The Health Committee is seeking public submissions on the Drug and Substance Checking Legislation Bill (No 2). The bill seeks to minimise drug and substance harm by allowing services that check the composition of drugs and substances to operate legally in New Zealand. It would do so by amending the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, the Psychoactive Substances Act 2013, and the Medicines Act 1981.

The bill is similar to the Drug and Substance Checking Legislation Act 2020, which passed into law on 7 December 2020. That Act was developed to allow drug checking to occur with legal certainty over the summer of 2020/21, while a permanent system was developed. It amended section 12 of the Misuse of Drugs Act to provide that it is not an offence to host a drug checking service. The Act includes repeal provisions that will take effect 12 months after the date that it commenced.

The Drug and Substance Checking Legislation Bill (No 2) would enable the Director-General of Health to issue licences for drug and substance checking service providers to carry out certain functions. The licensing provisions are the main differences between the bill and the Drug Checking Act.

Tell the Health Committee what you think

Make a submission on the bill by 11.59pm on Thursday 24 June 2021.

For more details about the bill:

· Read the full content of the bill

· Get more details about the bill

· Follow the committee’s Facebook page for updates
 

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