party, having a positive moral view of cannabis use, living in a small town and having read the CLCB. Predictors of opposing the CLCB were voting for right-wing parties, considering “frequent” cannabis use to be a high health risk, and lifetime use of other drugs. Age, ethnicity, education, employment status, religiosity and lifetime cannabis use were not significant predictors after controlling for other variables. Conclusions Support for cannabis legalization was not based on broad demographics, but rather specific views concerning the medicinal benefit, morality of cannabis use, health risk of frequent cannabis use, political party affiliation, and knowledge of the proposed regulatory controls of the CLCB. The influence of moral views of cannabis use on voting behaviour suggest the need to debate the right to use cannabis. The importance of knowledge of the proposed regulatory controls of the CLCB on voting underlines the need to raise awareness of proposed regulatory controls during debate.

Introduction The establishment of a legal market for medicinal cannabis under the Dangerous Drugs Amendment Act 2015 has positioned Jamaica at the forefront of cannabis law reform in the developing world. Many local cannabis businesses have attracted investment from overseas, including from Canada, US and Europe. Aim To explore the opportunities and risks of foreign investment in an emerging domestic legal cannabis market in a developing country. Methods Thematic analysis of semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 22 key informants (KIs) from the Jamaican government, local cannabis industry, academia and civil society, and field observations of legal and illegal cannabis cultivators. Results KIs from the Jamaican public agencies and domestic cannabis entrepreneurs saw foreign investment as an essential source of capital to finance the start-up costs of legal cannabis businesses. Local cannabis entrepreneurs prioritised investors with the greatest financial resources, brand reputation and export networks. They also considered how allied an investor was with their business vision (e.g., organic cultivation, medical vs. recreational). The key benefits of partnering with a foreign investor included transfer of technical knowledge and financial capital, which enhanced production, quality assurance and seed-to-sale tracking. Some KIs expressed concern over investors’ focus on increasing production efficiency and scale at the expense of funding research and development (R&D) and clinical trials. KIs from the local industry, government agencies and civil society highlighted the risks of ‘predatory’ shareholder agreements and domestic political interference. Concerns were raised about the impact of foreign investment on the diversity of the domestic cannabis sector in Jamaica, including the commitment to transition traditional illegal small-scale cannabis cultivators to the legal sector. Conclusion While foreign investment has facilitated the commercialisation of the cannabis sector in Jamaica, regulatory measures are also needed to protect the domestic industry and support the transition of small-scale illegal cultivators to the legal regime. Foreign investments may alter the economic, social and political determinants of health in transitioning from illegal to legal cannabis market economy.

Disciplinary tribunals are deserving of review, in the interests of fairness, transparency and educational value for key stakeholders. New Zealand's Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (HPDT) determines whether registered health practitioners have engaged in misconduct that warrants discipline. The current study considers patterns regarding HPDT hearing processes and outcomes (2004-2020) (420 decisions), expanding knowledge from a previous analysis of HPDT decisions (2004-2014). The findings suggest that the HPDT has largely upheld its goal of consistency. However, shifts over time have included a reduced rate of appeals, and changing patterns for both the grounds for discipline and penalties applied. Differences in HPDT processes and penalties between medical practitioners, nurses and pharmacists were largely accounted for by the factors of practitioner attendance and legal representation at the hearing. This study contributes to understanding who transgresses, how they transgress and the penalties imposed. Such insights may be applied preventively for the benefit of all stakeholders.

BACKGROUND AND AIM New Zealand has recently legalized medicinal cannabis and has explored the possibility of legalizing large-scale recreational cannabis supply. In the process, concerns have emerged regarding whether corporations involved in the large-scale production and sale of legalized cannabis will invest in tactics of influence with policymakers and the public. This paper aimed to examine the various ways a legalized cannabis industry could seek to influence governments and the public in the New Zealand reform context. METHOD Based on the study of industry tactics with alcohol, tobacco and gambling, we applied a three-chain model of industry influence that breaks tactics into the 'public good', 'knowledge' and 'political' chains. RESULTS Exploratory analysis of the nascent cannabis industry's activity in New Zealand provided signs of industry influence strategies related to all three chains. The medicinal cannabis industry has associated the establishment of a legal cannabis sector with regional economic development and employment, supported lobbying for recreational law reform, funded NGOs involved in lobbying for law reform, established research partnerships with universities, invited ex-politicians on advisory boards, and participated in government public sector partnerships. CONCLUSION There is emerging evidence that the legal cannabis industry is using strategies to influence the regulatory environment in New Zealand.

To explore patterns of medicinal cannabis use prior to implementation of the new Medicinal Cannabis Scheme (MCS) in New Zealand.An anonymous online convenience survey of 3,634 last-year medicinal users of cannabis promoted via Facebook™ from May to August 2019.Fifty percent of the sample were female, 18% were Māori and the median age was 38 years. The medical conditions for which cannabis was most often used were pain (81%), sleep (66%) and mental health conditions (64%). Respondents perceived cannabis to be an effective therapy and reported reducing use of other pharmaceutical medicines. Fifty-two percent reported side effects from cannabis use, including increased appetite (29%), drowsiness (12%), eye irritation (11%), dependency (10%), memory impairment (10%) and lack of energy (9%). Smoking was the dominant route of administration. Nearly half (47%) had discussed their use of cannabis with a medical professional in the previous year, while 14% had requested a prescription and 5% accessed a prescribed cannabis-based product (mostly oral CBD).Respondents self-medicated with cannabis to treat a wide range of health complaints. Only half discussed medicinal cannabis use with their medical professional, and a minority requested a prescription and used a prescribed cannabis-based product.

This article illuminates New Zealand's legal response to breaches of rights within the health and disability services context. Alleged breaches of the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights may be heard by the Human Rights Review Tribunal. The article describes this body's composition and powers, as well as patterns within the 44 relevant decisions published between 1 January 2002 and 30 June 2019. New Zealand's unique medico-legal system created a distinctive legal response to breaches of the rights of "consumers". The Tribunal decisions in this article relate to breaches of consumers' rights by both registered and unregistered providers. The research contributes to international scholarship regarding how justice is administered when consumers' rights are breached. Also, it contributes to international debates devoted to public protection and complaints resolution, through constructive critique.

Introduction In 2015, Jamaica became the first Caribbean country to decriminalise personal cannabis possession, legalise home cultivation and establish a commercial therapeutic cannabis market via the passage of the Dangerous Drugs Amendment Act (DDAA). Aim To critically analyse implementation of the legal therapeutic cannabis market under the DDAA. Methods Synthesis of findings from semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 22 key informants (KIs) from the government, industry, academia and NGO sector, unstructured interviews with illegal growers, and field observations of licensed and illegal operators. Results KIs identified a number of challenges in implementing therapeutic market provisions under DDAA, including a limited buy-in from key government agencies; delays in developing a framework for quality assurance; and lack of access to banking services. Public sector actors stressed the challenges imposed by the UN drug conventions and need to maintain favourable diplomatic relationship with the US federal government, with the consequence of prioritising enforcement to prevent diversion and inversion. Implementation of the Alternative Development Programme in two traditional cannabis-growing communities experienced challenges with land titles and frictions in local communities. High compliance costs and limited skills to meet the envisioned medical standards presented barriers for traditional farmers. Many KIs conceptualised the purchasing of cannabis from the regulated market as “recreational” rather than medical, reflecting the marketing and limited information on medical applications at point of sale. Licensees’ reliance on foreign investment puts local industry at risk of predatory shareholder agreements, but also provides needed investment and expertise. Conclusion External international factors (e.g. UN treaties, correspondent banking with the US) and conflicting domestic government agency visions for the reform played a significant role in the DDAA implementation. As cannabis law reform spreads beyond Western jurisdictions, consideration of pre-existing social, cultural and economic conditions of developing countries will be important.

Consensual sexual relationship between health practitioners and their patient are considered one of the most serious breaches of professional boundaries. Prevalence rates are difficult to establish since underreporting may occur, yet media attention may conflate the perception of prevalence. In this study we first reviewed the literature for risk factors for health practitioners and patients, professional standards, and responses of disciplinary bodies. Following this, we quantitatively summarised case characteristics and disciplinary outcomes from a 14-year cohort of New Zealand’s Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal proceedings. From the 26 cases identified, four themes were discussed in detail and illustrated with cases. These include: female practitioners working in correctional settings; zero tolerance but no registration repercussions; patient vulnerabilities when help-seeking for mental health issues; and the use of rehabilitative penalties. Despite the difficulties in conducting research on sexual boundary violations, this raises awareness, encourages proactive reporting, and inspires constructive strategies.

This research analyses disciplinary decisions of the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal (NZLCDT) from 2011 to 2017 that involve vulnerable clients. Increasingly, scholarship...

Background Small towns in New Zealand have reported high availability of methamphetamine, and conversely a shortage of cannabis. Stakeholders have suggested drug dealers are purposely promoting methamphetamine rather than cannabis. Aims (1) To compare the availability of methamphetamine and cannabis in different size communities; (2) Identify determinants of the high availability of methamphetamine, including low availability of cannabis. Method An online drug survey was promoted via a broadly targeted Facebook™ campaign. Participants were asked if they lived in a “city”, “small town” or “rural area”, their drug use patterns, and local drug market characteristics, including current availability. A total of 6311 people completed the survey. Logistic regression models were constructed to identify independent predictors of reporting high availability of methamphetamine, cannabis, ecstasy and LSD respectively, with low availability of cannabis included as a predictor in the non-cannabis markets. Results Methamphetamine was reported to be more available than cannabis in all regions. Methamphetamine was more available in towns/rural areas than in cities. Significant predictors of high availability of methamphetamine were living in a town/rural area (OR = 1.38), purchasing from a gang member (OR = 1.88), daily methamphetamine use (OR = 2.41), Maori ethnicity (OR = 1.36) and reporting low availability of cannabis (OR = 1.89). Low availability of cannabis was not a predictor of high availability of ecstasy or LSD. Living in a town/rural area was not a predictor of high availability of cannabis, LSD or ecstasy. Purchasing from a gang member was a predictor of high availability of cannabis (OR = 1.80) and LSD (OR = 4.61). Conclusions Further research is required to identify what causal relationships, if any, there are between the statistical associations of high methamphetamine availability, living in a small town, purchasing from a gang, and low cannabis availability. It may be the case that small towns offer an environment where a gang can control the local drugs market.

Background and aims The short-lived regulated legal market for new psychoactive substances (NPS) in New Zealand marked a radical departure from the traditional prohibition-based approach to drugs. This paper aimed to enhance understanding of this policy change using Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET). Methods The analysis draws on 3 years of evaluative research, including interviews with key stakeholders, analysis of legislation and policy documents and academic and grey literature. Results The reframing of the NPS issue from one of drug control to the need for stricter market regulation was achieved by the efforts of strategic policy entrepreneurs, including the legal high industry, drug law reform advocates, influential politicians and an independent legal advisory institution. This reframing was aided by the perceived saliency of the NPS problem and ineffectiveness of previous prohibition-based responses. In the absence of any political opposition to the regulatory approach, the Psychoactive Substances Act rapidly progressed through the Parliament. However, once the interim legal market was established, portrayal of the issues shifted away from experts and lobbyists to critique from local communities, local government, animal rights activists and the media, who viewed the new regime as a source of social and health problems. The mobilization of criticism ('Schattschneider mobilization') drew on ideas of animal welfare and community safety. With a looming national election, the government responded by ending the interim market with the urgent passage of amendment legislation. Conclusions Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET) helps explain how New Zealand's Psychoactive Substances Act (PSA) policy first emerged on the political agenda and how the initial positive tone of expert support for reform shifted to a tide of popular criticism during the interim regime. However, with its emphasis on explaining agenda-setting, PET does not account for the legislative design shortcomings of the PSA.

Background In July 2013 New Zealand passed the Psychoactive Substances Act (PSA) to establish the world's first regulated legal market for new psychoactive substances (NPS) ("legal highs"). Aim To critically analyse the implementation of the PSA. Methods Synthesis of findings from interviews with 30 key informants (i.e. politicians, civil servants, legal high industry actors, toxicologists, NGO representatives and drug policy academics), analysis of relevant laws and policy documents, and a review of academic and grey literature on the PSA. Findings Key challenges experienced during the implementation of the PSA included the harmfulness of interim approved products, the slowness in withdrawing products which caused adverse effects, enforcing retail restrictions, price competition by retailers, judicial challenges by the "legal high" industry, and growing opposition to the regime from local communities and key stakeholders (including local councils). The PSA lacks a tax on products and restrictions on retail opening hours which likely contributed to the problems above. The implementation of the PSA also appeared to suffer from a rushed legislative process and resource constraints on the regulatory agency which led to delays in the development of the full regulatory framework, including the product testing requirements, and issues with enforcing retail regulation, such as the minimum age of purchase. The decline in public support for the PSA regime reflected problems with communicating the aims of the policy to the general public. Conclusions The troubled implementation of the PSA underlines a number of important lessons for consideration when developing a regulated legal drug market, including advanced development of regulatory systems, ensuring the sale of low risk products, adequately resourcing regulatory agencies and related enforcement activity, detailed regulation of retail outlets, establishing price controls, and ongoing engagement with stakeholders and the general public.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS In July 2013, New Zealand passed the Psychoactive Substances Act (PSA), which established a legal regulated market for government-approved products containing new psychoactive substances (NPS). One of the aims of the PSA was to separate the market for approved NPS products from unapproved products and illegal drugs. The aim of this study was to explore perceived health risks and social acceptability of government-approved NPS compared to unapproved NPS and other drugs. DESIGN AND METHODS About 834 police arrestees were surveyed about the health risks and social acceptability of regularly using nine drug types, including approved and unapproved synthetic cannabinoids (SC) and 'party pills' (PP) under the interim PSA regime. Statistical analyses included fitted analysis of variance and logistic ordinal regression models. RESULTS Approved SC were considered riskier to health than (natural) cannabis, alcohol, approved and unapproved PP, tobacco and ecstasy, but safer than unapproved SC and methamphetamine. Younger participants (16-29 years) were more likely than older participants (30+ years) to give approved SC a high health-risk score. Approved SC were considered less socially acceptable than alcohol, tobacco and cannabis, but more socially acceptable than methamphetamine, unapproved SC and unapproved PP. Frequent SC users were more likely to rate the social acceptability of approved legal SC higher than other drug users. Approved PP received more positive health and social acceptability scores than approved SC. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS The PSA was partially successful at separating approved NPS from other drugs. High health-risk and low social acceptability scores for approved SC may reflect the absence of product testing during the interim PSA market.

Introduction: New Zealand’s Psychoactive Substances Act (PSA) 2013 established the world’s first regulated legal market for “low risk” psychoactive products. Aim: To explore challenges in relation to regulating the retail environment and public communication of the new policy. Methods: Semi-structured interviews with 30 key informants (KI) from the industry, government, health and NGO sectors were conducted, transcribed and analysed thematically. Results: KI overwhelmingly supported the new PSA retail restrictions, but expressed frustration about how the new regulations were managed. They questioned the effectiveness of communicating the policy to the public and media, enforcement of regulations around licenced retailers, engagement with stakeholders in local communities and the speed of developing regulations for the full regime. Many KI pointed out the reduction in the number of shops concentrated demand which increased social disruption and negative media feedback. The absence of price controls...