Wednesday, August 09, 2006

What's the gain?

An man who claimed he sold cannabis tinnies to provide for his 10 children has been jailed.

The High Court at Whangarei was told that Jason Tiri Nahi, 33, was in a long-standing relationship with his partner with eight of their 10 children under 10.


Assuming the partner goes on welfare she'll get around $47 per child, $285 DPB and probably $200-250 in accommodation allowance with such a large family.

He goes away at $50,000 a year.

Suddenly the taxpayer is forking out $100,000 for a family that was supported by cannabis sales!

Yes, this is simplistic and the costings are conservative but what have we gained here?

10 kids with no Dad around. A load of customers looking for a new supplier.
And the loss of whatever $100,000 might have bought elsewhere.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

The gain is - Public gets another criminal off the street.

Lindsay Mitchell said...

So let's round up all the dope smokers and growers and sellers, couple of hundred thousand people maybe. Stick them all in jail. I'm sure we can find $10 billion somewhere.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous above confuses criminal, one who violates the rights of others, with a law breaker, anyonme disobeying Nanny on anything. This man is as much a criminal as people arrested for clearing shrub off their land. You forgot another thing. As the customers go off looking for new suppliers, and with one supplier off the streets, the price of cannabis will increase and with the price increase there will be an increase in profits. Thus all the dealers not arrested get an award in the form of higher profits and the higher profits attract new dealers. In addition, if this man has no record of violence, and none is indicated, then other dealers with such records, who are still in business, will pick up business putting customers and others at greater risk. In addition to the cost of locking him up realise that if space is at a premium then other, perhaps more violentn offenders, have to be released to make room for non violent dealers in cannabis. So anonymous (above) is not just wrong but very wrong. We are less safe due to this arrest not more safe and everyone is poorer as well.

Anonymous said...

What about the 'P' dealers, hell they make heaps more money than the cannabis dealers. Why should we send them to jail and they're just supporting their kids too. Come on Lindsay, how would you like dealers pushing drugs to your kids?

Gloira

Lindsay Mitchell said...

Hell no. Which is why I want rid of them. But we have tried and tried and failed and failed with the current approach. P would appear to be a particularly nasty drug which partly came about because we clamped down on another drug. Cut off one path of supply and it will be replaced by another and maybe a different drug. Honestly Gloria I am more worried about my kids drinking than using other drugs.
The chances of them doing something dangerous or stupid under the influence of alcohol is statistically a much higher probability than them smoking P.