Dunne: Anti-cannabis stand here to stay

No future government will be formed with United Future backing unless it commits to keeping cannabis illegal, United Future leader Peter Dunne said today.

"This is no one-term wonder. It is a bottom line position for us and it's going to remain that way," Mr Dunne said.

"It is a condition of our agreement with the current Government, and it will be key to any future arrangements United Future may enter.

"This is not something that will sway with the political winds of the day - cannabis ruins lives, it destroys families, it devastates communities. It is a gateway to harder drugs, such as P. We won't be playing games with it in the way that less responsible political parties do.

"Any parties wanting our backing to form a government will be told in no uncertain terms that keeping cannabis illegal is non-negotiable."

The issue of legalising cannabis for medical use was entirely separate, Mr Dunne said, reaffirming the party's position that if this was ever to be done, it should be on the basis of medical and scientific evidence, and "not the addled submissions of recreational pot-smokers and Green MPs".