World news – IN – One way or another, we must fix our broken Drugs Act

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Even if the reform does not take the form of the Cannabis Legalization and Control Bill, New Zealanders have shown their hunger for change, says Tuari Potiki of the Drug Foundation

We’re not giving up hope yet – Friday’s special votes could still change the outcome, but it is very likely that the final tally will show that we narrowly lost and a majority of New Zealanders voted against legalizing the cannabis This is not the outcome the Drug Foundation hoped for, but we certainly don’t see the outcome as the end of health-focused cannabis law reform Here’s why

First, those who voted ‘no’ voted against a very specific law that would have made cannabis legally available in stores Many people have expressed caution about the idea, and that’s fair enough for many , it was a step too far, too fast

But the debate over the referendum showed a clear public desire for a legal change in one form or another even those who campaigned for a « no » vote publicly accepted that cannabis should be treated as a health and social problem and decriminalized These included Army Hi, the medical Association of New Zealand and a group of national leaders of most religions

This gives me hope The debate has highlighted the problems that we can not realistically turn back as a country we heard unnecessary sentences, we were outraged discrimination shameful to youth and Maori in the enforcement of our laws, and we cried on the unacceptable suffering that medicinal cannabis patients undergo yet because the products that could help are not available or affordable

We still have to tackle these issues, and I think the New Zealand public is almost unanimous with me on this point. So, given the outcome of the referendum, what should be the next steps?

The government now has a strong mandate to end definitively the criminal penalties for those who use cannabis and other drugs, and those who cultivate small amounts of cannabis at home for their own use, they should begin by rejecting the drug abuse law, an archaic dinosaur from the 1970s, replacing it with a law that treats drug use as a health and social issue

The Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, and the Minister of the outgoing Justice and Minister of Health incoming Andrew Little have already expressed the desire for reform, and as far as we know, both voted yes in the referendum So we know they understand its importance and understand that it is a public health problem

So it was upsetting to see Little’s comments ruling out broader drug abuse law reforms He suggested he would rather tinker around the edges to make sure police discretion works better. With all due respect, this will never work for Maori, young people, or medical cannabis patients, and it does not address the underlying issues of discrimination inherent in our current drug laws.

We’re going to park this one for now until the special votes are counted, but I think it misread the tea leaves The audience is excited and they’ll need some sort of We know change what it does not look like – Bill cannabis But now there is a world of opportunity for a brave government to establish something transformer that is both politically acceptable and does what ‘by those who find themselves unfairly at the end of our laws over and over again

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