LOCAL ambulance paramedics say call outs to people with synthetic drug-related issues have all but dried up since a ban on the sale of the drugs was introduced.
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The NSW government announced an immediate 90-day ban on the sale of synthetic drugs on June 11, forcing stores to remove the cannabis and cocaine-style stock from shelves.
Less than a week later the federal government announced an interim ban for 120 days.
Ambulance paramedic Inspector Ray Tait said local crews had had issues with synthetic-related cases in the past.
“Since they’ve been banned, instances of abuse have died off as far as we’re concerned,” Inspector Tait said.
“We’ve had cases in the past that have been life threatening.”
The bans on the sale of the dangerous drugs came after the death of a teenager in Sydney, as well as the death of another man in the Hunter area.
Inspector Tait said the new-style substances were incredibly dangerous drugs.
“Synthetic drugs are a real problem,” he said.
“People need to realise how dangerous these synthetic drugs are.
“Any drug is a drug and it’s going to have some sort of adverse affect, be it alcohol, synthetic drugs in the form of herb or methylamphetamine.
“They all have an affect on the human body.”
Inspector Tait said the ban was working to stem any cases of injuries or overdoses.
“They’re going to cause the user grief and normally those around them grief,” he said.
“The flow-on effect is that is comes out of the tax payers’ pocket.”
Locally stores in Tamworth were just some that were raided by Department of Fair Trading officers to ensure they were complying with state and federal sale bans.
Only one store, in Kurri Kurri, was found to be breaching the bans.
There’s been no word yet on whether the interim bans will become permanent.