Community boards around the peninsula are supportive of a Thames-Coromandel District Council's draft policy regulating where psychoactive products can be sold.

While the council cannot legally ban sales of psychoactive substances, which is used to create legal highs, it can regulate the location of where they can be sold through the draft policy.

This policy will help guide the Ministry of Health's Licensing Authority on appropriate locations for retail premises when it begins issuing licenses to retailers later this year.

Council says it is proposing to restrict potential retail locations to Whangamata, Whitianga and Thames.

'[This is] because they have higher levels of pedestrian traffic and a more regular police presence than smaller towns like Coromandel Town, Tairua and Pauanui.

'Retailers selling approved psychoactive products are only allowed to advertise within their shop with nothing visible from the outside.

'Those ads are only allowed to say what the product's price and ingredients are and will be monitored by the Ministry of Health.”

To date the licensing authority has not received any applications for product approval.

The approval process testing process mirrors the test used for medicines and only products that pass this test may be sold.

The manufacturer of the product needs to prove to the authority the product has a low risk of harm – something which was not in place when products like ‘Kronic' was for sale.

Council says before retailers are allowed to set up shop they must pass a ‘fit and proper person test' undertaken by the Ministry of Health, as part of the approval process.

'Liquor outlets, dairies, grocery stores, supermarkets, petrol stations and mobile outlets will not be allowed to sell psychoactive substances.”

To help locals make an informed decision on their personal submission to the policy the council has held a series of public meetings where people can find information and address their issues.

The last public meeting was held last night at the Thames High School and followed meetings in Whitianga and Whangamata last week.

Public submissions on the draft opened on February 9 and will close on Monday, March 9, at 4pm.

To read and make a submission on the Thames-Coromandel District Council's Draft Psychoactive Product Retail Location Policy click here.