Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
UPDATED 11.47am One of the main New Zealand agencies that assesses addictions says Treasury should act on its own advice.
Notes from an internal Treasury brainstorm on New Zealand's drug policy, show the Government could be saving the taxpayer $400 million through reduced policing costs, and earning $150 million from tax.
The notes, from 2013, have been publicly released after an OIA request from Nelson lawyer Sue Grey to the Minister of Finance, Bill English.
Bill English says the brainstorm notes are merely a discussion and aren't official Treasury opinion.
Alcohol and Drug Assessment and Counselling clinical manager Roger Brooking says it's basic common sense for Treasury to follow its own notes on drug policy.
He said it matches expert opinion in all sectors, but Government.
"It's just basic common sense, and any government that is willing to listen to common sense would be following this kind of policy."
Sue Grey said the notes confirm what is well-known in other sectors - that the harm caused by alcohol and tobacco is much worse than what's caused by drugs like cannabis.
Executive Director of the Drug Foundation, Ross Bell, agreed and said the reason there has been no action is because politicians are too scared to talk about drugs, and still treat it as a taboo subject.
"We should be willing to look at those alternatives for New Zealand and admit, as this report does, that the system that we've put in place isn't working."
Mr Bell said we need to put more money into prevention, education and treatment, not policing costs.
He said the notes state what everyone already knows; prohibition isn't working and cannabis isn't a gateway drug.
"Politicians don't like talking about drug policy, and they haven't for a long time, but I think now they're beginning to misread the public mood. I think the public are willing to have this discussion."
He challenged Finance Minister Bill English about the amount of tax payer money that's pooled into the policing of cannabis.
Mr Bell said people in the health, law, and economic sectors all agree; help over a conviction is a better approach.
He said Bill English talks about an investment and rehabilitation approach to fixing drug problems, and said the issues raised in the notes provide a perfect model for his approach.
Meanwhile Act party leader David Seymour said the notes only cover one side of drug policy decision making.
Mr Seymour said he would hope the social aspects are highlighted as well.
"If Bill English is prepared to accept Treasury coming up with financial analysis of cannabis prohibition, what about the health and social costs and benefits."
He said there are pluses and minuses if you look at the social aspect; people should be concerned about both the negative mental health affects of smoking cannabis and also that criminals make a lot of money from selling it, because it's illegal.
But he said we may discover through further analysis that the social impacts of policing cannabis prohibition are worse than the financial costs.
Mr Seymour would not confirm if the Act party would support the decriminalisation of cannabis.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Government Could Be Earning $150M From Taxing Cannabis
Author: Alicia Burrow
Contact: Newstalk ZB
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: Newstalk ZB
Notes from an internal Treasury brainstorm on New Zealand's drug policy, show the Government could be saving the taxpayer $400 million through reduced policing costs, and earning $150 million from tax.
The notes, from 2013, have been publicly released after an OIA request from Nelson lawyer Sue Grey to the Minister of Finance, Bill English.
Bill English says the brainstorm notes are merely a discussion and aren't official Treasury opinion.
Alcohol and Drug Assessment and Counselling clinical manager Roger Brooking says it's basic common sense for Treasury to follow its own notes on drug policy.
He said it matches expert opinion in all sectors, but Government.
"It's just basic common sense, and any government that is willing to listen to common sense would be following this kind of policy."
Sue Grey said the notes confirm what is well-known in other sectors - that the harm caused by alcohol and tobacco is much worse than what's caused by drugs like cannabis.
Executive Director of the Drug Foundation, Ross Bell, agreed and said the reason there has been no action is because politicians are too scared to talk about drugs, and still treat it as a taboo subject.
"We should be willing to look at those alternatives for New Zealand and admit, as this report does, that the system that we've put in place isn't working."
Mr Bell said we need to put more money into prevention, education and treatment, not policing costs.
He said the notes state what everyone already knows; prohibition isn't working and cannabis isn't a gateway drug.
"Politicians don't like talking about drug policy, and they haven't for a long time, but I think now they're beginning to misread the public mood. I think the public are willing to have this discussion."
He challenged Finance Minister Bill English about the amount of tax payer money that's pooled into the policing of cannabis.
Mr Bell said people in the health, law, and economic sectors all agree; help over a conviction is a better approach.
He said Bill English talks about an investment and rehabilitation approach to fixing drug problems, and said the issues raised in the notes provide a perfect model for his approach.
Meanwhile Act party leader David Seymour said the notes only cover one side of drug policy decision making.
Mr Seymour said he would hope the social aspects are highlighted as well.
"If Bill English is prepared to accept Treasury coming up with financial analysis of cannabis prohibition, what about the health and social costs and benefits."
He said there are pluses and minuses if you look at the social aspect; people should be concerned about both the negative mental health affects of smoking cannabis and also that criminals make a lot of money from selling it, because it's illegal.
But he said we may discover through further analysis that the social impacts of policing cannabis prohibition are worse than the financial costs.
Mr Seymour would not confirm if the Act party would support the decriminalisation of cannabis.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Government Could Be Earning $150M From Taxing Cannabis
Author: Alicia Burrow
Contact: Newstalk ZB
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: Newstalk ZB
