A Wanaka woman connected to a company which was recently licensed to manufacture synthetic drugs has had a change of heart about the business.
Otago Daily Times sister newspaper The Lakes District & Central Otago News reported yesterday B & K Healtheries Ltd, incorporated on July 18 this year and registered to a Wanaka address, had been granted interim licences to import, manufacture, sell and research psychoactive substances - the active ingredients in party pills, energy pills and herbal highs.
Ministry of Health data shows the company has also been licensed by the newly established Psychoactive Substances Regulatory Authority to sell unapproved psychoactive substances [to licensed manufacturers or researchers only, not the general public], and has gained product approval for its synthetic cannabis product ''Kush Pink''.
However, Kasey McMahon (23), of Wanaka, who is listed on the Companies Office as B & K Healtheries sole director and shareholder, told the Otago Daily Times yesterday she had resigned as director and was no longer involved with the company.
''I've pulled out of it completely, 100%. I'm taking my name off as director and the new director will be printed [on the Companies Office website] next week.
''I have nothing to do with the company at all, just for personal reasons.''
Ms McMahon declined to comment on who the new director would be, but said the company would no longer be registered to an address in Wanaka.
Asked if the company would continue to operate, Ms McMahon said ''as far as I know''.
Attempts to track down the company's licence applicant, Michael Forsyth, were unsuccessful.
The Psychoactive Substances Act 2013 states that if a licence holder ceases to undertake the activity to which the licence relates, the licence holder must surrender the licence to the authority within 30 days.
B & K Healtheries' licences had not been surrendered, the authority confirmed yesterday.
The application fee for approval of a psychoactive product is $10,000, and each interim licence costs $500, amounting to $13,000 in application fees for B & K Healtheries.
The 28-day application period for licences ended last month and, while some applications remain under consideration, many have already been issued.
The interim licence period will be phased out once regulations under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2013 are passed in the next few months.
Existing interim licence holders will have 28 days from that date to make a decision on whether they wish to apply for a new licence.
