Pubdate: Sat, 25 May 2013
Source: Manawatu Standard (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2013 Manawatu Evening Standard
Contact:  http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1057
Author: Matthew Dallas
Page: 9

TAX TAKE LIKELY TO SPUR DOPE ACTION

If the movement to legalise cannabis had a theme song, and it's
surprising that it doesn't, the old pub anthem Tumthumping would be
apt. " I get knocked down/ But I get up again/ You're never going to
keep me down."

Every few years proponents of pot are taken a little more seriously,
and the reasoning for decriminalisation or legalisation sounds a
little less radical.

Though the furore over synthetic, legal highs, has helped push the
spotlight back on the natural stuff, the impetus for debate remains
unchanged  the present legislation is outdated and deficient.

It is failing our young people and the police and courts are burning
through $ 100 million a year to go through the motions of arrest,
conviction and penalty.

We sympathise with the views of Fryberg principal Peter Brooks, who
has lamented the mixed messages the debate sends to young people and
that too often cannabis is perceived through the " middle-class
experience".

True. Many of those supporting legalisation are advocating for a
recreational " treat"  for lack of a better word  without real
comprehension that for some, particularly young people with little in
the way of guidance, control or good judgment, cannabis can play a
pervasive and destructive role in their lives.

But that same concern is even more pronounced in New Zealanders'
relationship with alcohol. The only difference is the Government's
hypocritical attitude to it and the power wielded by booze lobbyists.

Give the kids some credit. Perhaps schools should view cannabis reform
as an opportunity to engage students on a legislative issue that is
more relevant to their lives than most matters that pass before
Parliament. As long as the cannabis reform argument keeps evolving, it
is worth revisiting and studying  and the wheels are moving.

In the United States, Washington state legalised and regulated the
production, sale and possession of cannabis for recreational use after
a referendum in the November presidential election.

Rather than taking the half-step of decriminalisation or replicating
the decadent allowances of Amsterdam, it replaced a black market with
legal one, generating tax revenue for the state.

Driving under the influence is banned and strictly policed, possession
is illegal for anyone under 21, and no approved retailer can operate
within 330 metres of schools.

Earlier this month in Colorado  where it is also legal to possess up
to 28 grams of cannabis  lawmakers took similar measures to regulate
the cannabis trade. It will have a whopping 25 per cent excise tax 
which, more than anything else, is likely to make our Government wake
up and smell the weed.
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MAP posted-by: Matt