Cannabis Pipes Must Not Be Outlawed

A proposed Bill that would see smoking devices like pipes, bongs, and vapourisers outlawed will increase the harm to the community from drugs, as banning such items would only encourage young Kiwis to use cannabis in more damaging ways.

"Next to getting arrested, the most likely harmful outcome of heavy cannabis smoking is lung damage,"* the Acting President of NORML NZ, Stephen McIntyre, said today.

"There are 400,000 current cannabis smokers in New Zealand; more and more are now using bongs and vapourisers as way of effectively minimising the impact on their lungs.”

“Banning those types of items would be a case of Government practicing 'harm maximisation'", Mr McIntyre said.

The proposal, which is one part of the Misuse of Drugs Act Amendment Bill, prohibits the supply, import, possession for the purpose of sale and supply, a pipe, other utensil, or identifiable component of a pipe.

"Of course, breathing in smoke from any burning plant material is bad for the lungs, so using something like a vapouriser for cannabis is a responsible choice by health conscious users because it produces no smoke."

Mr McIntyre said there are far safer ways to use cannabis than smoking joints and doing 'buckies'.

"Devices which cut down on the amount of smoke, tars and resins that users inhale should be left legally available for sale as part of the Government’s commitment to harm minimisation.”

Mr McIntyre said that if the Government outlawed pipes and bongs, more New Zealanders – young people most likely of all – could resort to using aluminium drink cans and ‘Smint’ tins as make-shift pipes instead.

"This is extremely dangerous as they’ll be inhaling aluminium fumes and causing potential harm to their brains as well as lungs."

"New Zealand is a pioneer of harm-reduction measures, so this part of the Bill at least is going in the wrong direction", he concluded.

The Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill has been sent to the Health Select Committee. Public submissions are now being invited and can be made online.

Closing date for submissions is Wednesday, 29 September 2010.

*‘The Global Cannabis Commission Report: Cannabis Policy: Moving Beyond Stalemate’; Beckley Foundation, 2009; p. 56

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