Crappy Birthday, MoDA! 50 years of misuse of drugs laws
Posted inLaw Reform Press releases

Crappy Birthday, MoDA! 50 years of misuse of drugs laws

Do you know the racist origins of New Zealand's drug laws? The 1901 Opium Prohibition Act, banned use only by Chinese people, and Aotearoa’s first alcohol law banned use only by Maori. Such misuse of drugs laws continues to this day, with the law applied unfairly, unevenly, and with no regard to actually helping those the law claims to protect. The 1972-3 Blake Palmer Committee which reviewed the previous…
NORML’s <strong>Submission on the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill 2024</strong>
Posted inCampaign Drug Testing Law Reform

NORML’s Submission on the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill 2024

NORML's submission on the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill 2024 focusses on how this Bill and the drug driving testing regime relates to cannabis and the one-in-ten adults in New Zealand who are regular consumers, as well as the large majority of adults who have tried it on occasion; the vast majority of whom are responsible, otherwise law-abiding citizens who may be entrapped by poorly targeted roadside checkpoints intended to detect recent use rather than impairment.
Testing times for drivers: National’s new drug-driving law won’t detect impaired drivers & could see innocents prosecuted

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Posted inChris Fowlie's Blog Drug Testing Research

Testing times for drivers: National’s new drug-driving law won’t detect impaired drivers & could see innocents prosecuted

The Government has confirmed they will “roll out” legislation this year to enable police to randomly test the saliva of drivers using inaccurate swabs that could see thousands of people subjected to roadside blood tests and prosecuted with no evidence of impairment.
Predictions for 2024

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Posted inChris Fowlie's Blog Law Reform

Predictions for 2024

On 95bFM's weekly Marijuana Media show, NORML's Chris Fowlie made a few predictions for 2024. Check the pot-cast for more! The current settings won’t change. See: Luxon (above), election campaign, coalition agreements, 100 day plan. This is good news! The Medical Cannabis Scheme will remain, with access to flower; police discretion will stay in place; substance checking is safe. Labour also won’t do anything this year, but expect some testing…
#TokeTheVote 2023: Your cannabis-based voting guide

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Posted inCampaign Chris Fowlie's Blog

#TokeTheVote 2023: Your cannabis-based voting guide

NORML's cannabis-based guide to voting in the 2023 NZ general election includes a review of political party cannabis policies and statements by their spokespeople.
Pardon Kiwi cannabis convicts? Yes, we can.

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Posted inChris Fowlie's Blog Law Reform Referendum

Pardon Kiwi cannabis convicts? Yes, we can.

While Americans convicted for possessing pot will soon be pardoned, some local politicians have already stubbed out the roach here, citing the 2020 cannabis referendum result. Yet there remains a need to pardon Kiwis for something most of us no longer believe should be a crime, and there are several ways we could do it, writes CHRIS FOWLIE,
Auckland mayoral contest: tough choice for progressive voters

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Posted inCampaign Chris Fowlie's Blog Law Reform

Auckland mayoral contest: tough choice for progressive voters

As voting packs arrive in the mail, progressive voters in Auckland now face a tough choice in the contest for Mayor: should they hold their nose and vote for socially conservative Efeso Collins, backed by Labour and the Greens, or support the ‘independent’ bid of socially liberal but right-leaning Wayne Brown?
Ministry of Health reviewing the Medicinal Cannabis Scheme: here’s what works, what went wrong and how we can fix it

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Posted inChris Fowlie's Blog Medicinal Use of Cannabis

Ministry of Health reviewing the Medicinal Cannabis Scheme: here’s what works, what went wrong and how we can fix it

Last week, as New Zealand’s Medicinal Cannabis Scheme was labelled “unworkable” and the Ministry of Health finally confirmed a review of the scheme was imminent, I did two things that illustrated what is working and what isn’t...
Cannabis year in review: the referendum’s long shadow

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Posted inCampaign Chris Fowlie's Blog Medicinal Use of Cannabis

Cannabis year in review: the referendum’s long shadow

For the second year of the zombie apocalypse, covid cast a long shadow over everything, the referendum left us in a hazy brain fog and the government wished cannabis would just go away – while the rest of the world moved on without us. Yet there is still hope.
One year on from the cannabis referendum: The forgotten 48%

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Posted inCampaign Chris Fowlie's Blog Law Reform

One year on from the cannabis referendum: The forgotten 48%

This weekend the Labour Party held their annual conference. It’s also one year since the announcement of the results of their cannabis referendum, in which a forgotten 48 per cent of voters supported full commercial legalisation.
Does medical cannabis need a supermarket-style intervention?

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Posted inChris Fowlie's Blog Law Reform Medicinal Use of Cannabis

Does medical cannabis need a supermarket-style intervention?

The Government’s medical cannabis scheme is now in full effect, but strict rules have taken away products that are used by thousands of patients, letting billionaires corner the market and no obvious path for smaller growers. The solution may lie in applying the Commerce Commission’s thinking for supermarkets to the medicinal cannabis sector, with five small changes that could make a big difference.
Police persecute medicinal cannabis suppliers – this isn’t the kindness or reform we were promised!

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Posted inCampaign Chris Fowlie's Blog Medicinal Use of Cannabis

Police persecute medicinal cannabis suppliers – this isn’t the kindness or reform we were promised!

Police have been under fire for raiding and prosecuting people using and producing medicinal cannabis products – but the blame lies squarely with politicians writing bad laws.
Yes or No, the roadmap for cannabis reform

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Posted inChris Fowlie's Blog Referendum

Yes or No, the roadmap for cannabis reform

During the referendum campaign, the Nopers moved over to supporting decriminalisation or other iterative steps in that direction, and we must hold them to that.