I'm a proponent of marijuana legalization in New Zealand.

In the short term, I want to encourage tourism, and improve our economy. Just like gambling, as more world regions embrace marijuana, tourism strictly to light-up would reduce. So the longer we wait, the less tourism dollars we capture.

In the long term, decades, I want to pay less taxes, spend less on prison, give less opportunities for criminals, give farmers a new legal and hardy crop.

But I fine a couple of arguments for its legalization disingenuous.

Most patients seem to want the psychoactive affects. I suspect if a successful medical pill was developed from marijuana, minus the THC component, there would be a lot less interest among the healthy.

You hear often "no one has ever died from marijuana." While I think it's correct that no one has ever died from an overdose, I'm not so sure that correct about lung cancer, and I almost positive plenty of died in car accidents relating to a high driver.

The last argument I find disingenuous is that hemp fibers are a great reason for legalizing marijuana. This is just b*llsh*t. There is marijuana plants available that does not have any THC. In other words, they are high-free. If there is a grand struggle to find a new natural fibre, which I find dubious, then surely the THC free species would be OK.

Again I'm actually for marijuana legalization, but strictly for economic and crime-reduction reasons.