INDEPENDENT NEWS

Hamiltonians pass motion to decriminalise cannabis

Published: Fri 15 Dec 2000 04:40 PM
15 December 2000
Hamiltonians pass motion to decriminalise cannabis
A public meeting in Hamilton last night voted unanimously to support the decriminalisation of cannabis for adults.
Over 50 people attended the meeting and speakers included Peter Murphy from the New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists, Dr David Gilgen from Huntly and Nandor Tanczos, Green Party MP.
National Party MP Tony Steel was unable to attend. Invitations were distributed widely, including to the principals of every High School and Intermediate in Hamilton and workers at different drug rehabilitation agencies.
Following the speakers, questions from the floor were invited. A lively and vigorous debate ensued. A number of common themes emerged and at the end of the night consensus emerged around some key points.
Unanimous recommendations from the meeting were that:
* People should not be criminalised for personal use of cannabis;
* New Zealand needs to develop a Best Policy - this would require a policy review and ongoing evaluation;
* There should be better funding and more emphasis placed on education about the harms of cannabis, particularly relating to mental health, and;
* More research needs to conducted on the physiological and social effects of cannabis use.
Mr Tanczos said he was pleased but not surprised with the outcome of the meeting.
"In Northland a public meeting I held came to similar conclusions," he said. "When people are presented with all the facts and are invited to debate the issues commonsense usually wins the day."
ENDS

Next in New Zealand politics

Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
By: New Zealand Government
Parliamentary Network Breached By The PRC
By: New Zealand Government
GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan
By: New Zealand Government
Tax Cuts Now Even More Irresponsible
By: New Zealand Labour Party
New Zealand Provides Further Humanitarian Support To Gaza And The West Bank
By: New Zealand Government
High Court Judge Appointed
By: New Zealand Government
View as: DESKTOP | MOBILE © Scoop Media