A Bendigo retailer was offering synthetic drugs for sale on the day the state government announced a crackdown on the Victorian legal high market.
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Metal Mosh, in Bendigo’s CBD, had ‘potpurri’, or synthetic marijuana, available but the store manager, who did not wish to be named, said it was not on the shop floor because it was a “high theft” item.
The manager also refused to detail the full ingredients in the ‘potpurri’ for sale.
Synthetic cannabinoids are often marketed as potpurri or incense, with packaging suggesting the product is “not intended for human consumption”.
Shop owners could face jail or a $37,000 fine for selling synthetic drugs, under tough new laws to be introduced to the Victorian parliament today.
Announcing the plan, Police Minister Lisa Neville said manufacturers had exploited loopholes in the synthetic drug legislation of 2013.
Presently, the only way to stop synthetic drugs is to legally categorise each specific compound or class of compound as an illicit drug.
And as more drugs are placed on the register, manufacturers tweak the chemical formula to sidestep the ban, according to the government.
The changes will ban psychoactive canabanoids and ecstasy as a category.
“We are outlawing all synthetic drugs to protect our communities from the harm they cause. Under these reforms, authorities will no longer need to play catch-up as new substances come onto the market,” Minister Neville said.
Premier Daniel Andrews said synthetic drugs were “dangerous chemical cocktails that don’t belong on the counter”.
“We’ll make it illegal to make them and sell them,” he said.
Metal Mosh’s owners were given the opportunity to comment.
Meanwhile, the state government has reduced the amount of ice required for a commercial trafficking charges.
Large commercial trafficable quantities for methylamphetamine will be cut from 750g to 500g (when pure) and from 1kg to 750g (when mixed).
Commercial trafficable quantities for methylamphetamine will be cut from 100g to 50g (when pure) and from 500g to 250g (when mixed).
“We won’t tolerate ice dealers who do nothing but peddle misery and destroy the lives of Victorians and their families – these laws give police the powers they need to crack down on them,” Mr Andrews said.
