Image via WikipediaQuestion for Oral Answer: Cannabis – Legal Status Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand:
“Judy Turner: Has the Minister seen research from the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research and the Australian National Drug Research Institute that shows that prohibition of cannabis does limit the amount consumed by heavy users, and does he agree that that justifies retaining its current legal status in New Zealand?
Hon Jim Anderton: Yes, I have seen that evidence and much other evidence that lead me to believe that the present prohibition on cannabis in this country is the correct prohibition for us to have.
Steve Chadwick: Has the Minister seen studies or reports that link cannabis use with psychotic symptoms or mental health disorders?
Hon Jim Anderton: Yes. I think that was the report referred to in the original question. As I say, I think it would be instructive for members of Parliament to read that report. Other empirical work is also being done in New Zealand, however. Late last year the National Drug Policy’s discretionary fund allocated funding to a number of projects. Three projects deal with research into the health effects of cannabis. These studies aim to gather information on the effects of cannabis on users’ lungs, how it compares with use of tobacco, and the impact on New Zealand households of expenditure on cannabis.
Judy Turner: Does the Minister accept that his proposed drug classification system, which will establish a new class, class D, will open the door wide for any future Labour-Green Government to decriminalise cannabis without the need for legislation; if not, why not?
Hon Jim Anderton: No, I do not. The classification I am seeking is for legal substances. Cannabis is an illegal substance.
Well done Jim.
A clear understanding of not much at all… except that Class D might be very useful for legalising presently illegal substances. Its your law Jim. You made it. And I couldnt have written it simpler myself.
Blair Anderson
http://mildgreens.blogspot.com/
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