New Zealand cannabis referendum failed to pass by a small margin. Photo / 123RF
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When I was a gutsy university student, I once stood on a big ladder at Cathedral Square in Christchurch and belted out a five-minute speech on why cannabis should be legalised.
It was part of a social experiment a group of us studying broadcast journalism were conducting on freedom of speech.
We wanted to see if people responded differently to controversial statements if they were dealing with you in person rather than from behind their keyboards.
After my speech, it was only one old lady that wanted to challenge me. Her main concern was the risks of stoned drivers on the roads, and while that is a fair and valid point, the same can be said about alcohol.
In fact, alcohol is much worse. Statistics show alcohol contributes to more than a quarter of deaths on our roads each year.
In 2017, twice as many deaths were caused by drink drivers than drivers under the influence of drugs.
Alcohol is also a major factor in family violence, street violence and sexual assault.
The guts of my speech that day was that alcohol is far more harmful than cannabis, yet booze is widely accessible.
If we can regulate the sale of alcohol and fund support programmes, then why can't we do the same with cannabis?
Legalising cannabis was the most important issue for me this election, and I am so gutted that New Zealand voted against it in the referendum.
I had been holding my breath after last month's preliminary votes returned only a slight margin between the yes and no vote, hopeful that Kiwis overseas may be more progressive than those on the homeland.
But my fears were confirmed yesterday when the final count confirmed a no.
The conversations I have had with people over the past week have revealed that some voters truly had no idea what they were voting on.
The referendum was not about whether or not we should have cannabis in our country – it is already here, being consumed by the truckload.
It is not that difficult to find cannabis in Whanganui. Those in the know need only send a text message or two to locate it within driving distance.
Professionals smoke it recreationally in the same way one might have a glass of wine after work.
Friends might share a joint on a Saturday night and eat five pizzas and blob out on the couch. I know people who use it to help cope with health conditions or pain. Harmless.
The outdated image of seedy smokers lingering in dimly lit hovels partaking in the devil's lettuce is simply not the case for the majority.
Believe it or not, very normal, very good people, smoke cannabis. And our current drug laws are not stopping them.
What we were actually voting on was whether we want to treat them as criminals or not.
It was about voting for Parliament to develop, through thorough debate, a set of laws that would reduce harm associated with cannabis.
It would have led to greater investment in health services to support those with drug problems, and safer access to cannabis.
That is important, because the cannabis market is still largely dominated by gangs. Voting no means that will continue.
Voting no means people will continue to find themselves in compromising situations trying to get cannabis.
There are concerns that gangs use these engagements to try to sell serious drugs like meth.
I have spoken to teenagers who have been intimidated and verbally abused trying to approach random gang houses to buy cannabis.
An old friend of mine told me how a guy who was selling dope from his garage would always hit on her.
Until there is a safer alternative, people will continue to put themselves in these positions to buy cannabis.
Taking a punitive approach to cannabis does not work.
Going to prison for drug offences rarely fixes the problem. Corrections only spends a tiny sliver of its budget on rehabilitation inside, and inmates are more likely to get out of prison having learnt more ways to commit crime.
Of course, it is not always that extreme. Police can use discretion when dealing with cannabis-related offences.
But truth is, I believe the application of that drug law is racist.
Statistics show even though Māori and non-Māori use cannabis at similar rates, Māori are three times more likely to be arrested and convicted for cannabis use than non-Māori.
It is alarming and people should be furious.
We should be treating regular cannabis use and dependence as a health issue, not a criminal one. We should accept by now that people smoke the stuff, and we should make it as safe as possible.
We should avoid sending more Māori through the justice pipeline.
There is a strong enough case now for Labour to at least work towards decriminalisation. To drop drug reform altogether would be nothing more than a slap in the face.
