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

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?

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!

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.
10 years ago: the Law Commission said repeal the Misuse of Drugs Act

10 years ago: the Law Commission said repeal the Misuse of Drugs Act

Ten years ago this week, the New Zealand Law Commission recommended repealing the Misuse of Drugs Act, and replacing it with a new Act administered by the Ministry of Health. This was ignored by the previous National government. In 2017 Labour said they would, if elected, "Comprehensively respond... and replace the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975." It still hasn't happened. The Law Commission's report is here: Controlling and Regulating…
Yes or No, the roadmap for cannabis reform

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

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

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

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.
Medicinal cannabis wins and polls point to cannabis referendum’s recipe for success

Medicinal cannabis wins and polls point to cannabis referendum’s recipe for success

Improvements to New Zealand’s new medicinal cannabis scheme – together with recent polling – suggest how we can win the cannabis referendum, writes Chris Fowlie. Originally published on The Daily Blog There has been much criticism of the medicinal cannabis scheme, and some of it justified. Patients can’t grow their own. So far, products have been more expensive than they could be. The dealings of middle class businessmen has…