Cannabis referendum
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@Paekakboyz said in Cannabis referendum:
@Virgil I'm all for treating addiction/abuse as a health issue. Moving cannabis away from gangs and 'off the grid' and into a regulated environment will be a big improvement on the current situation in my opinion. Especially around synthetics which really kicked off once the party pill industry got (quite rightly) shut down, and are seemingly tied more closely to the P industry.
Linking wider drug use and behaviour to our terrible booze habits isn't overly productive imo. As I don't know what the next step is if you hold that stance - make booze illegal? retain the status quo? that isn't going to improve anything.
Would never deny that a large group of weed users have an issue, likely linked to a bunch of other issues. But many people can and do use it more responsibly than alcohol. Definite yes from me - and really hopeful it goes ahead and we can start looking at some sensible laws around access and usage.
I just count my lucky stars that my drug of choice is legal, advertised and made of the finest hops, malt, water and barley.
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@Paekakboyz said in Cannabis referendum:
@MN5 well they tell you it's the finest
Yes, I’ll continue anymore ranting in the beer thread.
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@MN5 said in Cannabis referendum:
@Paekakboyz said in Cannabis referendum:
@MN5 well they tell you it's the finest
Yes, I’ll continue anymore ranting in the beer thread.
Neckbeard .
Just had a horrifying thought , if it is legal there’ll be pot nerds boring the fuck out of rest of us about different strains the way beer geeks , CrossFit addicts and vegans do .
That’s a hard no from me.
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@Virgil said in Cannabis referendum:
@Hooroo said in Cannabis referendum:
@Virgil said in Cannabis referendum:
Yeah great idea, let’s legalise pot because we are great in how as a community we drink responsibly.
Not too mention not allow other destructive drugs like P and synthetics destroys lives and families.NZ is the worse country to allow reforms around cannabis. We have a binge mentality when it comes to booze. We have one of the highest rates in the world when it comes to using P.
I'm lost on what P has to do with this? Are you saying the Weed is the gateway to P?
Could be, more the feeling we don’t do things by half.
We have a large lower socioeconomic element who are too dependent on drugs and booze already.
Throw in the ability to buy weed legally I can’t see it going well.That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Is weed not drugs? If it is, doesn't it make it better to make it legal? If these people are buying drugs illegally do they nor know they can get weed too?
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I looked into growing hemp recently and the palaver involved getting it approved seemed extreme. All about testing THC levels. Hopefully they would be a bit more sensible about it if weed was at least decriminalised, (although probably not in the quantities that I wanted to grow).
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I'll vote yes because it's ridiculous that people get a criminal record over it. I've seen cases where an elderly man with cancer going through chemo was charged with possession. What a waste of police and court resources, as well as giving a harmless old guy battling a debilitating disease a criminal record.
I think the argument around the damage it can do doesn't really hold water. There's tons of products on the market that do damage if not consumed in moderation. I'm very much on the side of not letting the government decide what is/is not good for us.
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We are about 6 months into legalization here in Canada after years of general possession and use being largely unenforced.
The distribution system isn't running on all cylinders but on a societal level absolutely no difference.
Seems like a massively destructive substance if you develop a close friendship with it during your developing years which is where most of the horror stories come from - but does a lot of things. Would vote - yes.
Fetanyl epidemic much more significant.
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@No-Quarter said in Cannabis referendum:
I'll vote yes because it's ridiculous that people get a criminal record over it. I've seen cases where an elderly man with cancer going through chemo was charged with possession. What a waste of police and court resources, as well as giving a harmless old guy battling a debilitating disease a criminal record.
I think the argument around the damage it can do doesn't really hold water. There's tons of products on the market that do damage if not consumed in moderation. I'm very much on the side of not letting the government decide what is/is not good for us.
Yes there is. There’s nothing legally stopping me having a bottle of vodka for breakfast each day and destroying my liver or deciding I have a chocolate biscuit addiction and developing type 2 diabetes. I know plenty of high functioning people who love a toke every now and again with no ramifications....
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@rotated said in Cannabis referendum:
We are about 6 months into legalization here in Canada after years of general possession and use being largely unenforced.
The distribution system isn't running on all cylinders but on a societal level absolutely no difference.
Seems like a massively destructive substance if you develop a close friendship with it during your developing years which is where most of the horror stories come from - but does a lot of things. Would vote - yes.
Fetanyl epidemic much more significant.
This is where the tax $$ and energy should go imo. Education for youth as part of a broad conversation about health and the short-long term impact of all drugs (alcohol and others). That should sit alongside treatment for any adults that have serious issues with weed or other drugs.
I get a bit salty about weed reforms = free and unfettered access. When most folks (not including teenagers) want to see age restrictions and clear policy on who has access, strength of the product, plus the other checks and balances.
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One of my good friends from Colorado will no doubt visit NZ to discuss why he thinks no is better - or at least if it’s yes it needs to be very tightly regulated- mainly it’s to do with the ways in which the strength of pot has grown now that it’s legal, but the ways in which it is available (eg, gummi bears).
As many of the people who are likely users may also not be the closest attending parents, he argues that it makes things worse - babies get potential exposure, and there is starting to be some evidence that alternate forms of ingestion (eg eating it) brings on psychosis in some ppl as it is a stronger means of investing it.
We’ve gone back and forth on it and I think if it is yes, we are reliant on the government putting in place very strict controls or things may go haywire.
On the Marijuana rampage, there are some reports of ppl committing murder after ingesting edible marijuana (whether you believe or not is different). I’ve also heard of kids with marijuana gummi bears at school etc.
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@gt12 I think we have a really good opportunity to learn from what has/hasn't worked in the US. The strength of pot plus the edible side of things are definitely areas to focus on heavily.
Very interesting that there is a push to legalise psilocybin mushrooms based on a lot of clinical work into micro dosing and positive mental health outcomes.
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what will the law be around driving while under the influence of it? Do they have a measure like they do for alcohol?
I'm undecided, never tried the stuff, so will need to do my research once the referendum details are out...
how will this affect the ambitions for a smoke free NZ by 2025? Jacinda sidestepped that question when I heard her interviewed earlier today.
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@taniwharugby pretty sure there is testing, but unsure about accuracy or cost etc. Vaping and edibles pretty much cover the smoking side of things, although your traditionalists will probably always favour a blunt. But you'd be right to worry if you were smoking joints like ciggies!
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@Paekakboyz smoke free is smoke free though...not saying it would replace tobacco, just it produces smoke like ciggies.
Not sure what advances there have been in the past few years, but going back a few years there werent any accurate methods to test limits like blowing into the bag and breathaliser, more if suspected, then take back for bloods.
Saw reports of a fatal motor where guy was under influence of it, but measures to determine levels were still not good or accurate enough, coroners report pretty much just stated significant amounts of THC in system.
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@taniwharugby I meant you can vape bud. So there are non-smoking options.
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@taniwharugby would also expect many instances of weed and booze for accidents etc. Far fewer purely weed related ones compared to alcohol as well.
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@taniwharugby said in Cannabis referendum:
what will the law be around driving while under the influence of it? Do they have a measure like they do for alcohol?
I'm undecided, never tried the stuff, so will need to do my research once the referendum details are out...
how will this affect the ambitions for a smoke free NZ by 2025? Jacinda sidestepped that question when I heard her interviewed earlier today.
It's pretty tough to be too dangerous when you're driving along at 25km/h in a 50 zone, thinking you're going 70.
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@taniwharugby said in Cannabis referendum:
what will the law be around driving while under the influence of it? Do they have a measure like they do for alcohol?
Not sure how NZ does it, but in Qld cannabis is tested by performing a mouth swab, similar to how DNA is obtained. The problem with this method is it only detects the presence of cannabis in the system, it doesn't say if someone is under the influence. To get around this Qld made it illegal to drive with cannabis in your 'system', meaning you could be charged for driving a vehicle numerous days after actually consuming the stuff.