In the cannabis referendum, voters were asked whether they supported the proposed cannabis legislation and control bill which included legalising recreational use of the drug.
The bill failed by a slim margin with 48.4 percent voting in support and 50.7 not. The letter explains the referendum brought to head a long overdue public conversation about drugs and the close results hide the consensus among the majority of those who voted: That the status quo is causing harm and we need to improve our current approach to drug law.
Sawicki Mead says support for changing the Misuse of Drugs Act comes from both sides of the cannabis debate.
The Bulletin: Change looms in Samoa after knife-edge election
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Change looms in Samoa after knife-edge election, another border worker has tested positive for Covid-19, and dozens of organisations call for Misuse of Drugs Act to be scrapped.
The balance of power could be shifting in an important country in our neighbourhood, after a big election swing. The dominant Human Rights Protection Party may end up losing power in Samoa after decades in office, with the newly formed Faatuatua i Le Atua ua Tasi (FAST) taking a surprisingly large share of the vote. FAST was founded last year by MPs who split from HRPP, in large part over a controversial land ownership reform bill. RNZ Pacific reports unofficial results show the split between the two big parties is so close, it is likely to come down to a kingmaker independent MP. Tuala Iosefo Ponifasio, told the Samoa Observer that he wants to see change in the way politics i
Coalition calls for health-based approach to drug use in open letter to Govt
11 Apr, 2021 05:00 PM
4 minutes to read
The referendum to legalise recreational cannabis was narrowly lost. Photo / Bevan Conley
Audrey Young is political editor for the New Zealand Heraldaudrey.young@nzherald.co.nz@audreyNZH
More than 25 health and social service organisations have banded together to call on the Government to repeal the country s drug laws, to drop penalties for use and to treat the use of drugs as a health issue.
The groups, including the New Zealand Medical Association, the Mental Health Foundation, the Public Health Association, the Maori Law Society, the Drug Foundation, Hapai te Hauora, and JustSpeak, have sent an open letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Health Minister Andrew Little and Justice Minister Kris Faafoi.
The government is being told the time has come for a major overhaul of the drug laws.
Dozens of social service and health organisations - including the Medical Association, Public Health Association and Māori health providers - want drug use to be treated as a health issue.
Twenty-five organisations have written to the government asking for drug laws to be overhauled
Photo: wollertz 201/ 123rf
Carly Laughton knows intimately the personal toll a minor drug charge can wreak.
In her late teens she was arrested - she had a cannabis pipe on her - and the stigma of the conviction steered her life onto a difficult path.