15 March 2007

Drug prohibition a pipe dream destined to fail

As the Government prepares to release a new National Drug Policy, law reformers pointed to two recent reports that had confirmed the dismal failure of drug prohibition.

A new report from the UK, a two-year investigation by the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, said that drug laws are driven by "moral panic", most drugs have been wrongly "demonised" and argued that "whether we like it or not, drugs are and will remain a fact of life".

Another recent report, from Hawaii, found that replacing cannabis prohibition with a system of regulated sales would save the state over US$10 million per year in law enforcement costs. The report said that if cannabis sales were regulated in a similar way to alcohol and tobacco it would lead to US$23 million in savings and new revenues annually.

"New Zealand has the dubious distinction of having the world's highest cannabis arrest rate per capita," said NORML president Chris Fowlie. "Government figures show nearly seventy per cent of all drug busts are for personal amounts of cannabis, and that cannabis use continues to rise."

"At an annual cost of over $55 million, the existing policy simply throws good money after bad. These resources would be better spent on more effective drug education and properly funding treatment services.

"The Health Select Committee's cannabis inquiry found prohibition does not work, puts cannabis users in touch with hard drug sellers, enriches organised crime and encourages the spread of corruption. Law reform in other countries has not been associated with an increase in use.

"Our hope is that New Zealand's drug policy moves beyond prohibition to a system of regulated and controlled availability. Prohibition is a pipe dream that is destined to fail."

ENDS

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