"Stirring the Pot"

Once again the media is discussing marijuana law reform in New Zealand...

Wait, nope, just The Listener. A search of the NZ Herald website for "marijuana law reform" brings up a 5 month old article on a study showing that under-18s who smoke pot are less likely to do well in school - and that's about it. 8 months ago an editorial was published on the subject in the Dominion Post. Why don't we like talking about this, NZ?

Perhaps because nobody is brave enough to stick their hand up and say "I want the pot laws to change" as this would probably be considered as good as an admission of smoking the stuff. Ergo, anyone who DOES poke their head out of the sand is dismissed as a lazy stoner, only interested in making procurement easier for themselves and their lazy stoner mates.

Perhaps it is because the entire media industry is permeated by the stuff. I once worked with a photographer who was known within the industry as Stoner Simon (name changed). Another time at a photo shoot, I was sent to procure Stoner Simon, the makeup artist and the stylist a bag of the green stuff each. Smoking pot is most definitely not uncommon, not analogous to a lack of success or ambition, and not limited to any group or groups.

There are several points to consider here. Number one - cannabis law reform isn't about stoners, it's about New Zealand. New Zealand is so good at growing cannabis that it is LITERALLY a weed. With international Medical Marijuana laws relaxing in fits and starts, a lucrative market exists for cannabis and hemp products. Of course pot smokers feel more strongly about the reform of NZ's outdated drugs laws - everyone else can just ignore the issue with impunity. But never forget that prohibition is an unmitigated failure - it has rarely ever taken more than a day for me to find a new supply if "my guy" has run out. While it would be very handy to no longer be a criminal, the illegality of the substance is no barrier to procurement.

Of course, decriminalisation of cannabis would mean an awful lot less work for NZ police. Funnily enough however, international experience has seen more smokers in jail in a decriminalised environment - for unpaid fines. So perhaps decriminalisation isn't the answer. After all, growers and dealers would still be criminals.

Dealers - now here we come to the major problem with cannabis prohibition. YES cannabis is a gateway drug - because it introduces the user to the practice of buying illegal drugs, and it introduces the user to the people who can supply them with drugs other than marijuana. Once a person buys pot, all of a sudden the purchase of illegal drugs seems like no big deal. Alcohol would be a gateway drug too, if you had to buy it illegally, because again one would enter the world of the illicit drug trade. The key to vastly reducing the impact of cannabis as a gateway drug is cutting out the dealers.

I would dearly love to see New Zealand continue it's historically progressive path by legalisation and taxation of marijuana, but I don't expect to see it happen. Partly because the NZ media is too shit scared to say "we smoke too and we turned out fine!", instead presenting the issue as unimportant and abstract. Party because we have gutless politicians who look no further than the next election. And partly because everyone seems real happy to be lied to.