This and more on Marijuana Media with Chris Fowlie from NORML and Jonny from bFM Drive – thanks to The Hempstore!
[Stream the pot-cast of this show on 95bFM.com]
Cannabis in Limboland
We began the show with a sigh, struggling to find any positives from the election results. Set to lead the next Government, National Leader Chris Luxon says he’s “happy with the current settings” for drugs. But National are also promising to be “tough on crime”, and it’s hard to see them progressing further cannabis law reforms.
National’s health spokesperson Shane Reti wanted a much tighter medical cannabis scheme with no access to flower. But he also supported decriminalisation.
Transport spokesperson Simoen Brown is promising to ramp up testing drivers for drugs, using oral swabs which do not detect impairment but recent exposure to selected drugs (and record false positives 20% or more of the time).
National’s partner Act is promising to send more people to jail. New Zealand first says all social issues should go to referendums.
It wasn’t all gains for conservatives. Dewi Preece at 1News reports the data shows Tamaki, previously held by National’s ultra-conservative Simon O’Connor, is more liberal than many people think. The seat will now be held by ACT’s Brooke van Velden, who voted Yes.
The 1News report quotes the Vote Compass survey which showed 50% of the electorate either strongly or somewhat agreed that cannabis should…
