Cannabis Law Reform Essential To Keeping Young People Safe

"Recent allegations by the School Trustees Association that primary school children are in possession of cannabis highlights the urgent need for cannabis law reform," said Dave Moore, President of the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party.

"It's pretty obvious to most people that in spite of the law cannabis is prevalent at all levels of our society. Yet, the solution proposed by the STA and other prohibitionists is a call for "more of the same please." It's outrageous to argue that they want to reduce harm and keep cannabis out of schools by perpetuating the same old policies that have obviously failed us so badly," Mr Moore said.

"If these people really do want to keep young people safe they will surely support an overhaul of the failed policies so that precious police resources can support safer communities by addressing violent crimes, so that drug education is effective and well-resourced, and so that children and young people do not receive mixed messages that say it's OK to ruin your life with alcohol but stay away from cannabis," he said.

"It is a grave concern to think that the people running this nation's schools can be so blind to the failure of prohibition. One would like to think that the nation's educators would be at the forefront of efforts to improve our society. Instead, they are letting us down by suggesting that we should stick with a model that has failed."

"Only a complete rewrite of the law, so that cannabis is controlled and New Zealanders are protected by workable laws, will see us able to reduce the harms. It is time for our politicians to recognise that law reform is imperative if we are serious about keeping young people safe," Dave Moore concluded.

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