Decriminalise not legalise
Before voting on the referendum on legalising personal use of cannabis everyone should at least read the conclusions of the recently released study Patterns of Recreational Cannabis use in Aotearoa-NZ and their Consequences by Richie Polton.
Clearly, in my view, it supports my argument that we should be decriminalising not legalising.
This would mean that individuals caught with small amounts for personal use (less than say 200g) are given health-based help to kick the habit and /or civil sanctions (fines, etc).
People caught with larger amounts, plus sellers and growers are faced with the same laws as are in place now.
This recognises the damage and harm use does to many sectors of society.
It is ridiculous we only have a yes/no option, however, by voting no it sends a strong message to politicians and most importantly we will still have decriminalisation as a future option.
A yes vote will open the doors to big business, more harm and other unknown consequences while burying any chance of a middle path (decriminalisation) that has worked well in places like Portugal.
Bruce Ingram
Pāpāmoa
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