Until I read this Economist article I hadn't appreciated how far behind the rest of the world NZ is falling in respect of our drug laws. Apparently;
* seven European countries have decriminalised drug possession
* Mexico has decriminalised the personal possession of small amounts of any drug from cannabis to crack
* 13 American states let people smoke marijuana for medical reasons
* New Mexico, Rhode Island and Massachusetts license non-profit corporations to grow medical marijuana
* California and Massachusetts are holding committee hearings on bills to legalise pot outright
* Oregon is expected to introduce such a bill within the next couple of weeks
* Personal possession of any drug — even the hardest — is not a crime in Spain, Portugal, Italy, the Czech Republic or the Baltic states
* Some German states and Swiss cantons take the same line
* In August, Argentina’s supreme court said it was unconstitutional to prosecute people for drug possession. The following month, Colombia’s supreme court issued a similar ruling. Now, Brazil and Ecuador are said to be mulling decriminalisation.
I think some of these claims may need some qualification but increasingly NZ is looking positively unenlightened.
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6 comments:
NZ may be positively something, but "unenlightened" may not be it.
A major NZ employer, in the forestry industry, mechanised its operations under a handful of highly capitalised contractors, largely doing away with forestry workers and small time contractors.
A major reason for doing so was the widespread use of marijuana by forestry workers in what was already a dangerous work environment.
The employer would have been culpable for knowing an unsafe practise was happening without taking steps to eliminate the offending action. As this was proving an impossible task for the employer, the resulting job losses on the forestry floor were a direct consequence of the employer's responsible insistence on a safe workplace in a vital industry.
Decriminalising the use of some drugs will probably mean even fewer employment opportunities, in other workplace situations, for those lacking the maturity to see beyond short-term social pleasures.
No employer would willingly place other employeees at risk of the impaired-judgement consequences of drug users.
Let's not dilute their ability to maintain a higher workplace ethic.
kurt
What successive NZ governments have done to combat illicit drugs hasn't worked and John Key's total contribution to the effort has been to make over-the-counter cold medicine more expensive for everybody.
Time to try another tack, surely? But they lack the courage to do anything new.
Kurt, your argument misses out one vital ingredient--if drug-testing in the workplace is such a great idea (and I have no problem with it, by the way) then how come those in charge of a country don't have to undergo routine drug testing?
Kurt, I have no problem with drug-testing either. Trouble is that the alternative to work, when drug tests fail, is a legal right to a benefit. While that exists there is no or less incentive to forgo drug use that risks a loss of employment.
People have to make the responsible choice. Governments cannot force them to with prohibition.
Lindsay, drug-testing in the workplace would become more difficult than it already is if drug use is decriminalised.
Marijuana inbibed socially on a Friday night still has a level of impairment on a Monday (so I am led to believe).
I cannot argue with your premise that the unemployment benefit is probably the alternative to a safer work environment.
KG - your drug-testing requirement for those in charge of a country reflects Nandor Tanczos' statement in Parliament some years ago about politicians "drunk in charge of a country". He withdrew and apologised, but that may have been a "Hone", as your view would seem to suggest.
I hope "unenlightened" does not be come "denier".
kurt
Six out of seven Australian states also currently enjoy some form of decriminalised cannabis or medical marijuana.
I can't wait till I can afford to go live there.
I would rather spend the billion dollars NZ currently wastes on imprisoning cannabis users on help for those that want it and solutions that improve lives.
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