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PM gets tough on cannabis use
Christchurch Press
29 April 1998
New Plymouth - Prime Minister Jenny Shipley says she will never support
the legalisation of cannabis as long as she remains in Parliament.
She told a public meeting in New Plymouth that legalising cannabis would
increase the number of young people using it.
"I have seen in mental institutions the number of young men who have
smoked their brains out. I'm not going to say that's OK because it's
not," Mrs Shipley said. "They're destroying their chances and they're
destroying their country's chances."
She said cannabis use cost the taxpayer because of health consequences
and because, in combination with alcohol or mental illness, it had
contributed to "some of the most notable public tragedies" in New
Zealand's recent past.
"I will never, as long as I am in Parliament,support the legalisation of
cannabis."
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