EXPERT ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON DRUGS
MEETING

Thursday, 27 July 2006, 9:00am – 1.30pm
Khandallah Room, Level 1, Old Bank Arcade, Cnr Wil is Street & Customs
House Quay, Wel ington

MINUTES

EACD MEMBERS PRESENT

Dr Ashley Bloomfield (Chair)
Dr Geoffrey Robinson
Dr Keith Bedford
Professor Doug Sellman

Paul Campbell
Don Al an (Police) on behalf of Peter
Marshall
Dr Stewart Jessamine

SECRETARIAT ATTENDING
  Chris Laurenson
Clare Van der Lem
Bruce Atmore
Olivia Tuatoko

1.     WELCOME

Dr Bloomfield welcomed members, and a special welcome to Don Al an,
Detective Inspector, National Bureau of Criminal Intelligence who was
attending on behalf of Peter Marshall.

Keremete Warbrick has signalled that he wil  tender his resignation.  The
Chair requested that the Committee consider possible candidates for the
vacant consumer representative position.

2.     APOLOGIES

Keremete Warbrick, Dr Helen Moriarty, Clinical Associate Professor Tim
Maling, Peter Marshall, and Rajesh Chhana

3.     DECLARATION OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

No conflicts of interest were declared.

4.      CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD
      30 March 2006.

The minutes of the meeting held on 30 March 2006 were confirmed as a
true and accurate record of that meeting.

The Chair advised that the minutes were currently being placed on the
website.

5.0   MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MEETING HELD 30 MARCH 2006

Report on actions arising from 30 March 2006

5.1   Minute item 5.3 Nitrous Oxide (NOS)

The Chair advised the Committee on the problems associated with the
recreational use of Nitrous Oxide (NOS) and the current process in place
to clear NOS imports. The Committee acknowledged that NOS use was a
problem and noted that  NOS is a prescription medicine under the
Medicines Act 1981  but is not controlled under  the Misuse of Drugs Act
1975.  There are anecdotal reports of people experiencing problems when
importing NOS for previously “bona fide” uses in drag racing and catering.

The Committee agreed that New Zealand  seems to have a specific
problem with il icit NOS use, and may need to have another look at the
volume of Nitrous Oxide currently being imported and what kind of
companies are involved.

5.2   Minute Item 5.5 Methamphetamine Activities

Methamphetamine was discussed under agenda item 7.

5.3  Minute Item 5.6 BZP

BZP was discussed under agenda item 9.

5.4   Minute Item 6 LSD

The Chair distributed a letter that was sent to the Minister outlining the
substantive issue of apparent anomalies in the classifications of some
substances. For example, the classification of LSD as a Schedule 1 drug
can be considered an anomaly when it is compared to the Schedule 1
classification of methamphetamine, which is considered to pose a very
high risk of harm.  The letter sought the Minister’s view on whether he
would like further advice on this issue.

The Committee discussed the setting of clear criteria for classifying drugs
under different schedules.  It was noted that making an assessment of one
drug at a time does not address apparent anomalies, and may even create
more.

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Members agreed the general classification framework that has evolved is
reasonable but problems had arisen when additional schedules  were
added over a long period of time and under different frameworks.  Notably,
when new drugs are considered the current anomalies become
increasingly apparent.

The Commit ee requested that  the Secretariat investigate the work that
has been done in the United Kingdom (as noted on the article entitled ‘the
tale of two Es’), and use it as a basis for a paper to inform a discussion at
the next meeting on a more rigorous criteria for classifying drugs.

Action:

The Secretariat is to develop a paper identifying possible criteria for
assessing drugs drawing particularly on the work undertaken in the
UK.

5.5   Minute Item 7 Zopiclone

The Chair noted the lack of information on Zopiclone since the 30 March
meeting.  The Secretariat reported that no replies from manufacturing
companies have been received and a reminder letter has since been sent
out.

5.6   Minute Item 8 Norephedrine

Norephedrine is stil  in the process of a formal assessment.

5.7   Minute Item 9 Methylone Trials

Chair provided the Minister with advice on scheduling options, stating that
no consensus has been reached. The Minister expressed a view that clear
evidence of harm would be needed to classify methylone as a B2 and that
a C7 classification is appropriate until further evidence of harm becomes
available.

Action:

The Chair is to write to the Minister and provide advice on the best
holding classification for methylone until further information on harm
is col ected.

6.  UNITED NATIONS INFORMATION

The Secretariat outlined the United Nations Drug Conventions to which
New Zealand is a party and summarised the  relevant New Zealand
legislation.  It was  noted that there is discretion as to how New Zealand
can regulate specific drugs within its own legislation as long as the
justification is clear.

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7.     METHAMPHETAMINE UPDATE

Dr Bedford provided a summary paper on Methamphetamine trends. This
was produced from the cases logged by the ESR Drugs and Clandestine
Laboratory Teams. The numbers reported by ESR may differ slightly from
Police figures because of the differences in the way clandestine laboratory
cases are defined.

Dr Bedford noted that methamphetamine manufactured in New Zealand
could be just as pure as the crystal methamphetamine seized through
importation.

8.    2CT7

Dr Bedford outlined the legal status of 2C-T-7 and suggested that it would
be useful  to amend  the  Misuse of Drugs Act  by adding “and/or alkylthio
radicals” to sub-section (d) under “Amphetamine Analogues”.   Such an
amendment would include 2C-T-7 in the definition of an amphetamine
analogue.

The  chemical structure of 2C-T-7  has some relationship to recognised
hallucinogens however; 2C-T-7 is not currently a problem in New Zealand.
2C-T-7 has been widely reported in il icit drug seizures overseas and if 2C-
T-7 is introduced into New Zealand its current legal standing would be
unclear.

The Commit ee agreed with the proposal and recommended that further
legal advice from the Ministry of Health be obtained.

Action:

The Ministry of Health is to request advice on the legal status of 2C-
T-7 as a controlled drug analogue in the current legislation.

9.  BZP RESEARCH

The Committee discussed the findings of the SHORE study: “Legal party
pil  use in New Zealand: Prevalence of use, availability, health harms and
‘gateway effects’ of benzylpiperazine (BZP) and
trifluromethylphenylpiperazine (TFMPP)”.

The Commit ee noted and discussed the key findings of the study.

Committee members discussed the relative risks involved in  taking BZP
products for weight loss purposes rather than recreational use.  The
Committee agreed to wait until the results of other current BZP research
projects become available and to consider al  the available new evidence
before providing further advice to the Minister.

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Action:

The Chair is to write to the Minister outlining the need to wait for the
results of the other BZP research studies before further advice can
be provided.

10.    METHYLONE UPDATE

Methylone was discussed in agenda item 5.7.  The Committee agreed to
provide a recommendation to the Minister.

11.  GENERAL BUSINESS

11.1  Dr Bedford provided a paper on Indan(e)s and Aminoindan(e)s. Although
not currently a problem in New Zealand, these are part of il icit drug
literature and are used primarily as stimulants.  The Committee agreed
that there is a need for a more formal assessment on the information
available on these chemicals.

Action:

The  Secretariat  is  to provide an assessment of Indan(e)s and
Aminoindan(e)s for further discussion.

11.2. It was  requested  that  Thalidomide be discussed  at a future meeting as
part of a possible anomaly in the Misuse of Drugs Act Schedules. The
Schedules  could be amended by either lowering the classification  of
Thalidomide  or removing it from the Misuse of Drugs Act altogether.
Thalidomide is currently  classified as a Schedule 1  drug  based on
historical reasons rather then its potential as an il icit drug of abuse.

Action:

The  Secretariat  is  to consider a paper for the Committee on
Thalidomide.

11.3 The Secretariat updated the Committee on possible options for
implementing further regulations and controls over BZP.

12.  NEXT MEETING

The next meeting is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, 29 November
2006 and would be arranged by the Secretariat.

The meeting closed at 12.45 pm.


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