Legal cannabis has potential to reduce harm, but many unknowns: PM’s chief science adviser – NZ Herald

KW: Two important referendums this year, the Legalise Cannabis and Right to Life Choice Euthinasia Referendums. Talking amongst my golfing mates, as a conservative straw poll, they are all for medicinal marijuana recognising the blatant facts that for some people the natural herb provides pain relief and assistance with many medical issues that manufactured drugs do not and can not provide. But when it comes to casual enjoyment of a bit of weed they throw their hands up in horror at the thought, no doubt scared of lots of happy people going about their day(s). They seem to think that a vote against marijuana will rid society of the issue but that will not happen. Cannabis will still be here -and – still controlled by the gangs, not by parliament. Worse, the gang control continues with what we know happens and that is the lacing of cannabis with more powerful addictive substance like methanphetamine also controlled by the gangs. and once hooked the kids who are sold this lethal cocktail are clients for life reeking devastation to families the country over.

What I object to is the stance that parliament has taken in legalising ‘synthetic cannabis’ that can be bought in the local dairy. The name a misnomer, it is nothing to do with cannabis at all, indeed gives cannabis a bad reputation but this product is nothing but a poisonous cocktail of chemicals and poisons that KILLS our youth regularly. It is outrageous that we allow our kids to die in this manner by legalising something that kills them when legal cannabis that does not have any provable direct links to death and suicide of users is illegal. This is absurd and irresponsible, a direct blight on our collective consciences.

Legalisation of cannabis in my opinion provides for government control over the supply chain in a regulated market free from gang control and takes away the threat of ghastly death to innocent kids. Legalisation is long overdue . Just as in the U.S. they have an opioid fentanyl crisis due to lobbyists for the pharmaceutical companies, this pressure group has no right to be sticking it nose into New Zealand election business right now. Government control will mean a taxation benefit to the government with which to direct to good drug information and treatment cures for those in society who have addiction issues to any drug. Going by U.S. examples eg Colorado,  this taxation amounts to may millions of dollars that so far is being avoided by the controling gangs who pay nothing

Of course the control freak American lobby group is here for a purpose they want to influence for and promote the same big pharma companies. Their presence here is an outrage that Americans themselves have a problem with in their own country. I wouldn’t be a regular user of cannabis because I don’t smoke and thats that but just because people may think a No vote will solve the issue it won’t, they will still have this issue going on and innocent kids will not only get convictions over something trivial and become criminalised as result, but also will continue to die. Add to this the mis-direction of resources and waist of time to police rushing around, flyng helicoptersand pulling out plots for no purpose or real effect and add to this the taxation revenue lost by still maintaining an illegal underground trade vs a regulated legal trade it just does not make sense to vote No in the referendum. Kids wanting to experiment with ‘getting high’ are never going to go away so making the adolescant desire as safe as possible should be a priority.

It will not lead to more kids becoming drug addicted as I, like I am quite sure many of you and all of my own children, have experimented with cannabis at university or late teenage years (now some 40 years ago) and none of us are users now or have a drug addiction issue- touch wood!

 

Juliet Gerrard: Status quo harms are known, but future harms if made legal are unknown.

Source: Legal cannabis has potential to reduce harm, but many unknowns: PM’s chief science adviser – NZ Herald