SYNTHETIC SUBSIDY: Hutt South MP Trevor Mallard, left, and Lower Hutt Mayor Ray Wallace ask Kai Guo, who runs a legal-highs shop in Hillary Court, Naenae, to stop selling the drugs.

The owner of a Naenae legal-highs store says he cannot afford to stop selling the drugs, despite a visit from residents urging him to close.

Kai Guo's CoinSave business is effectively being subsidised by the legal-highs shop he runs in the same building, and he has no intention of immediately closing it.

Lower Hutt Mayor Ray Wallace, Hutt South MP Trevor Mallard and Naenae councillor Barbara Branch visited Mr Guo yesterday with a letter that put him on notice to stop selling drugs. A small but occasionally vocal group of residents accompanied them.

Wallace said the move was prompted on Wednesday by a public meeting, which stressed the damage legal highs were doing to the community.

He urged Guo to close the legal-highs store in view of the harm it caused and because of its location in Naenae's main shopping precinct.

"I heard from families of youngsters who are struggling to get off the legal highs and struggling with withdrawal symptoms," Wallace said.

Mallard said Guo told them he was in a difficult financial situation and simply could not afford to stop selling.

He would close the store in March, when his temporary licence to sell legal highs expired, but not before.

"We've made it clear the community is not likely to accept that," Mallard said.

"He won't accept he should lose his golden goose . . . there is a tremendous profit in dealing in this rubbish [and] a lot of the morals of people who are dealing in them just disappear . . . you cannot subsidise ordinary businesses by drug dealing."

Wallace said the council legal team would investigate options such as moving the business somewhere less high profile.

"It should really be closed down. The community will certainly let their views be known . . . I've told him he could be in for a rough time in the next couple of months."

Speaking after the meeting, Guo said people needed to understand the tough position he was in.

"I've done my best to do less harm to the community. I would like to move, as long as my licence allows me to, to a less public area."

Under his interim licence, he could not move. The store had passed a controlled purchase inspection and did not sell to under-18s, he said. Anyone who showed signs of dependence was blacklisted and not served.

"It's not easy for me . . . I'm trying to survive in my business."