Even if reform is not in the form of the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, New Zealanders have shown they’re hungry for change, argues the Drug Foundation’s Tuari Potiki. We’re not giving up hope yet – special votes on Friday could yet change the result, but it’s very likely the final count will show we … Read more
From the rubble of 2020 comes the opportunity to create a new future. Conversations That Count – Ngā Kōrero Whai Take will examine what that could look like. Subscribe here, and read host Stacey Morrison’s introduction below. ‘Unprecedented’ is starting to feel like a euphemism for this year. And it’s still only August. But from … Read more
US justice reform activists Deborah Small and asha bandele say white supremacy and colonialism are at the heart of punitive drug laws. They spoke to Teuila Fuatai about how drug reform can reverse their effects on minority communities. Deborah Small sees Donald Trump as the US Dorian Gray. “He’s the physical manifestation of what America … Read more
New Zealand is one of only two developed countries, along with the US, that permits direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines, and it needs to stop, writes Dr David Menkes. It’s been a long time coming: a new Consumer report makes it clear that most New Zealanders want to see a ban on the direct-to-consumer advertising … Read more
Does the way we approach drug law form fundamentally overlook what addiction is all about, asks Danyl Mclauchlan It’s been a long time since I smoked pot. My friends and I used to smoke it at school. We were bored, I suppose, but in retrospect this was a terrible place to take drugs. My prevailing … Read more
A new bill to increase the penalty for drug supply and distribution has passed its second reading in parliament. Green MP Chloë Swarbrick looks back on a decade of harmful drug laws. We are at a crossroads on drug policy in New Zealand. There is a real risk we take a backward step, further entrenching … Read more
The Side Eye is a monthly non-fiction comic by Toby Morris, supported by NZ On Air. Read more comics here For more on drug law reform in Portugal read Max Harris’s reporting for The Spinoff here The Bulletin is The Spinoff’s acclaimed, free daily curated digest of all the most important stories from … Read more
As a minister in a National-led government I was proud to speak at the UN against pursuing an outdated and overly punitive approach on drugs. Now the bipartisan focus on drugs as a health issue seems to have been tossed aside by Simon Bridges’ party as a political inconvenience, writes Peter Dunne Just two years ago … Read more
For the first time drug driving deaths have eclipsed drink drivers. Or have they? Don Rowe looks at the media furore around an AA press release some experts argue is unsubstantiated. Last week news broke that for the first time in New Zealand drug drivers were responsible for more deaths than drink drivers. Stuff, the … Read more
Earlier this week, a concerned parent shared photos of an NZ Drug Foundation pamphlet that was being used in a high school health class. Controversy, of course, ensued. But what exactly was the pamphlet? And what were the kids doing with it? So, I’ve been hearing about this drug pamphlet telling kids how to do … Read more
A freakishly potent opioid has been discovered at a music festival in New Zealand. What is it, and what does its presence in this country mean? What’s all this then? Fentanyl, a drug responsible for thousands upon thousands of overdose deaths in the US and Europe, has been discovered at a festival in New Zealand. … Read more