OPINION: As a father of four children there are many reasons for me to be concerned about the upcoming cannabis referendum. If my children are to be exposed to cannabis, which inevitably they will be, with or without reform, then I want them to be as informed as possible.
Firstly, about the dangers of cannabis consumption. The dangers of driving or operating equipment whileimpaired, the dangers of smoking a joint lit by a butane lighter at 600 degrees Fahrenheitand the impact this heat and burned by-product has on the respiratory system.
I want them to be as informed as possible about the impact heavy consumption of cannabis at a very young age may have on some individuals' brain development.
I want them to be informed as possible about the risks of purchasing cannabis from a 'tinny house' or from those with gang affiliations. I want them to be as informed as possible as to what strain they are about to consume, as to its potency. I want them to know how to test for this.
READ MORE:* Cannabis referendum: how NZ's ex-illicit growers are poised to transform the proposed legal market* Cannabis referendum: how legalisation could change access for medicinal cannabis patients * The Detail: The two polarising referendums Kiwis will soon vote on
I want them to be fully conversant with the law and to understand their rights and the risk of consuming cannabis through a legal lens.
But I also want them to be informed as to the positive health and wellbeing benefits that cannabis can provide. I want them to be informed about the very real differences of being "stoned"at a party with other consumers of cannabis and being drunk at a party with other consumers of alcohol.
I want them to be informed about the chemical construct of this complex plant, with its different terpenes and flavonoids and thepositive benefits they have in assisting with nausea, inflammation, digestion, depression, anxiety and weight-loss.
UNSPLASH
"I have already made up my mind. I started smoking cannabis at 14 years of age and have continued to do so for 35 years."
I want them to be informed as to where cannabis sits on the drug harm scaleaccording toresearch, andthat alcohol and tobacco causemore social harm than cannabis.
I want them to understand and reject the violence that occurs every weekend in this country by alcohol-fuelled adults. I want them to understand that it is very rare for this behaviour to be elicited from someone who has consumed cannabis only.
I want them to listen to both sides of the debate for and against and make up their own minds.
I have already made up my mind. I started smoking cannabis at 14 years of age and have continued to do so for 35 years. For me, cannabis has not been a "gateway"drug.
As aGrammar boy, I went on to Auckland University and subsequently had a very successful career in the corporate world in senior executive roles for some of the world's largest corporations. My last role was as a Chief Executive Officer of one of New Zealands largest businesses for eightyears before retiring at 50.
My partner of 25 years and I have lived and travelled around the world, put our children through private schools, supported our local communities, attended every sports fixture or dance lesson/concert that our children have participated in, paid large amounts of taxes and been highly productive members of society.
STUFF
What are the main arguments for and against legalising cannabis in New Zealand?
At the same time, in NZ currently at least, my regular consumption of cannabis makes me a criminal.
At least I have the wherewithal to engage the best legal counsel possible should I be caught with a small amount of cannabis and therefore with my background, character and ability to engage the best legal mind would more than likely receive a mild warning or a pat on the wrist.
This would likely be very different if I was Mori or Pasifika. This is not right and must change. The nonsense of a war on drugs is just that - a nonsense. The "war on drugs"was designed to re-elect presidents and help providers of correctional facilities profiteer.
I want to live in a NZ where people can consume cannabis without fear of being ripped off, have an idea what strain or potency it is that they are consuming and not feel like or be treated like criminals.
I want my children to be informed and educated as to the risks and positive benefits of cannabis and then be able to choose whether or not to partake, all within a supply chain controlled and monitored by central government rather than the criminal underworld.
Go here to read the rest:
Cannabis referendum: I want my kids to be informed to make their own decision - Stuff.co.nz
- Chasing the Scream | The First and Last Days of the War on ... [Last Updated On: January 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 24th, 2017]
- The president of the Philippines admits his war on drugs has been dirty - The Economist [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- PDEA: Army to play support role in war on drugs - ABS-CBN News [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Ruto camps in Mombasa, says war on drugs intensified - Daily Nation [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Words won't win war on drugs - The West Australian [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Letter: The failed 'war on drugs' divides country - Rockford Register Star [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Congressmen: Let's take a new look at the war on drugs - AZCentral.com [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- War on drugs not war vs poor: Cayetano - ABS-CBN News [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- President Duterte Threatens to Extend Drug War and Kill Korean ... - Newsweek [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Magufuli adds weight to war on drugs - The Herald [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Philippines: Duterte must end his "war on drugs" - Amnesty International [Last Updated On: February 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 8th, 2017]
- Seares: Branding the war on drugs | SunStar - Sun.Star [Last Updated On: February 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 8th, 2017]
- Opposition against President Duterte's war on drugs mounting: UN investigator - WION [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- WANG: War on Drugs requires smarter, more realistic approach - RU Daily Targum [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Shahbal to introduce tough laws to curb drug abuse - Daily Nation [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Trump Watch: Emboldened cops and border patrol agents, a more 'ruthless' war on drugs, and threats against the ... - Washington Post [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Palma: Church leaders will continue to oppose bloody war on drugs ... - Inquirer.net [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- In Trump's 'ruthless' vow, experts see a return to the days of the drug war - Washington Post [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- DERMODY: War on Drugs requires more than 'quick-fix' - RU Daily Targum [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Rights agency calls for sober talk in war on drugs - Daily Nation [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Mexico Should Ask Trump to Pay For The Drug War - AlterNet [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Trump on Drug War: 'We're Going to be Ruthless ... We Have No Choice' - CNSNews.com [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Why war on drugs fires up our soft political underbelly - The Standard (press release) [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- President Duterte Changes and Defends Philippine Drug War - Voice of America [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- War on drugs has left us with a latticework of crime - The Boston Globe [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Increasing opposition in Philippines to war on drugs: UN official - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Unnecessary fighting south of the border: Mexico should ask Trump to pay for the drug war - Salon [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Trump Goes Full Nixon on Law-and-Order Executive Orders, Vows 'Ruthless' War on Drugs and Crime - AlterNet [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Death of a businessman: How the Philippines drugs war was slowed - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- President Trump Signs Executive Order Ramping Up The War On ... - TheFix.com [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Sh170m heroin recovered in war on drugs at Coast - The Standard (press release) [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Duterte militarises the war on drugs in the Philippines - World Socialist Web Site [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- After war on drugs, it's 'war vs illegal gambling' for PNP - Rappler [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- President Trump Just Renewed the War on Drugs - MERRY JANE - MERRY JANE [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Duterte targets Philippine children in bid to widen drug war - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Is Ending The War On Drugs A Panacea? - Modern Times Magazine [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Scott Pendleton: Civil forfeiture is an important tool in fighting the war on drugs - Tulsa World [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Donald Trump Vows 'Ruthless' War on Drugs and Crime - The Daily Chronic [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Simonson: The war on drugs - La Crosse Tribune [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- History of the War on Drugs - About.com News & Issues [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Trump goes full Nixon on law-and-order, vows ruthless war on drugs and crime - Salon [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- Go whole hog in war on drug lords - The Standard (press release) [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- Duterte's 'war on drugs' in the Philippines - Deutsche Welle [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- A man of God in the Philippines is helping document a bloody war on drugs - Columbia Journalism Review [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Reckoning with the Addict and the U.S. War on Drugs - OUPblog (blog) [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Duterte calls for stronger AFP support in war on drugs, terror - Inquirer.net [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- In Manila, Catholics March Against War on Drugs Tactics - Voice of America [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Losing the war on drugs - The Review [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Why we can't seem to end the War on Drugs | TheHill - The Hill (blog) [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Philippine's Rodrigo Duterte urged to drop charges against leading war on drugs critic - Telegraph.co.uk [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- HRW on war on drugs: PH needs 'international intervention' - Rappler [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Napolcom: Police need to regroup, rethink role in war on drugs - Inquirer.net [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Study: Mexican Military Should Not Have Intervened In Country's ... - Fronteras: The Changing America Desk [Last Updated On: February 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 21st, 2017]
- The 'War On Drugs' Has Been A Deadly Failure - Huffington Post Australia [Last Updated On: February 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 21st, 2017]
- Senator fighting Philippine president's war on drugs charged without 'iota of evidence,' lawyer says - CBC.ca [Last Updated On: February 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 21st, 2017]
- Thousands of Filipino Catholics march against death penalty, war on drugs - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- Our Aggressive "War on Drugs" Is Not Actually About Drugs - AlterNet [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- War on drugs: a failing battle against suffering - The Suffolk Journal [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Shots fired in war on drugs - Commonwealth Journal's History [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Ureport: WAR ON DRUGS NOT ABOUT PERSONAL FIGHTS - The ... - The Standard (press release) [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Philippines to defend Duterte's drug war at UN rights body - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Hidden victims of war on drugs - The Phnom Penh Post [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Palace: Arrest order vs De Lima a 'fulfillment' of war on drugs - Inquirer.net [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Trump administration signals new war on drugs, crackdown on marijuana use - ThinkProgress [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Opponent of Duterte's drugs war arrested in Philippines on drug charges - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Philippine citizens protest Duterte's drug war on anniversary of dictatorship overthrow - Deutsche Welle [Last Updated On: February 25th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 25th, 2017]
- How Rodrigo Duterte's War On Drugs Looks In Colombia - Worldcrunch [Last Updated On: February 25th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 25th, 2017]
- Dela Rosa hopes PNP can focus on drug war anew - Banat [Last Updated On: February 27th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 27th, 2017]
- Philippine police say ready to return to war on drugs as dealers return - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 27th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 27th, 2017]
- Our View: White House plan reignites wasteful war on drugs - Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel [Last Updated On: February 27th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 27th, 2017]
- Engaging With The War On Drugs In Ubisoft's Wildlands Documentary - TheSixthAxis [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- There's one last big-ticket item on Trump's agenda: A war on drugs - Raw Story [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- No need to relaunch war on drugs: Duterte aide - ABS-CBN News [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- The Junkie and the Addict: The Moral War on Drugs - Harvard ... - Harvard Political Review [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Duterte orders return of police to war on drugs - ABS-CBN News [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Yasay: Flak on war on drugs, De Lima arrest just 'partisan politics' - ABS-CBN News [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Duterte brings back police into war on drugs - Banat [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Philippine president to bring police back into war on drugs - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Bands I Pretended to Like for Boys. Part Ten: The War on Drugs ... - TheStranger.com [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Donald Trump Drug War Strategy | National Review - National Review [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]