#makeitlegal — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #makeitlegal, aggregated by home.social.
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The cannabis referendum is not a choice about whether there is a recreational cannabis industry in Aotearoa. It's a choice about whether that industry is an unregulated black market - like the one that has thrived under prohibition - or a regulated and taxed one like alcohol and tobacco, whose use levels and related harms have been declining for years.
Given that choice, even if you object to cannabis use, doesn't it makes more sense to #MakeItLegal?
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If you are disturbed to find yourself agreeing with some of the arguments for legalizing cannabis, but you can't bring yourself to actually vote "yes" in the upcoming referendum, consider abstaining. Even if you're not convinced about voting for it, you still don't have to vote against it.
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Cartoonist Toby Morris serves up a comparison between the way alcohol and cannabis are currently regulated (or not) in Aotearoa, and the proposed system for cannabis regulation that we're voting on in the upcoming reeferendum:
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/the-side-eye/24-08-2020/the-side-eye-weed-versus-booze/ -
If prohibition works so well for cannabis, why don't we apply it to #COVID-19? Just arrest anyone who's in possession of a COVID infection, and impose prison sentences on anyone supplying it to others. That would be such a powerful disincentive it'd knock community transmission on the head in no time, right?
#Cannabis is a health issue, not a criminal justice issue.
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Listening to a livestream of former PM Helen Clark being interviewed by Instagrammer TheBuzzyKiwi, it’s surreal to hear her voicing the same points about cannabis that I've been making for years.
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So when you vote in the cannabis referendum this year, the question in your mind needs to be:
Should we allow a regulated market for cannabis sales, as we do with alcohol and tobacco?
OR
Should we ban the sale and possession of alcohol and tobacco, in line with the way we currently regulate cannabis?
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The scientific evidence that both alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous than cannabis is now overwhelming. For example:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4311234/ -
A new paper based on the longitudinal studies in Dunedin or Christchurch finds no evidence that #cannabis use from 18 years onwards causes any increase in mental health risks:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2018749540/how-does-cannabis-use-affect-new-zealanders-health -
How will drug driving will be controlled on New Zealand streets if cannabis is *not* legalised in next year's #referendum? There are irresponsible people driving while impaired now (often by more dangerous drugs like alcohol), and that's likely to continue whether cannabis is legalized or not.
#MakeItLegal -
If kiwis vote "no" in the #referendum next year, that won't make cannabis disappear from the country overnight. It's a vote against quality-controlled cannabis being sold to adults, by licensed, tax-paying retailers. So in effect, it's a vote *for* unregulated cannabis (or analogues) being sold to anyone with money, by totally unregulated black market dealers who pay no tax on it, not even the income tax and GST people selling groceries have to pay. Who would vote for that?
#MakeItLegal -
Chris and I have occasionally had our differences over the years when it comes to organizational strategy, but few people in #Aotearoa understand the #cannabis law reform issue better than he does. It's great to see these new initiatives he's promoting here, and I look forward to reading more about the nuts and bolts details. The referendum next year is our once in a generation chance to #MakeItLegal. As Ali G would say, let's make it happen!
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Fresh FUD about #cannabis legalization in #NZ, this time claims it could create crop contamination concerns:
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/24-09-2019/warnings-raised-that-legalising-cannabis-could-contaminate-food-supply/Putting aside black market outdoor grows, we've had a #legal hemp industry since 2002! If cannabis was a noxious weed in the #Aotearoa climate, we would already know this. Legalizing home growing and regulating commercial growing will reduce the number of cannabis plants being hidden in and around farmland and crops, not increase it.
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"#Prohibition is a pesticide with perverse effects; ritual reforestation is a long-term solution [to drug abuse]."
- #SarahPerry, author of 'Every Cradle is a Grave'
https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2015/12/03/an-ecology-of-beauty-and-strong-drink/Bang on.
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Why vote for legal regulation of cannabis:
* fair and proportionate treatment under the law:
"Aaron Carroll, a pediatrician, have helped inform this discussion by explaining the risks associated with cannabis use objectively and in context with the harms associated with alcohol and tobacco: 'Both are more dangerous than marijuana, and it’s not even close.'”
- #MarijuanaPolicyProject
https://www.mpp.org/issues/legalization/sources-cited-by-legalization-opponents-lack-credibility/
#MakeItLegal -
Why vote for legal regulation of cannabis:
* reducing harm: moving the cannabis supply into a regulated, taxed market would most likely lead to a reduction in the use of more dangerous drugs like P, cocaine, and opioids, as people won't switch to these because they can't get cannabis. Also, outlaw groups could no longer use the growing and selling of cannabis on the black market to raise funds for large imports of other drugs they can't easily produce themselves so easily.
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Why vote for legal regulation of cannabis:
* no dangerous substitutions: people buying from licensed cannabis retailers won't be offered more dangerous drugs like synthetics or methamphetamine. This routinely happens when trying to buy from black market dealers when their supplies of cannabis get low.
#MakeItLegal -
Why vote for legal regulation of cannabis:
* quality control: people buying from a licensed retailer can be confident that they're buying pure, unadulterated cannabis. They can find out exactly what strain it is, and how strong it is, and buy what they need to get the effect they're after, rather than just smoking whatever they can get from black market dealers.
#MakeItLegal -
Why vote for legal regulation of cannabis:
* age restrictions: cannabis retailers who risk losing their license if they sell to teenagers have a strong incentive to stick to the government mandated age limit, just like their counterparts selling alcohol and tobacco do. Nobody asks for ID at tinny houses under prohibition, so keeping cannabis illegal makes it easier for young people to access, not harder.
#MakeItLegal -
Why vote for legal regulation of cannabis:
* reduced violence: cannabis businesses who can appeal to the Police and the courts when deals go bad have no reason to fall back on outlaw violence to protect their business interests from their competitors.
#MakeItLegal -
Why vote for legal regulation of cannabis:
* tax: millions of dollars in taxes could be taken in just by having cannabis workers and businesses pay income tax and GST. Even more if there are luxury taxes like those on alcohol and tobacco.
#MakeItLegal -
Why vote for legal regulation of cannabis:
* jobs: thousands of illicit growing and retail jobs in the black market can be transformed into legitimate jobs, allowing kiwis doing those jobs to declare fulltime earnings.
#MakeItLegal -
Come on #NZLabour, we're already behind #Canada, and the #USA is now well on the way towards legalizing recreational cannabis at the federal level:
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/marijuana-weed-2018-changed-pot-772473/Let's prove that #Aotearoa can still be a principled, global leader of brave political changes, rather than a craven follower of fashion. #Referendum2020 #MakeItLegal