CANNABIS REFORM: CANVASSING THE JOINT

Not so long ago the only people seriously pushing for decriminalisation of
cannabis were Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis party members, but now politicians
are hinting at changes to cannabis laws. Could New Zealand decriminalise
the drug?

Decriminalisation of cannabis used to be an issue owned by alternative
lifestyle types who dwelled around the fringes of politics.

It wasn't a mainstream, middle-class sort of thing that the "straight"
politicians wanted to have anything to do with - until recently, that is.

Lately, the decriminalise dope movement has been getting downright respectable.

At the beginning of the last term of Parliament, the only people in
politics seriously pushing for the relaxation of cannabis laws were
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party members, headed by long-haired lawyer Mike
Appleby.

The ALCP was responsible for such memorable promotions as smoking gigantic
joints on the front lawn of Parliament (and getting arrested), which got
news coverage but didn't do much to dispel the fringe image of the
decriminalise brigade.

However, things moved towards the political centre when Parliament's health
select committee, chaired by the strictly conservative National MP Brian
Neeson, launched an inquiry into the mental health effects of cannabis.

Having heard from the Health Ministry that the impact of cannabis on health
was less than that of alcohol, and from the police that instant fines might
be a better way of dealing with cannabis offending, the committee
unanimously recommended that the Government review the legal status of
cannabis.

The previous National government declined to undertake a review, despite
the view of the then police minister Clem Simich - a former policeman -
that cannabis should be decriminalised.

Now, Health Minister Annette King - a former dental nurse, who, ironically,
has waged war on tobacco - says Labour will review the legal status of
cannabis during this term in Parliament.

Officials will present her with a paper on the issue, possibly as early as
this year.

Ms King was impressed with the success of the system of "expiation notices"
used in South Australia, where cannabis users face instant fines but do not
get criminal convictions.

She will not commit herself to support for decriminalisation, saying she
wants to go through the review first, but it appears that a recommendation
of decriminalisation is the likely outcome of that review.

If so, the issue would almost certainly be dealt with by a conscience vote,
Ms King says.

Prime Minister Helen Clark who, when asked if she had smoked cannabis,
replied enigmatically that she had attended university in the 1960s, is
equally relaxed on the subject and favours the instant fines approach.

Ms Clark was not alarmed by recent cases in which press secretaries were
suspected of smoking cannabis in Parliament. They merely demonstrated that
cannabis use was not unknown in respectable, professional circles, she
observed.

Even National, which has held what health spokesman Wyatt Creech terms "a
conservative line" on cannabis, appears to be relaxing its stance.

During the election campaign, perhaps not recognising the extent to which
the decriminalisation debate had encroached on mainstream sensibilities,
National ran a Reefer Madness-style attack on the Green Party's
decriminalisation policies.

Then prime minister Jenny Shipley led the charge.

"National does not want to see young people smoking dope and wasting their
lives. Labour is welcoming Greens' policies which would see people smoking
dope alongside cigarette smokers in family restaurants throughout New
Zealand," Mrs Shipley said.

"We do not want to see young people drop out of school, polytechnic, or
university, stoned and paranoid, hanging around in parks and other public
areas."

The tactic backfired, even National MPs admit, effectively giving Greens
co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons and candidate Nandor Tanczos nationwide media
coverage and propelling them and five fellow Greens into Parliament.
National is now reviewing its policy on cannabis, Mr Creech says.

It will invite a range of people, including opponents of decriminalisation
such as drug educator Trevor Grice, to talk to its caucus on the issue.

ACT NZ, too, is working on a cannabis policy and appears likely to settle
on a liberal stance, based on ACT's belief in individual freedom.

The Alliance supports the select committee's findings and considers
cannabis a health issue rather than a law and order one.

NZ First MP Ron Mark remains Parliament's most vociferous opponent of
decriminalisation, convinced that such moves would see Parliament go to
"dak and ruin".

He says NZ First's five MPs would vote against decriminalisation, but even
NZ First's policy is not a definite no on decriminalisation: instead it
supports a binding referendum on cannabis laws.

Concerned by the frequency with which funny-smelling smoke has been
detected in the corridors of power, Mr Mark called for mandatory cannabis
testing of MPs and their staff.

There is little chance of that, judging by the giggling his call provoked
on the Government benches.