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.
Reefer Madness follows criticism of cannabis referendum bill

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Posted inChris Fowlie's Blog Press releases Referendum

Reefer Madness follows criticism of cannabis referendum bill

The Nope brigade is a coalition of busy bodies, wowsers and moralists that includes Family First and Bob McCroskie, a bunch of conservative small town religious leaders, owners of drug testing companies who stand to lose much of their income, and the US anti-cannabis lobby group SAM, which has lost most cannabis reform campaigns in US states.
Cannabis Referendum’s Volatile Polls Show Every Vote Will Count – As Scientologists and Uncle SAM Exposed Behind Bob’s “Nope” Campaign

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Posted inCampaign Chris Fowlie's Blog Law Reform

Cannabis Referendum’s Volatile Polls Show Every Vote Will Count – As Scientologists and Uncle SAM Exposed Behind Bob’s “Nope” Campaign

With no public education campaign and widespread confusion over what the referendum will do, it is perhaps unsurprising to see such volatility in opinion polls. What is perhaps more surprising is that the cannabis referendum result could be decided by the least powerful and most disenfranchised members of society. And what should horrify everyone is that foreign interests and religious charlatans are actively working for the Nope campaign fronted by Family First.
Cannabis referendum Bill’s recipe for success

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Posted inChris Fowlie's Blog Referendum

Cannabis referendum Bill’s recipe for success

With the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, the choice for voters could not be more stark: vote Yes and New Zealand finally gives it a go, with a model that restores privacy to what people do in their own home and limits commercialisation while spreading economic benefits widely, or instead vote No to support a failed model that criminalises young people and enriches organised crime.