Medical Marijuana New Zealand

A medicinal marijuana patient watches the endless, infuriating legalisation debate

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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

It’s going to take more than a referendum to sort out NZ’s drugs issues

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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

On a new government, kindness and the (unfinished) legacy of my mother, Helen Kelly

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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

Law reformer Max Abbott: ‘If you’re dying and in extreme pain, why can’t you smoke cannabis if you like?’

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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

Ika Table Talk: Beyond drug prohibition – full video + highlights

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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

Beyond Prohibition: An Ika Table Talk event in association with The Spinoff

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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

People thought I was high when I said it was time to legalise pot. Now, the mood is changing fast

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Opinion: Five years ago, many mocked a speech calling for liberalised drug laws. Today, such a position is becoming mainstream, writes former ACT leader Don Brash. It is astonishing how rapidly attitudes towards marijuana are changing. Less than five years ago, most politicians thought I had lost my mind (indeed, perhaps had been smoking pot … Read more

‘I worried less about the cops than the gangs’ – an interview with a weed dealer

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As cannabis decriminalisation finally looms as a political possibility, Don Rowe tracks down an ex-dealer to get a look into the black economy – and asks whether they’d consider going legit. A wheezy sigh of relief was heard yesterday as Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne indicated the possibility of finally loosening his bow-tie stranglehold on the … Read more