Laws have been proposed in New Zealand to make new psychoactive chemical substances legal as long as they are scientifically proven to have a low risk factor.

Laws have been proposed in New Zealand that would make new psychoactive chemical substances legal as long as they are scientifically proven to have a low risk factor.

The rise of synthetic chemicals sold as bath salts, or plant food, but used as recreational drugs, has prompted lawmakers to try an unconventional approach to dealing with the growing problem.

When one kind of recreational drug is banned, a new unregulated synthetic chemical arrives on the market and is sold as a legal substance because of its labeling.

Ross Bell from the New Zealand Drug Foundation in Wellington said: “The new law will put the onus on industry to demonstrate their products are low-risk, using a similar testing process to pharmaceuticals.”

The proposal states that the legal age for purchasing psychoactive substances should be 18 years old.

The European Union’s law enforcement agency, Europol, reported that the number of new research chemical substances on the market is growing exponentially.

In Europe 24 synthetic drugs were created in 2009 and more were made available every year, with 73 being created in 2012.