Yesterday, police officers visited Dunedin dairies selling synthetic cannabis product to make sure they were not selling K2 products containing two banned substances.
Last month, Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne announced a temporary class drug notice for the two substances and that ban came into force yesterday.
Senior Sergeant Chris McLellan said at least one Dunedin retailer was ''hand-delivered'' a new, reformulated product a day before that ban.
The new K2 Black includes the statement: ''This product is fully compliant as of 9th May 2013'', and product invoices confirmed it was a new formula of the synthetic cannabis brand.
''Once again, we have this product back on the market,'' Snr Sgt McLellan said.
''Until we can identify the ingredients of the product, we can't rule out it contains any of the banned ingredients or [verify] the fact they have changed the composition of the product.''
Calls to the manufacturer of the product, Lightyears Ahead, were not returned yesterday.
Star Trust spokesman Grant Hall, who represents the majority of the legal-high industry, told the Otago Daily Times he was not surprised reformulated products had already appeared.
''It is a chemical merry-go-round.''
''[Mr Dunne] has done the very best he can under the current law and again this is a perfect example of why the new [Psychoactive Substances] Bill will be so important when we can regulate, control and, hopefully, mitigate these kinds of things ... and keep these products out of kids' and dairies' hands.''
