TANCZOS VISITS CITY TO DISCUSS CANNABIS LAW

Cannabis law reform was designed to let the community take back
control of the drug, Green Party MP Nandor Tanczos said in
Invercargill.

Under existing legislation, control was in the hands of anyone
prepared to break the law, he said.

Mr Tanczos was in the city this week to discuss cannabis legislation
and the Clean Slate Bill.

He spoke at a public meeting at the Southern Institute of Technology
on Thursday night and at the Sunrise Rotary Club yesterday.

It seemed clear people had concerns about both cannabis law reform and
the Clean Slate Bill but reaction at the meetings had been positive,
Mr Tanczos said.

Cannabis legislation was not about adults using the drug in the
privacy of their own homes, he said.

"It's about how do we reduce cannabis abuse in young people and drug
abuse generally."

New Zealand had the highest rate of cannabis use in the world per
population and the situation was getting worse, he said.

The community needed to take control. The answer was in better
education and rehabilitation services.

"We need to take the bottom out of the illegal market."

The cannabis market needed to be regulated by taxing it. Licensing
people to grow and sell cannabis, and a similar age limit on use to
tobacco and alcohol would also help, he said.

This would separate cannabis from hard drugs such as heroin and
cocaine, Mr Tanczos said.

The Clean Slate Bill was about allowing a person with a minor
conviction to have it wiped after a period of years of
non-offending.

The bill would not in reality clean the slate but it would restrict
access to the information.

"It would let people move on with their lives," he said.