“Our youngsters are being damaged with rising rates of various psychoses related to cannabis use in teenage and early adult years.” And the sheer, unrelenting pressure of having to find a lifepath under the shockingly heavy burdens, financial, and personal placed upon them by a sick, and nakedly corrupt system have no effect whatsoever? The huge volume of utter rubbish food the powers that be have forced onto the youth without any more than faint lip service to any health considerations… Then we need to acknowledge the growing number of ADD, ADHD, and various other symptoms of the effects of the toxic environment a “business” obsessed government has inflicted upon the whole poulation, have had absolutely no impact on the mental health statistics? Of course not.. It’s children being given cannabis as five year olds.. Why didn’t I figure that out?

Yea I have, the pills being tested are mostly illegal , seems a bit hypocritical to undertake pill testing of party pills for kids, which is an acknowledgement that popping pills can not be controlled so best to treat as a health issue , yet the same approach has been ruled out for Cannabis. Lack of policy consistency here.

Ethan Woke:
> Final reeferendum results showed as many people voted for a cannabis reform as for the Labour Party.

Almost.

Vote for legalizing cannabis: 1,406,973
Votes for Labour: 1,443,546

But a lot more people voted against cannabis reform than for the NatACTs:

Votes against legalizing cannabis: 1,474,635
Votes for National: 738,275
Votes for ACT: 219,030
Total NatACT votes: 957,305

I wonder which parties the other 500,000 or so Nopers voted for?

John W:
> Perhaps the younger people are waking up to the damage weed does to the growing brain.

As with the much greater damage caused to young brains by alcohol, the best way to reduce this damage is to have licensed suppliers who will lose their license if they sell to people under 18. Everyone who voted “No” was voting for the continuation of black market tinny houses who will sell to anyone with $20. The same tinny houses who face no quality control regulation and can get away with spraying fly spray on buds to make them seem stronger. The Yes voters are the ones who voted to protect young people, not the head-in-the-sand Nopers.

Yes I completely agree, the PM is a smart polypolytition for all of us… and I have encountered the antiweed types (50%of NZers) who are IMO are not a group unlike the pro Trump group, “Trump or nothing” ie: no weed or nothing. Opinions based on bias and ignorance carried on through the ages. I am personally glad PM did not want to influence the pro or anti weed groups through her position of influence and power, this would not play well in the future and actually holds to her personal honerable stance on everything that has happened so far to never take advantage of her privilege. And, she always pointed out her POV was already out there. So, no, she did not not have the courage of her convictions, she is a little bit more wiser and sophisticated for that. To advocate or not, this would have done no favours to anyone, as will be evidence in the very near next three years of simply having to deal with the almost 50 percent pro weed vote, not to mention straight and ‘deplorable’ Americans being more progressive than us. It will give pause for thought for all those who would be simply anti dope because they basically think it is a poor Maori problem.ie, a racist issue, which many still hide behind.

“Our youngsters are being damaged with rising rates of various psychoses related to cannabis use in teenage and early adult years.”

Evidence?

Pill testing at festivals will save kid’s lives — you gotta problem with that?