After more than 40 years the war on drugs has had brutal consequences for justice in New Zealand. The movement to end the war is gathering momentum. Like most wars started by the United States, the war on drugs was launched for spurious and racially-motivated reasons by cynical political hawks. And like most wars started … Read more
We need to find an alternative to the dangerous enforcement tactics of the global response to the drug trade, or people will keep dying, writes Kali Mercier. New Zealand’s recent deaths from synthetic cannabinoids are deeply tragic and should never have happened. A report released yesterday by the Global Commission on Drug Policy shows how … 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As a minister in a National-led government I was proud to speak at the UN against pursuing an outdated and overly punitive approach on drugs.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
In August, Ngāi Tūhoe invited experts and community leaders to come together in Rūātoki to declare war on drug dependence. Don Rowe was in attendance. You know you’re on a marae by the laughter. Contagious, unreserved laughter, brought up from the belly. Laughter irrespective of circumstance. Laughter in the face of historic tragedy. In the … Read more