The latest poll shows support for cannabis reform has dramatically slumped.
How the hell can this happen?
Helius, the company who paid for the poll have a vested interest in keeping cannabis pharmaceutical so will privately celebrate recreational cannabis slumping as it strengthens their medicinal cannabis business model, but their vested interest aside, how the hell could the argument be getting lost?
Some might suggest fringe Christian fanatics Family Fist have pumped out propaganda and that has changed things, but I don’t for one second think it’s God squad or their moronic whining, I think it’s something far more damaged.
In America, the tribalism is so pathological that people love Trump because he makes the people they despise incandescent with rage. In NZ, the Greens have gone from friendly folk with alternatives to a middle class woke lynch mob whose activists manage to make most people feel alienated.
Last year Pride parade had 30 000 turn up to celebrate the rainbow community, this year after the woke Board took over and banned Police from marching because Trans people might be triggered by seeing a Police Officer in uniform, it barely managed 2500.
The woke proclaimed this as a win.
The Greens practise the same pure temple mindset of inclusion via exclusion and because the Cannabis reform is so closely aligned to the Greens, the bac lash we are seeing with slumping cannabis polls is driven by people reacting to them, not the debate.
It can’t all be the Greens fault, the lack of an actual referendum question and the fact it’s not binding on the next Government doesn’t help, but ultimately what the Cannabis reform movement desperately needs right now are an all star celebrity team calling for change and a regulated market.
This movement needs to be liked again and the lowly polling Greens aren’t likeable.
I’ll be hosting the first great cannabis referendum debate on September 2nd live streamed from Chapel Bar at 8pm as part of our ‘Pub Politics’ season. Paula Bennett, David Seymour, Chloe Swarbrick and Chris Folwie will front and debate the issue.
What have we heard from the government on this issue in the past 3 months? – next to nothing. What did we hear from the government on the CGT debate? – next to nothing. Unfortunately because this inept government continues to sit on their stool instead of getting in their and fighting, we have already thrown in the towel. The governments silence on this issue is deafening, and I have no doubt kiwis will widely reject the referendum.
I think it is the lack of a solid, fully-worked out alternative to the current regulation that is shooting the pro-reform campaign in the foot.
How can you argue that the reforms are a better system when you can’t describe that system (except in the broadest ‘our goal is…’ terms)? The status quo has the advantage of everyone knows what it is, for good and bad.
And this is down to Labour not really wanting to make the coherent, joined-up and necessary tough decisions for workable regulation.
Nor do Labour want to campaign for it in principle. It’s a Greens orphan.
Sanity looks as if it will reign and the supportreferendum will be lost. Do we need more dope heads driving and operating machinery. The government need to find out why people need this drug to get through life not just say give up because it’s too hard to police.
,
What?? Are you one of those dopes who thinks the current policies reduce drug use in any way at all? Where do you get that idea from? We already have pretty well max use of all drugs, despite our silly bans on some of them. The War on Drugs was lost long ago. You are out of touch, Trevor.
I don’t know if you have ever had sex Trevor, but it’s way better having a smoke and then having sex, than drinking a beer and having one. It’s also great for listening to music to, excellent for good conversation. It is also excellent for creative activities like playing music and doing art. Also very nice to have a smoke and then go out and look at the stars in the sky, or listen to the wind blowing through the trees. I’m sorry, you have never got to enjoy these things.
“Support for the personal use cannabis referendum has plummeted” says Granny Herald? Really? The results of the latest Helius poll show a fairly even split between “Yes” and “No” supporters, with at least a year to go until polling day. That’s quite encouraging, considering that allowing a commercial market was always going to be a harder argument to win than just decriminalizing recreational use (and maybe grow-your-own). I’m confident that sanity will indeed reign. As we get the evidence before the public, showing that prohibition causes far more serious harm to people’s lives than a drug less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco, a lot of “undecided” and “No” votes will turn to “Yes”.
Comments are closed.