Victims' son supports urgent roadside drug testing after synthetic cannabis linked to 7 crash deaths

Friday, 10 May 2019

The son of two people who lost their lives in a horror head-on in Taranaki is calling on the Government to do more to deal with drugged drivers after synthetic cannabis use was linked to the crash.

On Friday, Coroner Tim Scott heard evidence at the inquest into the June 27, 2018, deaths of Ian Porteous, 80, Rosalie Porteous, 76, Ora Keene, 84, and Brenda Williams, 79, Nivek Madams, 8, five-month-old baby Shady-Jade Thompson, and Jeremy Thompson, 28.

The children's mother Ani Nohinohi was a passenger in the car and the crash's sole survivor.

The hearing, held in the Whanganui District Court, heard how Jeremy Thompson, who was driving one of the cars involved in the crash, had smoked synthetic cannabis several times on the morning of the crash before getting behind the wheel.

Nohinohi had also been consuming the drug on the day of the crash.

Toxicology reports tabled at the inquest show Thompson's blood and urine had traces of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and synthetic chemicals 5F-MDMB-PICA and 5F-ADB, the latter of which was described as a dangerous synthetic cannabinoid.

**READ MORE:

Rosalie and Ian Porteous were two of seven people killed in a seven-car crash. An inquest has heard they were not at fault in the crash.

* Government clamp-down on synthetic cannabis dealers extends to all drugs

Logan Porteous lost his parents in a crash involving a drugged driver. He has vowed to fight to change how police are able to deal with drugged drivers.

* In the war on synthetics in NZ, is anyone winning?

* On The Beat: Deadly synthetic drugs do no discriminate**

During the inquest, Logan Porteous, son of Ian and Rosalie, said the crash had been caused by drug use and he supported the need for police to be given more power and resources to deal with impaired drivers.

Jeremy Thompson was driving one of the vehicles involved in the crash and was under the influence of synthetic drugs at the time.

Outside of court, he repeated his plea for urgent action and said he fully supported Karen Dow's petition seeking the introduction of random, roadside drug testing.

Karen's son Matthew Dow was killed in Nelson on New Year's Eve in 2017, after his car was hit by another driver who was high on methamphetamine.

'We need drug impaired drivers off the road.'

Logan Porteous said they would 'fight as a family' for the change, in the names of the innocent people who died in the crash.

Health Minister David Clark has called the abuse of synthetic drugs a 'major public health issue'.

He said the deaths were entirely preventable and coping with the loss of his parents had been devastating.

He admitted he had been quite angry at Nohinohi during the inquest. Earlier, the 30-year-old said she had no recollection of the crash as she believed she had 'synnied out' after smoking the drug.

He questioned her directly about whether she was aware of the state Thompson was in before he drove and whether she realised the impact the fatal crash had on their family.

Logan Porteous felt he had some questions answered by the inquest but when asked if he could grant forgiveness for what happened, he replied 'no comment'.

Use of synthetic drugs has been under the national spotlight since 2017, when police and the Chief Coroner issued public warnings about the dangers associated with its use.

Up to 55 deaths have been provisionally linked to two forms of the drugs, AMB-FUBINACA and 5F-ADB and the deadly problem has touched lives across the country

Deaths linked to the drug have occurred in Christchurch, Auckland, Feilding, Rotorua and Napier. Users of the drug have also ended up in hospital due to its effects, which can include seizures, psychosis and delirium.

In Taranaki, the district health board confirmed there had been seven admissions to the Taranaki Base and Hāwera hospitals between September 2017 and March 2019 in connection with the use of synthetic cannabis.

But in one three-week period last year in Christchurch, 31 people were admitted to hospital.

This week, Detective Superintendent Greg Williams, national manager of organised crime, provided a written statement about synthetic drugs and said the substances continued to be extremely dangerous to the community.

He said police were aware of the harm it caused to users, their families and the community and it was priority to target the manufacturers and suppliers of the drug and hold them to account.

Synthetic drugs containing AMB-FUBINACA and 5F-ADB are set to be re-classified as class A drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill, which passed its first reading in March.

If this happens, stiffer sentencing options would be available to the court, including for dealers of the drug who could face life imprisonment.

Along with the reclassification, the bill seeks to affirm the existing discretion to prosecute for possession and use of all drugs and enable temporary drug class orders to be issued for emerging and potentially harmful substances.

At the first reading of the bill at Parliament in March, Health Minister David Clark described the use of synthetic cannabis as a 'major public health issue.'

He said since June 2017, there has been 50-55 deaths provisionally linked to the AMB-FUBINACA and 5F-ADB synthetic drugs.

The bill is currently before the health select committee and a report is due back before Parliament in July.