Marijuana legalization in New Zealand

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Forums › Politics › Marijuana legalization in New Zealand

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#2087316 11-Sep-2018 10:07

I think it's unrelated and all that stuff should have been a new topic.

Fred99

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#2087365 11-Sep-2018 10:51

gzt: I think it's unrelated and all that stuff should have been a new topic.

It is kind of off topic - hence why I mentioned it was a bit off topic.

OTOH, legalising marijuana seems to correlate with a significant decrease in opioid prescriptions, and people don't die from marijuana overdose.

kingdragonfly

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#2090121 13-Sep-2018 14:59

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/new-zealand-should-legalise-drugs-treat-addiction-compassion-and-love-they-have-in-portugal-says-researcher

New Zealand should legalise drugs, treat addiction with 'compassion and love' as they have in Portugal, says researcher
From 1 News Now

"When it comes to treating addiction and potentially legalising drugs, New Zealand should look at role models like Portugal where the system is based on 'compassion and love', an expert has said.

Journalist Johann Hari spent several years researching addiction for his book, Chasing the Scream and is in New Zealand for a three-day conference in Rotorua where the nation's drug problems will be discussed.

Mr Hari told TVNZ1's Breakfast that he learned the common understanding of addiction is fundamentally misunderstood.

'When I started researching this question about seven years ago now, you know I was in a real state of confusion, I wanted to help the people I loved, but I couldn’t see how to do it, so I ended up going on this quite big journey all over the world,' he said.

'The core of what I learned is that I, and many of us, have profoundly misunderstood what addiction is and that's led us to misguided answers here in New Zealand and across the world.'

Mr Hari says research by Canadian psychology Professor Bruce Alexander showed that addiction was not simply a matter of a person craving a substance, heroin for example, that has a chemical hook.

The professor did a series of experiments in the 1970s where he gave two groups of rats the option of drinking water or water laced with heroin.

One of the groups was left alone in cages while the others were in a cage dubbed 'rat park', where the rats had company, plenty of food and things to play with.

Professor Alexander found that the rats in the cage dubbed 'rat heaven' never overdosed on the heroin-laced water.

'When rats have the things they need in life, they don’t find compulsive drug use compelling, and there's a lot of human parallels,' Mr Hari said."

Rikkitic

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#2090160 13-Sep-2018 15:42

Things are creeping in the right direction, but the pace of change is glacial. Once the old farts who currently run things are gone, there may be some real progress.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

Rikkitic

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#2094641 21-Sep-2018 16:35

The police need to set up a special task force for this and pull out all the stops to trace it to the sources. Anyone supplying this sh¡t should be hammered for reckless endangerment and anything else that can be thrown at them. If anyone dies, manslaughter at a minimum, murder if possible. If any of it goes through any gang member, the gang should be shut down and all asserts frozen. This can be stopped if there is sufficient political will. Marijuana should be legalised but this poison and its purveyors need to be stomped into the ground now.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

kingdragonfly

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#2094951 22-Sep-2018 14:09

I'm really confused why the Greens aren't on-board, with people actually dying from synthetic cannabis.

They seem to have plenty of time for numerous non-life threatening political stands.

It's a win-win situation. Less deaths from synthetics, less prisoners, more time for police to concentrate on violent crimes, more tourism dollars, more tax money, more legal agricultural jobs in deprived areas so less people on the dole, more diversification of the economy so more stability.

We can look at other countries laws around legalization for proven effective guidance.

kingdragonfly

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#2094998 22-Sep-2018 18:01

These Nuns Sell $60k Worth Of Weed Every Month

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kingdragonfly

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#2121712 7-Nov-2018 17:15

https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/11/07/310029/strong-economic-case-for-drug-reform-report

Strong economic case for drug reform - report
by Sam Sachdeva

Reforming New Zealand’s “punitive” drug laws - including the decriminalisation of all drugs and introduction of a legal market for cannabis - would benefit the country by at least $450 million a year, according to a cost-benefit analysis commissioned by the Drug Foundation.

The report, produced by economist Shamubeel Eaqub from consultancy Sense Partners, says there would be a net social benefit of at least $225 million from investing an extra $150m in addiction treatment, drug education, and harm reduction interventions.

It estimates there would be a net social benefit of $34m to $83m from replacing the Misuse of Drugs Act, passed in 1975, with a new law based on a health-based approach to the issue.

Creating a legal, regulated market for the purchase of cannabis would bring $185m to $240m in new tax revenue while also saving the justice sector $6m to $13m, the report says.

The release of the report comes as the Government carries out inquiries into New Zealand’s mental health and addiction services, while also preparing for a referendum on legalising the personal use of cannabis by the next election - a commitment in the Greens’ confidence and supply agreement with Labour.

'Fiscal weight' on case for reform

NZ Drug Foundation executive director Ross Bell said the report’s findings added “a little bit of fiscal weight” on top of the moral argument for treating drugs as a health issue, rather than a criminal justice problem.

Eighty percent of the money spent by the Government on addressing New Zealand’s drug problems went towards a “punitive” response, Bell said, with only 20 percent going towards health-based interventions.

However, he believed there had been a momentum change in the country and around the world, with police acknowledging they “can’t arrest, can’t enforce [their] way out of this problem.”

With the Government preparing its first ever “Wellbeing Budget” in 2019, Bell said he was keen for it to commit to doubling its existing funding for health-driven drug initiatives.

Eaqub said overseas evidence showed most health-based initiatives had a benefit of one-and-a-half to five times the initial investment.

While creating a legal market for cannabis was a more difficult policy to enact, the revenue it would generate was necessary to help cover the cost of the health initiatives, he said.

“We have to do all these things together, we can’t pick one.”
...

Rikkitic

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#2139007 4-Dec-2018 09:32

https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/in-depth/377347/flying-the-flag-for-cannabis-law-reform

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Bluntj

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#2139153 4-Dec-2018 11:12

Rikkitic:

Things are creeping in the right direction, but the pace of change is glacial. Once the old farts who currently run things are gone, there may be some real progress.

It is the old farts who vote a government out for changing things radically (in their minds). Politicians will remain in power at all costs and will never rock the boat.

The world was going to end when the homosexual law reform happened, same again when gay marriage was legislated. I would estimate that close to 90% of MP's would be secretly in favor of drug law reform, but will be swayed by popular opinion.

Everyone knows the current war of drugs has been an epic failure and the only winners have been the gangs.

I as well cannot understand why the Greens have gone silent on this issue...maybe it is the effect of being in power.

MikeB4

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#2139180 4-Dec-2018 11:36

I don't believe age has anything to do with it

elpenguino

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#2139188 4-Dec-2018 11:48

That's right. Old people who are conservative are not conservative because they're old, they're conservative because they grew up in different times when people had different values and experiences.

As for young people who are conservative, I dunno about them.

Politicians are supposed to represent 'us' since they're drawn from our ranks. If 90% of them support it, that probably means 90% of us do too.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

MikeB4

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#2139202 4-Dec-2018 12:02

The use of Marijuana has been around for eons. It is not miraculously discovered by young then forgotten after turning age xxx then rediscovered by the young again. As for politicians I can understand the caution and support the caution. An individual thinks generally of the individual and the affect change will have on themselves. The goverment has to regard the affect on the greater community, the impacts socially, medically and financially now and in the furture.

Rikkitic

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#2139203 4-Dec-2018 12:08

Since you feel a need to respond to every post, how about responding to my post in the annoyances thread? I am still waiting for that apology.

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MikeB4

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#2139207 4-Dec-2018 12:21

kingdragonfly: These Nuns Sell $60k Worth Of Weed Every Month

Nothing like a bit of diversification in order to secure funding going forward.

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