Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More
Top Scoops

Book Reviews | Gordon Campbell | Scoop News | Wellington Scoop | Community Scoop | Search

 

Social Investment in Criminalisation "A National Waste"

Bill's Legacy, Social Investment in Criminalisation "A National Waste"

Apparently former Prime Minister and "Southern Gentleman" Rt. Hon. Bill English, in retiring from more than a quarter-century in the Big House does so leaving a deeply flawed 'social investment' in criminalisation...

The National Party's block conscience vote [how does that work?] against the reasoned and rational Green Party Medicinal Cannabis Bill is the most recent philosophical challenge to his party's core principles. But the disturbing legacy of harm maximisation surrounding cannabis goes back longer and deeper.

Gentleman Bill is completely aware of the social 'investment' disappearing into a black hole when as Finance Minister his caucus chose to 'do nothing' - one hundred percent contrary to official 'evidence-based' advice clearly signalling to Cabinet that there is was a LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATION steeming from Cost-Benefit Analysis of cannabis enforcement to be conducted by the Ministry if Justice [tagged as High Priority and for the budgeted cost of a mere $50,000pa - crucial advice that could only lead to the imperative decrim/legalise resolution. ]

If the accumulated Police, Justice and Corrections budget allocated during English's governance legacy of more than a billion dollars of doubtful efficacy and quite probably harm producing 'social expenditure' deserves both some critical accounting and to it informing Ministry of Health Mental Health Services National Policy on Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drugs. ( deleted after consultation approval 1995-1996 - re-routed into the still utterly evidence debased and worse than USELESS current 'drug by drug' National Drug Policy. )

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

Kiwi Media and political commentators may rewrite history with no cannabis context [eg 1999 and 2002 elections, 2002 where Dunne pinched 7% of the vote off English by taking strong bigot pandering anti-cannabis stance, which Dunne subsequently, on his retirement acknowledged was flawed. ], except for noting that English knowingly facilitated and funded counter-productive expenditure over 20 years - often as Minister of Finance ramping up cannabis and pseudoephedrine enforcement, stimulating drug-related harm resulting in multiple preventable deaths and denial of research, trade and development opportunity, with the continued abuse of otherwise law-abiding and innocent Kiwis, all knowing it wouldn't work and at great cost per annum...

The measure of this UNTOLD COST that is Bill's 'social investment' [with deleted cost/benefit...] and in his going about the business of ruining, evidentially, innocent people's lives, denying free medicine, growing the underclass and promoting discrimination and prejudice, enabling coercive bullying and EXTREME double standards alongside alcohol and tobacco and doing so as if there is no legitimate contest of ideas, yet media portray this "great guy" legacy when actually it was Bill, educated enough to know better and in a position to do something about it LIED and CRIMINALISED instead... in so doing, he was dumping on ALL OF US.

Nothing to applaud there say the MildGreens.

ends

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Top Scoops Headlines

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.