UPHOLDING THE LAW

What does it say when about 20 protesters can enter a police station foyer
and openly flout the law?

That is what happened last Saturday at the Dunedin Central Police Station
when cannabis smokers walked in smoking joints as part of Dunedin's J-Day -
"joint day" - protest against cannabis laws.

Most would agree that, today, smoking cannabis does not rate up there with
the crimes of the century. It is disturbing, nonetheless, that police
authority and the law can be ignored in such blatant ways.

Does turning a blind eye to lawbreaking create helpful precedents? What
will be next? Will the police also choose to ignore underage drinking when
it is awkward and when it would have been a "considerable drain on resources"?

There are two distinct issues here. One is the rights and wrongs of
cannabis and whether it should be decriminalised. The second is about
apparently condoning brazen law breaking.

Perhaps it is a reflection on changing attitudes to cannabis that there
have been little, if any, public response on this second matter.