Election Planning

Too many smokers to arrest!

NORML wants to make drug law reform the hot topic of any election campaign.

We will build on 30 years of campaigning by NORML (and others) for sensible drug law reform, using the Law Commission report and other documents.

The NORML campaign is cross-party.  NORML must involve members and supporters of all the main parties – National, ACT, Labour, Greens, Maori as well as some smaller parties like the Libertarianz and the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party that totally support drug law reform.

Campaign Themes/Slogans:

After much discussion, NORML adopted 3 campaign themes for J-Day in May, 2011. These were:

• Safe Legal Medicine (access to medicinal cannabis)
• A Regulated, Taxable Market (Access to low-risk drugs like cannabis should be regulated via an adults-only, taxable market similar to that in the Netherlands)
• It’s a Health Issue, not a Crime!

Campaign Plan

NORML will carry this campaign into the 63 General Electorates.  Because of the 7 Maori electorates’ size and structure, they are not suited to this campaign.

Three key tasks

1. Find out who the candidates are in each electorate
2. Find out when/where the electorate meetings are to be held
3. Send a NORML team to each meeting if possible, to hand out leaflets, hold signs, ask questions about candidate’s views

Other support activities are important.  There will be bus tours, letters/comment to media, MP visits, meetings, information stalls, newspaper articles, film/DVD screenings can/should be done.

The campaign is NOT:	The campaign IS:
Aimed at MPs (that comes in 2012)	Aimed at the news media and public
Aiming to change votes	Aiming to change the issues by making support for drug law reform visible
Aiming to change minds by “education”	Aiming to turn 1 million passive, fearful, supporters into proud, active supporters!
Only about protesting (AGAINST)	Mainly about saying what we want (FOR)