Drug Law Reform
Danyl Strype
Public
Seen by 301
Please note: The question of whether the party should adopt a number of non-core policies for the 2014 election needs to discussed in its own thread. Let's use this one to start exploring what a Pirates drug policy might be, if and when we decide to adopt one.
Strypey:
I've yet to meet a Pirate Party member, supporter, or potential voter, who doesn't support radical reform of the Misuse of Drugs Act. However, some Pirates think the party should avoid adopting policies not directly related to the internet, to avoid 'brand dilution'. This has recently been discussed on PPNZ (about half-way down this thread):
https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!topic/ppnz/F2HjUC6UNRA
As a TL;DR policy summary, I suggest:
“the Pirates support an immediate end to all arrests for non-violent drug offences, whether for possession, retailing, or production. Since this would allow people to run businesses producing or selling drugs which are currently illegal, these businesses would need public oversight and regulation, along the lines of the systems we use to regulate the alcohol and tobacco industries. Drugs should not be advertised or marketed in any way that might encourage people to use them in ways they otherwise would not have”.
Evidence base for our drug policy:
- Development of a rational scale to assess the harm of drugs of potential misuse
David Nutt, Leslie A King, William Saulsbury, Colin Blakemore,
Published in the Lancet
An analysis of a thorough survey on the harms (personal and social) of all recreational drugs, both legal and illegal.
http://www.beldrug.org/html/mater/pdf/LancetArticleandComment.pdfPersistent cannabis users show neuropsychological decline from childhood to midlife
Madeline H. Meiera et al
Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
An analysis of the effects of cannabis use on 1037 people from Dunedin, suggesting a drop in IQ among long-term users. Other researchers, including Ole Røgeberg of the Ragnar Frisch Center for Economic Research in Oslo have pointed out that many other explanations could account for the correlation they identified (eg there is evidence that stress lowers IQ and the threat of being arrested for having cannabis in a constant stress in user's lives):
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/08/22/1206820109.abstract
Poll Created Wed 5 Feb 2014 2:38AM
We should allow people to run profitable businesses off any drug less dangerous than alcohol Closed Wed 19 Feb 2014 3:10AM
I'd like to get people's opinion on whether we support allowing people to run profitable businesses off any drug less dangerous than alcohol. If not, for the sake of consistency, we should be campaigning for alcohol profits to be returned to the community like pokie profits are.
Results
| Results | Option | % of points | Voters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Agree | 50.0% | 5 |
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| Abstain | 0.0% | 0 | ||
| Disagree | 30.0% | 3 |
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|
| Block | 20.0% | 2 |
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| Undecided | 0% | 10 |
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10 of 20 people have participated (50%)
Andrew Reitemeyer
Wed 5 Feb 2014 11:22PM
Yes although alcohol marketing would require review.
Tommy Fergusson
Thu 6 Feb 2014 8:24AM
Agree with the decision text (in principle), not the discussion context text
Craig Magee
Fri 7 Feb 2014 5:25AM
Regardless of my position towards giving alternative policies priority, I don't agree with the current proposal.
Hubat McJuhes
Fri 7 Feb 2014 8:09AM
Freedom +1
Minority protection +1
Andrew McPherson
Sat 8 Feb 2014 6:15PM
I believe that the real problem with illegal drugs is with the illegal dealers, if we legalise then we can follow the example of washington & colorado states .
Craig Magee
Sat 8 Feb 2014 9:04PM
I will not support a party that wants to enable retail like this. If anything, I want retail of alcohol suppressed.
Danyl Strype
Sun 9 Feb 2014 11:22PM
I don't think anyone should make a profit from the distribution of recreational drugs, including alcohol. I would support a pokies Trust style model, where all surplus income (after overheads and wages) goes into funding community groups.
David Peterson
Mon 10 Feb 2014 1:30AM
On second thoughts, I was too soft towards this. This is a serious major decision that would cripple PPNZ's future, at this point in time it deserves a block without a doubt.
Danyl Strype · Wed 5 Feb 2014 2:34AM
So do we have an agreement in principle that all personal drug use should be decriminalized, not just "dissuaded" as it is in Portugal?
The Dutch model is that cannabis is still as illegal on the books as it is here, but that law is selectively enforced. I think we can do better. I don't see why I shouldn't be able to run a responsible small business serving cannabis to my friends, the same way I can if serve caffeine or alcohol. One model I've thought about is the "grow-op" model, where cannabis can only be sold by non-profit trusts, which can employ people at market rates, but all profits (after tax) are given to the community as grants. A bit like the pokie charities model.