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…
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.
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.
10 years ago: the Law Commission said repeal the Misuse of Drugs Act
Posted inCampaign Press releases

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…
NORML’s Submission on the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill
Posted inFor Media & Students Law Reform

NORML’s Submission on the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill

NORML New Zealand Inc supports the intention of this Bill, especially the provision mandating police discretion and directing a health-based approach. Our main concern is about granting a wide power for any Minister of Health to prohibit more substances or even “articles” and we recommend changing this. We also recommend directing police discretion and a healthcare-based approach before arrest, rather than at prosecution.
We’re all human: A cannabis patient’s report from Parliament By Rebecca Reider
Posted inCampaign Events Medicinal Use of Cannabis

We’re all human: A cannabis patient’s report from Parliament By Rebecca Reider

BY REBECCA REIDER It was one of those days for remembering why I’m alive and why I’m in this fight. Wow.  I traveled to speak at Parliament twice last month – once on behalf of NORML, and then once on behalf of myself. I did not realise beforehand how powerful these experiences would be. The first time I arrived at Parliament for the hearings, I actually started crying as…
Posted inCampaign Law Reform Medicinal Use of Cannabis

NORML’s submission on the Govt’s medicinal cannabis bill

Hearings on the Government's medicinal cannabis law reform bill continue throughout April and May, with NORML New Zealand delivering on Wednesday 11th April an unsubmissive submission on behalf of impatient patients. NORML's evidence was presented to Parliament's Health Select Committee by Rebecca Reider - a Golden Bay patient who was raided and prosecuted by police, and who subsequently successfully imported cannabis medicines into New Zealand - and Phil Saxby,…
Submissions now open on Medicinal Cannabis Bill (deadline 21 March 2018)
Posted inCampaign Events Medicinal Use of Cannabis

Submissions now open on Medicinal Cannabis Bill (deadline 21 March 2018)

Parliament unanimously passed the Government's Medicinal Cannabis Amendment Bill, and the Health Select Committee has wasted no time in opening submissions from the public. NORML will be writing a submission on the Bill, and this is your opportunity to also support safe legal access to medicinal cannabis! How to make a submission Read the Parliamentary guide to making a submission. NORML has produced a guide to making your submission…
Action alert: Medicinal cannabis reform in NZ is on the line this week – your voice is needed.
Posted inCampaign Medicinal Use of Cannabis Press releases

Action alert: Medicinal cannabis reform in NZ is on the line this week – your voice is needed.

What’s happening: The first vote on Green MP Chloe Swarbrick’s medicinal cannabis bill is on Wed, Jan 31st. It’s going to be a conscience vote, meaning MPs can vote on their personal conscience, rather than along party lines. Why it’s important: Medicinal cannabis has proven benefits for numerous health conditions. Even if you don’t need it yourself, you’re likely to know someone who will need it one day. This bill is…
The Greens’ Medicinal Cannabis Bill will have it’s first vote in Parliament

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

The Greens’ Medicinal Cannabis Bill will have it’s first vote in Parliament

The Greens’ Medicinal Cannabis Bill will have it’s first vote in Parliament next Wednesday 31st Jan. This is sooner than we expected, so it’s really important to hit that keyboard and urge your MP to support the bill. Here are some reasons you can use: The public wants it, with over 80 per cent support for legalising medicinal cannabis in almost all polls. Let the Bill go to Select Committee so the public…
Specialists to prescribe medicinal cannabis under Govt proposal
Posted inLaw Reform Medicinal Use of Cannabis Press releases

Specialists to prescribe medicinal cannabis under Govt proposal

In response to sustained lobbying from patients and advocates including NORML, the NZ Government is changing the rules for medicinal cannabis so doctors can prescribe it direct to patients.  It's a step forward, and what we've been saying for years: it's the regulations that prevent doctors prescribing cannabis without special Ministerial approval, and these could be changed any time without needing to change the law. The risk is that…
Legal status of Cannabidiol (CBD)
Posted inFor Media & Students Law Reform Medicinal Use of Cannabis

Legal status of Cannabidiol (CBD)

UPDATED AUGUST 2017 This is a step forward - but just a small step. Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne has announced Cannabidiol (CBD) will remain a controlled drug with restrictions expected to be lifted in September so that GPs and other doctors can prescribe CBD to patients without needing special approval. SUMMARY: GPs and other doctors will be able to prescribe CBD products without needing special approval; CBD products must…
Cannabis utensils law review – have your say to legalise pipes and bongs
Posted inAbout cannabis Law Reform Medicinal Use of Cannabis

Cannabis utensils law review – have your say to legalise pipes and bongs

Submissions are open now - get yours in by Tuesday, 20 September 2016. Good news! The law banning the importation and sale of harm-reducing cannabis pipes, bongs and vaporisers may be changed.  In a new discussion document, the NZ Ministry of Health has noted that drug issues are "health matters that need to be addressed proportionately, compassionately and innovatively." It also notes the goal of the National Drug Policy is to "minimise harm…
Posted inLaw Reform Medicinal Use of Cannabis Press releases

Patients can bring legally prescribed medicinal cannabis products into New Zealand

For over 20 years NORML has been advising patients who could afford it to get medicinal cannabis prescribed overseas and bring it back legally. The Misuse of Drugs Act allows any patient traveling to bring with them a personal supply of ANY prescribed drug. All countries have similar clauses, so that, for example, someone from NZ can travel with their painkillers or cancer meds. It also means anyone can…
NORML Offers Qualified Support for Binding Referendum on Medicinal Cannabis – But Would Prefer Government Acts Now

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

NORML Offers Qualified Support for Binding Referendum on Medicinal Cannabis – But Would Prefer Government Acts Now

New Zealand's oldest cannabis law reform group has offered qualified support for Helen Kelly's proposal for a binding referendum on medicinal cannabis. Cannabis is useful for treating a wide variety of conditions including pain, nausea, inflammation, cancer, epilepsy and diabetes, and according to Government statistics may be used medically by as many as two hundred thousand New Zealanders. In a candid post on The Standard, former Union boss Helen Kelly…

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Posted inChris Fowlie's Blog Press releases

Chris Fowlie on The Daily Blog: One of many punished and not supported

Originally published on The Daily Blog, 25 June 2015 This Friday 26 June is global “Support, don’t punish” day, which aims to focus attention on the harmful aspects of criminal drug laws while calling for more support for those drug users who need it.  In the Auckland District Court this week I saw a cannabis activist persecuted by an out of control police force.   Dakta Green was sadly just one of…
Posted inLaw Reform Medicinal Use of Cannabis Press releases

Review of the National Drug Policy – submissions close 28 Feb 2014

The Ministry of Health has announced on its website that submissions are now open for the review of the National Drug Policy. Download NORML's submission to the New National Drug Policy here. The previous NDP expired in 2012. NORML's Chris Fowlie was invited to take part in a "innovation session" in June 2013 to come up with some new policy ideas that, unfortunately, had to remain within the current…
Posted inMedicinal Use of Cannabis Press releases

Medical Council wrong, says NORML

Contrary to what the Medical Council says, cannabis is not illegal if used with a license or prescription, says cannabis law reform group NORML. "This is the same as with opiates such as morphine which are commonly prescribed," said spokesperson Chris Fowlie. "Section 14 of the Misuse of Drugs Act is for issuing licenses. One of the conditions in the associated regulations is to have the written support of…

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Posted inDr Phil's blog Law Reform Press releases

Ban on Low Risk Drugs should be Temporary, says NORML

Drug law reform organisation NORML says the government's temporary ban on synthetic cannabis provides time for proper consideration of the Law Commission's report issued in May. "Low risk drugs like cannabis and party pills should be regulated, not banned", says Acting President Phil Saxby. "The huge popularity of party pills before they were banned is an indication that young people want access to safe, legal psychoactive drugs. Banning them…