Abstract

There were 134 different NPS detected at the New Zealand border screening laboratory between 2014 and 2018. Of the 6344 samples analyzed, a total of 1158 were NPS (18%). Slightly less than half of the screened samples were not controlled by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, while over a third were covered by the drugs legislation. NPS were rarely listed in the drugs legislation; however depending on whether the chemical structure of an NPS was deemed to be substantially similar to a listed drug, it could be considered as a CDA under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. If not specifically listed, or considered a CDA, many NPS were subsequently covered by the Psychoactive Substances Act 2013, due to the capability of inducing a psychoactive effect.

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