CANNABIS ALTERNATIVES

Banning legal cannabis-alternatives, such as Space or Kronic would
cause more harm than good. Their availability means consumers don't
have to associate with dodgy people, are protected by consumer law and
can compare products in an open environment.

They will not be saddled with the burden of a criminal conviction for
experimenting with an illegal drug (as half the adult population now
admits to doing).

Consumers can choose a strength and effect they like, have confidence
each batch will be consistent, and pay taxes on their purchase.

Most of the cannabis-alternatives contain JWH-018, which is being
researched as a pain-killing analgesic to be applied by transdermic
patch. It was invented as a research chemical to mimic the effects of
THC, and dozens of clinical studies have been published on it.

I was therefore amazed to read your published review by "Anonymous",
who claimed to experience hallucinations, paranoia and "no euphoria".
This review is about as far from our customer's experience as you could get.

Chris Fowlie
Manager, The Hempstore, Auckland

Author's note: this is the original, unabridged version I had sent
them:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Banning legal cannabis-alternatives such as Space or Kronic would
cause more harm than good ("Call for synthetic-cannabis controls", NZ
Herald, Tuesday 15 June 2010). Their continued availability means
consumers don't have to associate with dodgy people, are protected by
consumer law and can compare products in an open environment. They
won't be saddled with the burden of a criminal conviction for
experimenting with an illegal drug (as half of NZ's adult population
now admits to doing). Consumers can choose a strength and effect they
like, have confidence each batch will be consistent, and will have
paid taxes on their purchase.

Most of the cannabis-alternatives contain JWH-018, which is currently
being researched as a pain-killing analgesic to be applied by
transdermic patch. It was invented as a research chemical to mimic the
effects of THC, and dozens of clinical studies have been published on
it. A series of studies was recently completed to assess the
toxicological profile of JWH-018, including CYPs, Genotox, hERG,
Cytotox and Rodent Tox (LD50, Acute Dose, Repeat Dose &
Pharmakinetics). All tests passed within tolerable guidelines.

I was therefore amazed to read your published review by "Anonymous",
who claimed to experience hallucinations, paranoia and "no euphoria".
This review is about as far from our customer's experience as you could get.

The fact that the legal highs industry even exists tells us that
people want to get high and that many people think the current drug
laws are stupid. Instead of trying to ban every new substance, why not
look at regulating their sales with similar legislation to alcohol and
tobacco?

Yours sincerely,

Chris Fowlie

Manager

The Hempstore

Auckland