In 2019, New Zealand changed the laws on cannabis possession by giving Police the discretion to charge in the first place.
We want our Police to be able to exercise their own judgment and sense of a situation before pursuing a prosecution, charge or arrest. We want to trust our Police in our Communities to grant leniency because we want to build bridges between the Police and our Communities.
How has this experiment in trusting our Police gone?
Terribly!
New figures broadcast by NewsHub Nation over the weekend show that over the last year, over a thousand people were convicted for cannabis possession, a staggering 49 percent of them Māori!!!
When you consider Māori are only 17.4% of the population, to have a system built on discretion record 49% of possession charges for Māori (when Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in the country) is nothing other than an intrinsically racist process! Incredulously while overall numbers of people prosecuted for cannabis possession has been dropping, the proportion of Māori prosecutions is going up!
This is a racist system punishing Māori in a way that everyone else isn’t!
The system has been so racist for such a long time that it infects everything, including the Police on the frontline!
We need to decriminalize cannabis possession and personal use so that the system doesn’t keep punishing Māori the way it always has!
The data doesn’t lie, our laws are racist.
First published on Waatea News.
The law itself apparently makes no distinction based on race. And I find it very hard to believe that the police are letting whites walk free and only arresting blacks.
This is really a class issue. Nearly all blacks live in slums or other poorer areas. Those areas have heavier policing. The blacks that live there are usually poorer than the others on average. The poorer you are, the more likely you are to be hassled by the police (or be recruited into organised crime, or fall into petty crime, or end up on drugs out of despair).
This phenomenon was already in the process of being eradicated 90 years ago. Integrationist policies were desegregating housing. Ghettos could not exist, because there was widespread slum clearance and mass construction of state housing projects. The Full Employment Policy, universal trade union membership and mass industrialisation were reducing inequality of income.
The people have long wanted all of that back, which terrifies the oligarchs and the rest of the ruling elite. And so as the plebs get angrier, the establishment pushes racialist nationalism — literally blaming all social problems on alleged racial prejudice, and then preaching separatism — in an attempt to crush all those people who dare to follow Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders.
“blacks”
There are no blacks in gulag aoteoroa apart from me
Kristoff R., But Maori aren’t black we are brown!! this coded language that Robin D’ Angelo author of the book “White Fragility” speaks clearly about when white people speak racially about P.O.C. euphemism for the ‘N’ word typical pakeha
@Stephen — 1. I am black, so calling me a “typical white” is absurd;
2. This issue affects most of the coloured people of Australasia and the Pacific, but no longer the Asians or Arabs (the Viet and Lebanese gangs are no longer prominent);
3. The colour names for the races were first developed in Ancient Greece, then by the Noahide rules of the 1st century Judean Rabbis, and then eventually by anthropologists — beginning long before the 14th century English started borrowing the term ‘nègre’;
3. Robin DiAngelo is a race-obsessed, anti-European, anti-scientific liberal grifter that no socialist should want anything to do with.
Amen to your point #3! A grifter of the first order.
Grifter! So what are doing on TDB PP2? You don’t actually contribute nothing meaningful to the conversation.
“Nothing.”
Try “anything.”
Stephen, do you mind arguing properly please. Name calling with a demand to be silent is not an argument. If you can refute than bring it forward, but you shut up simply reeks of privledge, like a spoilt middle class child whose used to having the staff summarily sacked if they in anyway happen to displease them. Such attitudes are very rare in the low deciles, which likely indicates something.
Kristoff R, yeah right and I’m a green martian from Mars. Majority of black people and P.O.C will agree with Robin D’Angelo work of white superiority because she has resonated with their experiences.
Unfortunately for Stephen, some of us dodged apartheid bullets in support of real fighters against racial prejudice — like Joe Slovo, Ruth First, Ronnie Kasrils etc.
A sanctimonious corporate trainer like DiAngelo is a ridiculous figure in comparison; an overpaid Wall Street shill, selling highly divisive ideology.
There more than one way to skin a cat and Ruth First and co are example of real jewry living up to their name couldn’t disagree with you about that.
Agree Kristoff. In any event, we cant conclude that the law is racist until we have more info. I suspect what you said is the truth and there could be a few other factors in there too.
Ok Martyn, let’s imagine 49% of people convicted of shoplifting were Maaori (I’ve no idea what the real figure is). Would that mean that our shoplifting laws are racist?
The only other possibility is that there is a race of people in this country that are intrinsically lawless and criminal.
Try that suit on and see how it fits?
Not very comfortably I imagine.
Actually it’s because NZ is an inherently racist country brought to our shores in the 1860s and that resonates in the NZ Police who the majority are pakeha that use this racial superiority to unfairly target Maori, the evidence of this in the Pu ao te atatu report.
Could it be possible an element of the stats is Māori use more or open themselves up with less discretion in doing so? Personally I think there is some bias in police but not this much stated. When stats are agenderized they can be inflated well. Can we compare to user ethnicity stats first to drawer a better conclusion?
So is imprisoning people for investment fraud racist because I am assuming is this is mostly committed by NZ Europeans?
Simple answer is if they do not do the crime white or black they will not have to do the time. There are legal ways of relaxing .
The origins of the NZ police is predicated on ethnically cleansing Maori from their lands and livelihoods to make way for european settlements. The NZ police and judiciary are racist by default because of this genocidal act perpetrated against Maori likewise in county’s that have unfortunately been tainted by british imperialism.
Sure there are Maori in the police and you have Maori judges probation officers etc…, however they’ve been institutionalized into a system and culture that was already stacked against Maori. Pakeha talk about introducing universal suffrage, a system of democracy one person one vote law & order but were also stealing Maoriland and forcibly undermining Maori culture and their language that reflected today.
If you think Maori have special treatment because we have a Labour govt then you’re are either brainwashed or just an ardent pakeha racist or believe in the lies peddled by ACT, NATZO, or Bob the last.
Polynesians are overrepresented in other types of crime such as ram raids. Asians are over represented in drug importation. Pakeha are overrepresented in child porn. Does not mean laws against ram raids, drug trafficking, or child porn are then racist.
Cough – s-u-r-e. But could I point out the issue here is that the Police have actual discretion over cannabis prosecutions, they don’t have that power with child porn, drug importation or ram raids do they Mark?
When you consider that, when a White/Asian etc person gets caught they (usually) act contrite and cooperative yet a young Maori is likely (usually) to get angry and abusive to show off to their mates, the mystery suddenly clears a little bit.
Wow that’s so racist. I think it’s important people see comments like Ken’s and recoil.
Hey, here’s an idea, maybe don’t break the law?
Better still, self identify as a Biden
I think you need to crawl back into your cage rat as your missing the point how the law is applied unfairly in NZ.
Horse shit.
Maoris are convicted more often because they commit more crimes.
Perhaps if we didn’t have people like Martyn endorsing their criminality by insisting we look away when they steal or people like you telling them it’s “da man’s” fault?
I hear this argument defending the Police so much that I’m surprised that it sill exists.
Your claim is Police are not racist, they are simply covering the crime as it happens, and I suppose that’s what is so insidious about this perspective.
There is statistically a far greater chance of finding a white person with weed because with cannabis being the most used illegal drug, and there being so many more pakeha, there are a far greater numerical number of white people smoking weed, but if you are framed with a mindset that Māori are the problem, then as a police officer you go looking for Māori.
That’s how systemic racism works, it’s a cultural perspective that generates narratives rather than empathy or objectivity – THAT’S WHY we set up legal protections for the individual and put in place checks and balances (as weak as those are).
If you live in a majority culture that is always telling itself that the other is the problem, the other become the problem whether they are or not.
Maybe the whites are doing their smoking in homes – because they are older and own houses – rather than in cars and in public places like younger people do. That brings them into the Police gaze and arrest.
Māori are a younger population than whites, after all.
Here’s an idea. Change the stupid f’ing law.
Didn’t Labour & Andrew Little do that? Oh wait, another “success”.
Where’s that rat trap I have? If you can’t do better than smarmy useless comments don’t bother. Smartarse comments no good. It’s a problem – become chronic – have you any anecdotes where people from poor backgrounds who have some disability have been able to learn a new skill that makes them self-sufficient for long periods?
Maybe Labour could have changed the law, after all almost 50% of New Zealanders wanted it legalized, but Little said a definitive NO, because they never wanted change.
Russell Brand. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever your opinion of the fellow, you should watch this.
You might be excused for thinking these links are off-topic but I don’t think they are at all.
Propaganda and the suppression of opinions is censorship and censorship is the answer to hiding their agenda and their agenda is about their wealth creation enabled by us being reduced to not much more than slaves.
The processes of drug banning and racism are one other thing that we can be encouraged to overlook. Drug banning and quelling racism are also about control.
You’ll laugh at this. When the stunted moustache douglas sold us to Corporations there was a sudden interest in safety. Suddenly, everyone had to wear an orange vest and any service vehicle had to have a silly little orange flashing light and sometimes, if you were very unlucky, you also had a beeping sound for reversing etc to drive you even more mental than you already were. I think we can safely ( Ba ha! ) say now that, that has nothing to do with our safety, it’s instead all about control. It’s about making us compliant.
I’m no racist person and I’ll take what ever drug I fucking want and fuck you for telling me I can’t!
Thirty years ago! Jesus! And now you do what they told you.
Rage Against The Machine – Killing In The Name – 1993
https://youtu.be/8de2W3rtZsA
Russell Brand.
“Join us for an exciting live stream as we delve into multiple captivating topics that have captured headlines and stirred public interest. First up, Tucker Carlson’s appearance on our show, President Joe Biden’s visit to the UK and meeting with Rishi Sunak, and a thought-provoking comparison between Biden’s visit and Trump’s with UFC 290. Plus Biden’s decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine! ”
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/live/9_34VLTlICM?feature=share
Rumble
https://rumble.com/v2z81qm-tucker-interview-gone-viral-my-reaction-164-stay-free-with-russell-brand.html
” Fuck you I won’t do whatcha tell me, motherfucker! ”
Like ” Go the All Blacks! ” but different.
Would be very surprised if Countryboy doesn’t have Russell Brand pajamas.
Martyn you write some great articles with many valid points. However maybe avoid using the term ‘racist’. It gets thrown into conversation and important debates too readily and usually that distracts and sidetracks from the key issue being raised to begin with. I’d use the term ‘discriminatory’ instead. Yes our drug laws are discriminatory against cannabis users alongside the urine based drug testing regime that meth users and people who overuse alcohol can more easily avoid detection with due to the body being able to metabolise those harder drugs faster. I’m hoping some sense with prevail and these antiquated, regressive, punitive and harmful policies are dumped forever.
In todays Press is an article about Portugal having another look at their drug laws .The situation there has been the decriminalization of drugs .zSo the situation is you cannot smoke outside a school you cannot sell sweets or ice cream but you can shot up .Go figure .Overdose rates have doubled
How many of these cannabis charges then convictions happened at the same time as other charges/convictions? That is, how many were in situations where the defendant was charged other (non-cannabis ) offences?
How many of these convictions resulted from a cannabis only court appearance? SFA?
Prejudice of the Maori people continues here in New Zealand on a raft of issues like possession of cannabis and traffic violations. Unfairly punishing people because of their race is against the law. That is where discretion comes into play, quite often as the reason for this racial discrimination, and it really need not.
Some would argue we need more Maori on the Police Force. I would argue that an influx of Maori police officers would actually exacerbate the issue long term as they clashed with Pakeha officers.
To take away discretion from well trained officers is also unfair. Actually it undermines their ability to do their jobs. It has both long term and short term psychological effects on the officers and destroys morale.
I think the solution is to put increased boundaries in place. For example, reduce the amount of cannabis that one can have in one’s possession. Introduce a four-step licensing system with different curfews rather than our current three tiered system. That way, no-one can complain that they are being unfairly targeted. If they break these clearly defined laws, then they will have consequences regardless of their racial background.
Racist as it gets without donning KKK garb. A defective campaign as Brexit was a successful campaign. Doesn’t reflect essential virtue. Here in Gisbo where we voted for legal marijuana urban and rural I’d expect our police to give up on enforcement but they send the new police to learn here and to protect the planters from the peons (our economy).