And what do the results in the general election tell us about how they might go? Toby Manhire weighs it all up. When do the results come through? The latest instalment in the time-transcending New Zealand election campaign comes this Friday, October 30 at 2pm when the Electoral Commission will reveal the preliminary results in … Read more
No doubt cannabis can cause harm, but for some of us, it helps. A regulated market would allow us to use it in a less haphazard and more informed way, writes Jenifer*. Before my foray into psychosis – that is to say, before being depressed and traumatised to the point of breaking out in psychotic … Read more
Alongside the general election of 2020, New Zealanders will be asked to vote on the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, which legalises restricted access to cannabis. Here’s our bumper question-and-answer special on what it involves. Click here for everything you need to know about the assisted dying referendum. Read more from the Spinoff on Election 2020 … Read more
As someone with a severe chronic illness, Hannah McGowan has a vested interest in getting to the bottom of what cannabis can and can’t do for her health. The reality, she discovers, is complicated. Woo [colloq.]: Mystical, supernatural or pseudo-scientific beliefs not backed up by evidence. I crave a well informed, science-based conversation on the … Read more
Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick watches Patrick Gower’s documentary on cannabis, On Weed, which starts tonight on Three. We haven’t had a great deal of local, in-depth, visual reporting on cannabis in Aotearoa New Zealand, so when Paddy Gower announced his intention to produce a documentary on the issue, public interest was piqued. It’s been … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Simon talks to Manu Caddie, founder and CEO of Hikurangi … Read more
The National Party this week sprung a surprise by putting forward a rival bill on medicinal marijuana. Here leader of the opposition Simon Bridges explains their thinking New Zealanders deserve greater access to high quality medicinal cannabis products to ease their pain and suffering, but we must have the right regulatory and legislative controls in … Read more
A social enterprise on the East Coast has been set up to capitalise on a global trend towards natural health products and bring economic recovery, Russell Brown reports. A little over two years ago in Ruatoria, 20 locals met at the invitation of a local hapū trust to discuss economic development for a community with few … Read more
The demise of the Chlöe Swarbrick-championed grow-your-own cannabis bill ended a rollercoaster couple of weeks for proponents of law reform. Rebecca Reider looks at what’s been achieved, and how far legalisation efforts still have to go. For me, and for many of my fellow medicinal cannabis patients, the last several weeks have offered an odd … Read more
The early signs are the coalition government is not afraid of making tough calls when it comes to healthier approaches to drug use. Stephen Blyth of the Drug Foundation lays out the challenges ahead, and reminds us it’s about more than running a referendum on cannabis. Late last Friday afternoon housing minister Phil Twyford reversed … Read more
A mother shares her story of growing up around marijuana, and using marijuana now she is a parent herself. Last week, The Spinoff Parents published a post from a mother who felt that having parents who were heavy cannabis smokers negatively impacted her childhood. You can read it here. We received a huge amount of … Read more
A public referendum on legalising cannabis for personal use may be held by the 2020 election as part of a possible agreement between the Green and Labour parties. One mother shares her own story to explain why she’s desperately hoping legalisation won’t happen. It’s a highly unpopular opinion for a 30-something year-old parent to have. … Read more
Jacinda Ardern’s programme offers real hope for the issues Mum fought so passionately for, from labour law and cannabis reform to forestry and Pike River, writes Dylan Kelly A little over a year ago, my mother Helen Kelly passed away, aged 52. She’d been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer 18 months earlier, and had resigned … Read more
An adviser on America’s opioid epidemic says New Zealand needs to treat all drug abuse as a health problem, not a criminal one. Fresh from leading a committee advising US Federal officials on policies to address America’s runaway opioid problem Professor Richard Bonnie believes New Zealand must go beyond the legalisation of cannabis and decriminalise … Read more
In July 2018 Canada will become the second country in the world to universally legalise cannabis (Uruguay took the plunge earlier this year). Former Canadian deputy prime minister Anne McLellan, who led the task force advising the government on what a regulated marijuana market should look like, was in Wellington earlier this month to talk … Read more
As the legalisation of cannabis edges closer to reality, some savvy entrepreneurs are getting ready to cash in. But what about the tens of thousands who’ve suffered mentally, physically and financially under our marijuana laws? Madeleine Holden argues the case for post-legalisation reparations. Legal marijuana could be a reality in New Zealand very soon. Peter … Read more
Former Canadian deputy prime minister Anne McLellan was in New Zealand last week to present at the NZ Drug Foundation symposium about her role in guiding Canada’s drug reform. She spoke to Simon Day about the road to legalisation, growing Canada’s ‘worst pot ever’, and the potential Baby Boomer weed market. In July 2018 Canada … Read more
Our politicians agree we need to reform our drug laws. But is anyone going to do anything about it? Simon Day reports. When the six political panellists at the New Zealand Drug Foundation’s symposium were asked if they believed prohibition of cannabis was not working, they all raised their hand. Asked if they agreed New … Read more
New Zealand’s drug law is causing more harm than good. The New Zealand Drug Foundation has proposed a replacement that would decriminalise all drugs, and create a regulated cannabis market. Executive director Ross Bell outlines the foundation’s model drug law. New Zealand once led the world in social change, but we’ve really slipped behind when … Read more
The news that the Greens’ medical marijuana bill is to go before parliament has prompted speculation that cannabis law is set for a long-overdue change. Catherine McGregor sat down with law reform advocate Professor Max Abbott to discuss all things marijuana. When it comes to cannabis law reform in New Zealand, it can often feel … Read more
The evidence is overwhelming: our current drug laws aren’t working. As governments worldwide admit defeat in the war on drugs, it’s past time for New Zealand to make drug law reform a priority, writes former MP Laila Harre. To my shame I voted for the Misuse of Drugs (Drug Paraphernalia) Amendment Bill in 1997. In … Read more
Figures on the ethnic breakdown of cannabis convictions show the folly of the prime minister’s faith in ‘police discretion’, writes Don Rowe. A majority of New Zealanders now support the decriminalisation of marijuana, according to a poll released last month by the New Zealand Drug Foundation. The survey, conducted by the same company that polls … Read more
Is the tide turning in NZ and globally on drug laws? Alison Mau hosts an expert panel discussion with Russell Brown, Kevin Hague, Hirini Kaa and Chris Wilkins. Drugs, drugs, drugs, drugs, drugs. Marijuana, marijuana. The timeless musings of MC OJ and the Rhythm Slave might well describe the array of news headlines in recent … Read more
A huge global drug summit has just wrapped up at the United Nations. Was it the turning point that many hoped for? The NZ Drug Foundation’s Cameron Price was there. In 1998, member states of the United Nations gathered in New York and ambitiously declared a commitment to achieving a drug free world by 2008. … Read more
Guest host Ali Mau and a high-calibre panel discuss ideas in New Zealand and abroad to reshape drug laws in an edible event on Tuesday April 26. We at Spinoff Enterprises are excited to be joining Laila Harré’s Ika restaurant to present Table Talk, the monthly event combining intelligent conversation with food and drink. Drugs … Read more
There’s a terrible drought affecting New Zealand, and no-one is reporting on it. Don Rowe goes where MSM churnalists fear to tread, and covers the great weed shortage of 2016. A giant ‘meh’ echoed around New Zealand last week, as news broke that a combined police and air force operation had culminated in the elimination of ‘around 9000’ cannabis plants … Read more