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Māori police officers are welcoming the impending end of legal sales of artificial cannabis.
Associate Health Minister, Peter Dunne, has announced the Government intends to pass the Psychoactive Substances Bill by July, meaning people cannot sell substances unless they prove they are safe.
Wally Haumaha, the police national manager of Māori, Pacific and ethnic services, says Māori communities have been particularly hard-hit by legal highs.
"When communities and when kids are vulnerable, they will throw almost anything down their neck. If it's accessible, if it sounds legitimate, buying it from a shop, it's horrific in terms of the impacts and our people, Māori, up and down this country, we've got to be concerned," he says.
Superintendant Haumaha says he’s encouraged by the number of Māori organisations stepping up to take a lead on addressing drugs in their communities.
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