Labour have today decided to move against synthetic cannabis, NZ First has followed and National have also rolled over on it as well. The regulation that saw 6000 retailers cut down to less than 150, the cutting of products from 300 down to 41 is to all be put aside for a total ban until the products can be tested.
Long term that could be the wisest call, but in the short term the only real winners here will be organised crime who will be jumping with glee at the explosion of their profit margins.
Meanwhile, fucking booze continues to kill and damage thousands and we turn a blind eye because hey, they sponsor the All Blacks mate. Get a beer up ya.
No critique of how drug testing beneficiaries and workers for cannabis has led to the explosion of synthetic cannabis, no critique of why we are throwing so many NZers into prison for cannabis in the first place, no attempt to challenge the other drugs like booze and tobacco. If only we could have used the PSA model to re-regulate the tobacco and alcohol industries.
At the very least this should have been a debate about decriminalising cannabis, that debate has been once again bypassed.
The reality is that we are simply too juvenile to debate drug policy in NZ like adults, we ban, we throw people in prison and we learn nothing.
It’ll be party night at the Hells Angels, Black Power and Mongrel Mob pads tonight.
Criminalising drugs is like a make-work programme for criminal gangs. Or like throwing subsidies at Rio Tinto, Warner Bros, charter schools, etc.
“At the very least this should have been a debate about decriminalising cannabis, that debate has been once again bypassed.”
The solution to that is quite simple. Labour needs to come out in support of a referendum on cannabis decriminalisation.
Even if they don’t give a shit about the social and economic cost of the war on drugs, bringing decriminalisation into the mainstream would probably win them the election.
If they’re willing to speak out against trucks in the fast lane, then Labour should be willing to speak out against a pointless war that we’ve been losing for decades.
Need to got for full legalisation with none of this decriminalisation BS.
For more than 2 years a cannabis club (the Daktory) operated in New Lynn – West Auckland. The no alcohol policy and suitable location meant there were very few problems. It became a model for how such clubs could operate successfully. Sadly the media got involved, complaints were made, and the Po closed things down. While it lasted there were no long queues of strung out junkies, no major societal ills – I don’t believe there was ever an incidence of violence. In the same time period I can guarantee that there were fights weekly at the locals around Avondale and New Lynn.
Says plenty doesn’t it.
The cops knew of the place but were happy to turn a blind eye – cos they knew NO HARM was actually being done. That is, until they were told to do something.
Hmmmmm – seems like politicians and breweries will do whatever it takes to keep cannabis away from the people. Anything.
[…] crime have won and synthetic cannabis is to be banned. I’ve pointed out the eye rolling nonsense of this yesterday, but my concern now is Trevor Mallard and his current quest for […]
“Just because using drugs is a bad idea doesn’t mean the war on drugs is a good idea.”
Here is the problem. The War on Drugs is a psychological war designed to support the markets controlled by huge corporations. In order for society to accept the War on Drugs it needs to be prejudiced against drugs. (Similar to the way the US encourages prejudice about Muslims so it can carry on with the genocide without upsetting it’s own citizens too much) When people see a head line that says “using drugs is a bad idea” it doesn’t really matter what the article says, the net effect is that it will contribute to the overall negative view society has about drugs. It will reinforce the prejudice.
The truth is that drugs are awesome! We all use them. We have a coffee in the morning to get going, we pop a tablet to relieve a simple headache. What’s a celebration without Champagne? And who could possibly trust a politician who doesn’t like a beer with the fellas every so often? How many people have family members who would be dead if not for some pharmaceutical interference? Yes, drugs are a vital part of our everyday lives.
A clever society would look at each drug on it’s own merits. It wouldn’t just blindly follow the rules laid down by the corporations. Prejudice is a tool of governments and corporations, it is the glue that holds the War on Drugs in place. We have to get smarter in the way we tackle the issue.
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