The 102 page report is on the Police website at
http://www.police.govt.nz/resources/2008/Cannabis_Strategic_Assessment_Final3_2007_mirror.pdf
It is written in the traditional 
Image via Wikipediaprohibitionist style, is poorly referenced, makes numerous sweeping declarations (one sample 4.2.4 below), and is effectively a call to arms against cannabis, and by implication, the cannabis law reform movement.
It makes use of SHORE’s data, cherry picks a little from others, but treats statements by the INCB, Kofi Annan, Mario Costa as data.
Some sections, including some recommendations , are withheld , under the OIA act. (heads up thanks to BrandonH)
4.2.4 Cannabis Hospital Admissions by Gender and Age
The abuse of cannabis by young New Zealanders is a key focus of this assessment primarily because of the widely held perception that cannabis is a harmless drug. Many young people know national policies on cannabis vary from country to country that includes partial legalisation in some countries which portrays confusing and conflicting messages about the perceived harms posed by cannabis. Such messages ultimately undermine the credibility of the international drug control system and the findings of inquiries such as the 2003 Health Select Committee Inquiry Report on Cannabis
A keen observer of the human condition would clearly identify the acute irony in this Police interpretation of the 2003 Health Select Committee report.
extract:
“Based on the evidence we have heard in the course of this inquiry,” the committee concluded, “the negative mental health impact of cannabis appears to have been overstated, particularly in relation to occasional adult users of the drug.” “Evidence received in the course of this inquiry has raised serious doubts about commonly held beliefs about cannabis,” wrote the committee. “Evidence received during the inquiry supports the view that there can be subtle cognitive impairment in cannabis users,” the report says. In this respect, the committee drew to a large extent on the work of Prof. Wayne Hall of the Australian National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, who was commissioned to report on scientific research in this area. He found that long-term use of cannabis may cause subtle impairment in the higher cognitive functions of memory, attention and the organisation and integration of complex information. The committee said the evidence also suggested that cannabis did not cause behavioral difficulties, but rather that cannabis was frequently used by youths who misbehaved; neither was it a cause of suicide. “
Perhaps if Police Intel would read BHO’s quote heading this blog then they might acquire some ‘intelligence’ they seem to seek. (on our tick at that!)
“Because the truth is that promoting science isn’t just about providing resources — it’s about protecting free and open inquiry. It’s about ensuring that facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology,” – Pres Elect, B. Obama
If Police Intel would like to pay me $600wk for ten years, I would inform ‘them what is wrong with their strategic assessment , and who said it’. /Blair
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