The organisation representing rural women says it concerned about a lack of access to services for drug addicts in their communities as legal highs come off the shelf in a fortnight.
Synthetic cannabis and a pipe. Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski
The Government has announced a ban will come into effect taking them off the shelves until they are proven to be safe.
Rural Women's health and safety spokesperson, Margaret Pittaway, says withdrawal of supply must be coupled with more resources in rural areas for those suffering from the effects of drug addiction.
"Rural people are isolated from a lot of the facilities and services that people have in a bigger town. Often there's no GP, they might have to travel several miles for help."
She says distance to treatment can be a barrier for people looking for help to overcome a drug addiction.
