The Greens and New Zealand First are at odds over a bill to crack down on synthetic cannabis, as the coalition Government marks its first anniversary.
With New Zealanders dying in the dozens from synthetic cannabis, National has a member's bill that proposes increasing penalties for dealers from a maximum of two years in prison to a maximum of eight years.
New Zealand First wants to increase that to a maximum of 14 years.
"We need to give a message to those dealers and those manufacturers that we're going to come down hard," Darroch Ball, a New Zealand First MP, told 1 NEWS.
National MP Simeon Brown said National and New Zealand First "take very seriously the issue that over 45 people have lost their lives from synthetic drugs".
Part of the deal the Greens struck with Labour to support the coalition Government was that drug use would be treated as a health issue.
"Increased criminalisation and penalisation is not consistent with treating drugs as a health issue," Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick said.
"Punishment and increased penalisation hasn't worked anywhere in the world."
Former prime minister Helen Clark has said, "We need a massive harm reduction effort."
The Government is developing its own plan to combat synthetic cannabis and has floated the idea of making two varieties Class A drugs.
If this plan goes far enough for New Zealand First, the party could pull its support for National's bill.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was asked at her post-Cabinet news conference this week where the Government is at on responding to the synthetic cannabis crisis.
"I'm still in the process of considering, alongside Cabinet, the options that we have," she replied.
NZ First's Darroch Ball said today: "We can't keep kicking the can down the road with this problem. At the moment we have no solution at all."
1 NEWS understands that behind the scenes the Greens are fuming.
But in front of cameras today, the Green Party co-leaders gave a diplomatic response.
"Members' bills are there to be voted on. And we still stand as independent parties," co-leader Marama Davidson said.
And James Shaw added: "Members' bills are a different kettle of fish."
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