TV Review: The Vote

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TheVote

The Vote (TV3’s mass participation debate that alternates with 3rd degree) tackled “Should we decriminalise soft drugs” as the moot this week and it was not so much all heat and no light as plenty of smoke and a lot of fire. The visceral antipathy towards drugs – any substance beyond the traditional alcohol and nicotine that is held by so may conservatives of the older generation – on the one hand, and the open-armed, open-mouthed embrace of cannibas by the younger generations is so vast that the debate was all but lost by dint of the generation gap. The older anti-druggies are dying off and they have not been replaced. To spoil the result – the pro-decriminalisation side won on every basis: facebook, twitter, texting and the audience, the final vote being 72% to 28%.

The decision to lump in sythetic cannibas into the “soft drug” mix – rather than just stick to cannibas – was a bold move to make things a bit more interesting. This broke the template somewhat as the new media-hyped scourge of synthetic chemically-enhanced cannibas is at saturation point and the arguments weren’t quite the same as with marijuana. The point became risk assessment as the debate rolled along. The difficulty being the new stuff on the market, in the diaries, has no ingredients list or information to determine if it is safe. Step in the industry promoter with his rainbows and unicorns of safe substance claims. He looked sus. But it didn’t seem to matter what he looked like, as long as he was backing Peter Dunne’s Psycho-active Substances Bill he came across as responsible and the audience didn’t need much encouragement to believe him.

As usual these encounters are a matter of Espiner and Garner yelling at each other and their panelists with Linda Clarke brokering short-lived cease-fires along the way. The best moment, certainly the most entartaining, was Garner trying to get the promoter to have a puff as he held out a reefer of synthetic dope and a lighter. She just smiled as the dare continued. Pity he didn’t have a toke in the end, it would have shut Garner up for a few seconds. She had to intervene to sort out Garner’s hectoring a few times as it seemed he was pumped up on something. And as for that stunt, the Radio Live pre-programme smoke-up the other week was alluded to. Once when Espiner remarked that what does it say about Radio Live that he can do a whole show without any difference, and once when the sober pro-decriminalisation doctor accused Garner being the druggie on ‘Juicy Puff’. “Have you ever smoked cannibas?” – Garner shot back. He hesitated and then replied it wasn’t about what he did… We all laughed. Everone’s a smoker.

Wayne Potoa, the smooth Pacific Islander from the Streets Ahead Trust fought well in his corner, but his street cred just couldn’t break through the effects that criminalisation has on minorities and that the simple say no message is flawed. Mike Sabin, the ex-cop and arguably a man who has made as much money out of his anti-P business than an actual P cook, did his side no favours. His rote answers were so simplistic as to defy categorisation. They were slogans at best not arguments. His remark that dope smokers were all thieves was a shocker. Espiner won the argument – as if it was ever in doubt – at that point. 75% have smoked – are they all thieves? Once a cop always a cop. The Mayor of Timaru did her town little credit either with her purse-lipped ranting.

Ross Bell and the good doctor were the stars here. They tagged team on information not rhetoric and put a lot of scares to rest. How many have died of cannibas or synthetic cannibas? None. Zero. Their sober response of education and harm minimisation was presented with great authority.

Next time maybe a topic a bit more 50-50 than 75-25 is in order. The wowsers were ousted.

3 COMMENTS

  1. i think you are a tad harsh on the ‘industry-spokesperson’..

    ..he never claimed the synthetics were ‘safe’..’low-risk’ was the depth of his committment..

    ..and i thought he presented one of the most lucid arguments for legalisation/regulation/taxation..

    ..pointing out that those states in america that have sane cannabis laws..

    ..’have no problem with synthetic legal-highs’..

    ..phillip ure..

  2. Sabin and the Mayor were shocking. Hopefully their type are dying out.
    Sabin’s participation just rammed home to me how much the police depend on the War on Drugs to kick down doors and criminalise targets of the ruling class choosing. Even when they retire, they find ways to make money from it, what with overpriced seminars on P and drug testing contracts. Just more rubbish that civilisation, if it is ever allowed to rear its pretty head, will get rid of.

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