NORML New Zealand: working for marijuana law reform adverts - click for details of how to advertiseVisit the NORML NZ forum   
   Welcome guest, you can login or register
 
  
   Home  ::  MyNORML  ::  Topics  ::  Submit News  ::  Resources  ::  Links  ::  FAQ  ::  Forums  ::  Top 10
     NORML News
Summer 2010:
NORML News Summer 2010 on sale now!
get it here

     Social Networking
Bookmark and Share

     About NORML
· Join NORML
· Contact Us
· Donations
· NORML News Online
· NORML News Mag
· Old site

     Main Menu
· About NORML
· About Marijuana
· Medical Marijuana
· Hemp
· Laws
· Your Rights
· Get Active
· Events
· Politics

     Categories Menu
· All Categories
· archive
· Cannabis Inquiry '03
· Cannabis Inquiry '98
· Cannabis Research
· Drug Testing
· International News
· NORML News
· NORML Press Releases
· NZ Drug Education
· NZ Elections
· NZ Hemp
· Pot Culture
· Sativex
· Worldwide Weed

     Site Tools
· Home
· AvantGo
· Content
· FAQ
· Feedback
· Forums
· MP
· MyNORML
· Newshawk
· Parliamentary Questions
· Private Messages
· Recommend Us
· Resources
· Search
· Stories Archive
· Submit News
· Surveys
· Top 10
· Topics
· Web Links

     Who's Online
There are currently, 67 guest(s) and 11 member(s) that are online.

You are an Anonymous user. You can register for free.

 NORML News: Govt: prove it's yours, or we'll take it

Your RightsNorml News Autumn 2004
The Government wants to confiscate assets and bank accounts from suspected "criminals" without the need for a criminal trial or conviction.

The planned new "civil forfeiture regime" is intended to beef up the existing Proceeds of Crime act which requires a conviction before property can be seized. Justice minister Phil Goff wants to be able to freeze assets if there is "reasonable grounds" for suspecting them to be gained from or supported by crime. The onus will then be placed on the suspect to prove that the assets were gained legitimately - a dangerous case of being presumed guilty until proven innocent.

Cannabis growers and dealers are the most often targeted by the Proceeds of Crime Act. $3.7 million worth of assets were taken last year, the most ever since the law was introduced in 1995 ($8.3 million has been taken in total). Phil Goff jealously compared this to larger figures from other countries with civil, non-prosecution based regimes like the one proposed, such as New South Wales (NZ$84m) and Britain (NZ$70m).

This sort of legislation has been disastrous in the US, helping local police chiefs and other government officials get rich off assets taken from "suspected drug dealers". Although it is obvious that making law enforcement fiscally profitable will foment corruption, the other political parties have signalled support. Goff wants to introduce legislation by year's end, and with only the Green party not supporting, it will probably pass. This is despite the fact that organised crime continues to flourish in all countries where asset seizure occurs, but with added police corruption. In NZ at least, surely a more expedient way to bring the gangs to heal would be to legalise cannabis?





 
     Login
Nickname

Password

You can register for some special extra features.

     Related Links
· Drug-testing
Links in this article:
· Norml News Autumn 2004


Top 3 most read stories in Your Rights:
· Travellers asked to help train drug dogs (11257 reads)
· Workplace Piss-tests Slammed in Court (9831 reads)
· Workplace Drug-Tests in Nelson (8862 reads)


Top 3 most read stories in NORML News:
· Victoria's Chocolate Caramel Slice (24979 reads)
· party pills pass test (19964 reads)
· The Budget Growroom (17723 reads)

More Top 10s »


     Article Rating
Average Score: 4
Votes: 1


Please take a second and vote for this article:

Bad
Regular
Good
Very Good
Excellent



     Options

Printer Friendly Page  Printer Friendly Page

Send to a Friend  Send to a Friend


Home  ::  About NORML  ::  About Marijuana  ::  Hemp  ::  Medical Marijuana  ::  Your Rights  ::  Laws  ::  Get Active  ::  Politics

Bookmark and Share

National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, New Zealand (NORML New Zealand Inc)
PO Box 3307, Auckland, New Zealand

(c) 1998-2009 All rights reserved by NORML New Zealand Inc. except all comments and forum posts which are property of their authors.

Powered by PHP-Nuke