 | Cannabis Inquiry '98: Second Select Committee Hearing |
 5/8/98
The second hearing saw a testimony from Assistant Police Commissioner Ian Holyoake, which gathered an astonishing variety of news reports.
Police ease stance on decriminalising dope
Drugs big part in homicides, say police
Police delight cannabis lobby
Drug 'will destroy Maori': Decriminalisation of cannabis under attack
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Police ease stance on decriminalising dope
The Evening Post, August 5, 1998
Guyon Espinor
Police are open-minded about decriminalising cannabis, Assistant Commissioner of police Ian Holyoake told a Parliamentary inquiry into the mental health effects of the drug.
Mr Holyoake told Parliament's health select committee today that while police were opposed to legalisation of the drug, he believed decriminalisation warranted further investigation.
"We would think legalisation was completely wrong. We would be prepared to look at other possibilities, which must include decriminalisation," Mr Holyoake said.
He signalled that police were willing to look at supporting putting possession of the drug on a similar footing to traffic offences, where infringement notices were issued rather than criminal charged laid.
"There are instant fines for offences which perhaps take away the criminal stigma that worries a number of people," he said.
Mr Holyoake said that the legal direction in relation to cannabis was one he believed warranted further investigation.
Last week, the Ministry of Health told the committee that cannabis did not pose a big health risk to users.
Mr Holyoake said the police were unable to support that view because of conflicting evidence on the health effects.
Today, Mr Holyoake said that the traditional law enforcement "crime control" approach to cannabis had not reduced cannabis use.
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Drugs big part in homicides, say police
The Dominion - New Zealand, August 6, 1998
One in seven killers were under the influence of cannabis at the time of their crime, and one in five were regular cannabis users, police told Parliament yesterday.
Figures supplied by police to Parliament's health select committee inquiry into the mental health effects of cannabis show that nine out of 67 killings 'one in seven' last year reported being under the influence of cannabis at the time of the homicide they committed.
Fourteen of the 67 offenders 'one in five' reported being regular users of cannabis. Five reported also being under the influence of other drugs at the time of the offence.
The figures also show that one in seven victims of homicide were just as likely to be affected by cannabis. About one in four victims were reported to have been regular cannabis users.
Assistant police commissioner Ian Holyoake told the committee that legalising cannabis would not stop criminal involvement in drugs. If cannabis was legalised, criminals would switch to another drug to deal, he said.
"If you stop making one thing illegal the criminals will deal in another. They won't reform, they won't start growing tea or coffee or sugar."
Police have told the select committee they oppose the legalisation of cannabis.
That is despite submissions from the Health Ministry saying cannabis did not pose a big public health risk.
Police were not health experts, but believed cannabis was inherently harmful, with serious health risks to regular and long-term users, Mr Holyoake said.
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Police delight cannabis lobby
The Evening Post, August 7, 1998
Megan Lane
Cannabis campaigners are delighted that police are keeping an open mind about decriminalising cannabis.
Assistant Police Commissioner Ian Holyoake on Wednesday told a parliamentary inquiry into the mental health effects of cannabis that police were open-minded about decriminalising it.
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Partly leader Michael Appleby said "Isn't it wonderful?" and Drug Policy Forum Trust chairman David Hadorn welcomed the police stance.
"But I hope they mean what they say because they are one of the main obstacles to law reform," Dr Hadorn said.
Police also presented figures which showed one in seven homicides were committed while the killer was stoned. But figures were not available for murders committed under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
But Dr Hadorn said cannabis had a calming effect on most users - "it is not a violence producing drug". He said people over-using the drug should be considered a health problem rather than a criminal problem.
Last week, the Ministry of Health told the committee that cannabis did not pose a big health risk to users.
Tom Scott, author of anti-cannabis book The Great Brain Robbery, said evidence showed the drug had a serious effect on adolescents.
However, he refused to enter the decriminalisation debate, saying education was the only answer.
Both he and Mr Holyoake said traditional policing methods had not reduced drug usage.
"The legal status of cannabis is irrelevant because the brain can't tell the difference," Mr Scott said.
Police spent about NZ$40 million a year on cannabis offences, out of the police budget of NZ$800 million.
Mr Appleby said decriminalising cannabis would free up police time and resources for more serious offences.
"When you look at how many police we are losing, it [illegal cannabis] is a waste. It's a waste of court time, it's a waste of police time, it's a waste of prison time.
"And if you can't keep cannabis out of prisons with all the fences and dogs and guards, how can you keep it out of a free society?"
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Drug 'will destroy Maori': Decriminalisation of cannabis under attack
New Zealand Herald
7 August 1998
Tony Wall
The war against cannabis has been lost if police now support decriminalisation of the drug, say Maori health officials.
Decriminalisation of cannabis, as signalled by police Assistant Commissioner lan Holyoake this week, would all but "destroy" the Maori race, said Anaru Kira, the manager of Maori health at Auckland Hospital.
Mr Holyoake told a parliamentary select committee on the health effects of cannabis that police were "open-minded" on the prospect of decriminalising the drug.
He said traditional police approaches to controlling the drug had failed to reduce the number of users or offences.
Mr Kira said an estimated 60 per cent of Maori used cannabis and decriminalisation would make its use even more widespread.
"To allow it to be dealt with willy-nilly would just open the market up to all those college kids who you see smoking [cigarettes]," he said. "It would become just another facet of life, which is our biggest fear."
Mr Kira said if police were now saying they supported decriminalisation, it would not be long before it happened.
Dr David Gilgen, of the Raukura Hauora O Tainui Trust, a tribal health authority serving 40,000 Maori in South Auckland and Waikato, said he was alarmed by Mr Holyoake's comments.
"The war against marijuana is over and marijuana has won if the police are going to take that attitude," he said.
Dr Gilgen said he saw it as nothing short of police going soft on cannabis.
"The line in the sand has been shifted now and they will concentrate on class A drugs like cocaine and heroin; that's what they're saying."
Mr Holyoake said yesterday that police agreed cannabis was dangerous but present strategies had not cut its use.
He said police wanted to be involved in any initiatives that were put forward and were interested in decriminalisation.
I'm saying that were the law to permit it, a policeman could write out an infringement notice - as you would for a speeding ticket, you'd write out a cannabis possession notice."
He said there would be no change to the current approach of front-line officers, who used their discretion on what action to take over cannabis offences.
"Police do not actively go out looking for people using cannabis. They come across people using or in possession of cannabis ... when they're being questioned for other matters."
He said any change would have to be instigated through Parliament.
In Australia there has been a push over the past decade for decriminalising marijuana with public opinion polls generally favouring it.
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