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Posted by norml on Friday, October 30 2009 (18 reads)
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 Submission on “Alcohol in Our Lives”, the July 2009 issues paper of the Law Commission regarding reform of New Zealand’s Liquor Laws
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Read More (10895 bytes) |   | NORML Press Releases | Score: 0
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Posted by norml on Tuesday, October 27 2009 (615 reads)
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A new testing regime takes effect from 1st November 2009 that will let police officers test drivers for impairment caused by illegal drugs.
Police will first perform a standard breath test, and if the driver passes that but appears impaired, the officer can then require the driver to perform a Field Sobriety Test (standing on one leg, etc). If the officer then believes the driver has failed that test, they can compel a blood test. Any traces of cannabis residue, which for regular users can permanently stay in the blood, will be enough for conviction, whether or not it is enough for impairment.
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Read More (5208 bytes) | | Drug Testing | Score: 5
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Posted by norml on Monday, July 06 2009 (857 reads)
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Current drug laws achieve what the alchemists from the Middle Ages couldn’t manage: turning low cost plant material into something much more valuable, writes Brandon Hutchison.
Early December last year, the NZ Police announced that they had saved the country an estimated $336 million in “socio-economic harm” as a result of their anti-cannabis campaign for the previous year when they had seized, among other things, 128,000 cannabis plants. Detective Sergeant McGill said that this money saved the taxpayer from “drug-related expenses” that would have been spent on drug related crime and health expenses (ref: Stuff website). These figures were calculated using the NZ Drug Harm Index (DHI).
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Read More (8805 bytes) | | NORML News | Score: 5
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Posted by norml on Monday, July 06 2009 (765 reads)
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Considering the huge cost of enforcement and the obvious social cost of prosecuting and imprisoning offenders, it is hard to fathom why a cost-benefit analysis of the prohibition has never been done, writes Brandon Hutchison.
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Read More (5802 bytes) | | NORML News | Score: 0
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Posted by norml on Monday, July 06 2009 (810 reads)
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At last, the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 is being independently reviewed, by the New Zealand Law Commission. The latest word is that the Law Commission’s planned discussion paper will be released near the end of 2009. Drug law reform is long overdue, but at least NORML can make use of the extra time to prepare for the coming public debate.
Dozens of government-appointed commissions have already examined the effects of marijuana, and made policy recommendations regarding its use. Overwhelmingly, the conclusions of these expert panels have been the same: marijuana prohibition causes more harm than marijuana use, and the possession of marijuana for personal use should not be a criminal offense.
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Read More (6926 bytes) | | NORML News | Score: 0
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Posted by norml on Monday, July 06 2009 (688 reads)
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Portugal is no longer the great power it once was when it divided the world between itself and Spain. Like New Zealand, it’s a small country that has influence far beyond its size. Today, Portugal is the country that may influence drug policy reform world-wide, writes Phil Saxby.
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Read More (10474 bytes) | | NORML News | Score: 0
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Posted by norml on Thursday, March 12 2009 (1035 reads)
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New Zealand should refuse to endorse the Political Declaration prepared
by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, says NORML President Phil Saxby.
NORML has written to Peter Dunne, New Zealand's representative at the UN
Vienna meeting on drug policy, pointing out that harm reduction is a key
part of New Zealand policy but all reference to it has been deleted from
the Political Declaration prepared by the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
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Read More (2569 bytes) | | NORML Press Releases | Score: 0
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Posted by norml on Monday, March 09 2009 (1097 reads)
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NORML responds to the government media release that Associate Minister of
Health Peter Dunne will represent New Zealand this week at the Vienna meeting
of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
“The Drug Warriors going to Vienna are like World War One generals, who claimed
victory over gains of a few hundred yards without counting the horrendous cost
in blood and treasure”, says NORML President Phil Saxby.
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Read More (2359 bytes) | | NORML Press Releases | Score: 0
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Posted by norml on Thursday, October 02 2008 (2545 reads)
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The latest crime statistics released by the Police show they have put more effort into easy busts of pot smokers and less effort into hard drugs like methamphetamine (P).
Cannabis arrests were up 5.8% in the year to 30 June 2008, but arrests for "new drugs" such as meth went down 11%.
"That's a trend everyone should be concerned about," said NORML spokesperson Chris Fowlie. "Polls show the public do not support arresting and jailing people for using cannabis. Most people are more concerned with catching serious crooks, so the police should seriously reconsider their priorities."
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Read More (3397 bytes) | | NORML Press Releases | Score: 0
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Posted by norml on Tuesday, September 16 2008 (2406 reads)
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The Law Commission has issued Terms of Reference for its review of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975.
Significantly, the review will go back to founding principles. Why do we even have drug laws? What is the point? What substances should be included, and should there be penalties at all?
If you have an opinion about cannabis prohibition and how we can out of this mess, now is your chance to get involved and have your say.
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Read More (2851 bytes) | | archive | Score: 5
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Posted by norml on Tuesday, May 27 2008 (3415 reads)
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Methcon's proposed solutions to meth are just a con, says Chris Fowlie, spokesperson for drug law reform group NORML.
"Former policeman Mike Sabin is keen to drum up business, but his ideas are just more of the same failed policies that have got us into the mess we're already in.
"Calling for more of the same is just nuts! We've tried punitive sanctions for eighty years but it has not worked.
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Read More (1755 bytes) | | NORML Press Releases | Score: 5
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Posted by norml on Saturday, December 01 2007 (4051 reads)
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NORML NEWS SUMMER 2008
The Misuse of Drugs Act is to be reviewed by the Law
Commission. It is the first time in over thirty years that the Act will be reviewed in its entirety, and the person in charge is former Bill of Rights Act champion Sir Geoffrey Palmer, writes WILL DE CLEENE.
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Read More (2338 bytes) | | NORML News | Score: 0
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Posted by norml on Friday, November 30 2007 (3655 reads)
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NORML NEWS SUMMER 2008. BY HARRY CORDING (Additional reporting by Chris Fowlie)
The government wants to introduce a new offense of driving under the influence of illegal
drugs. Is it necessary - or reefer madness in a fluoro vest? Does the government need
something else to arrest us for? And with cannabis the most popular illegal drug, the question
arises: is stoned driving dangerous?
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Read More (8763 bytes) | | NORML News | Score: 3.75
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Posted by norml on Thursday, November 29 2007 (4042 reads)
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NORML NEWS SUMMER 2008. BY CHRIS FOWLIE
Customs have finally succeeded in having an issue of Cannabis Culture magazine banned. The May/June 2007 issue, imported from Canada and distributed by The Hempstore, was sent to the Office
of Film and Literature Classification. In a decision released in late October, the Office ruled the issue “objectionable”, meaning it cannot be sold or read in New Zealand.
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Read More (2858 bytes) | | NORML News | Score: 0
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Posted by norml on Thursday, November 29 2007 (3580 reads)
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NORML NEWS SUMMER 2008. BY CHRIS FOWLIE
NORML told Parliament’s Justice and
Electoral Reform Committee the Electoral
Finance Bill is “anti-democratic, draconian
and corrupt” and strongly recommended the
Bill be withdrawn.
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Read More (2213 bytes) | | NORML News | Score: 0
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Posted by norml on Thursday, November 29 2007 (2588 reads)
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NORML NEWS SUMMER 2008. BY CHRIS FOWLIE
The Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Bill
is a significant erosion of civil liberties
and will almost certainly see the innocent
punished.
It proposes to seize people’s assets even though they have not been convicted of any crime. It
violates fundamental norms of justice,
such as the presumption of innocence and
the prohibition on double jeopardy, and
could also breach the New Zealand Bill of
Rights Act.
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Read More (6446 bytes) | | NORML News | Score: 0
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Posted by norml on Monday, November 05 2007 (3983 reads)
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British cannabis use has declined sharply in the three years following the government’s decision to make possession a non-arrestable offence, according to the latest figures from the UK Home Office’s annual Crime Survey.
"With cannabis in the headlines here again, it's important to acknowledge that moving away from prohibition is not associated with an increase in use," said NORML's spokesperson Chris Fowlie.
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Read More (2487 bytes) | | NORML Press Releases | Score: 5
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Posted by norml on Friday, November 02 2007 (4257 reads)
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Public support remains strong for moving away from destructive policies that criminalise cannabis users, says the National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
Spokesperson Chris Fowlie said a poll released by the New Zealand Drug Foundation asked the wrong question, and could not be compared to earlier polls, as the DominionPost had erroneously done today.
"The latest poll asked whether cannabis laws should be made 'tougher' or 'more liberal', but previous polls had asked whether people wanted continued prohibition, decriminalisation or legalisation. If you change the question, of course you will change the result. That's a no-brainer," said Mr Fowlie.
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Read More (1695 bytes) | | NORML Press Releases | Score: 0
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Posted by norml on Thursday, November 01 2007 (3476 reads)
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Advocates of evidence-based cannabis laws today commended the New Zealand Drug Foundation's efforts in kick-starting a rational conversation about cannabis, but said they risked falling into the same trap they sought to avoid.
Chris Fowlie, spokesperson for the National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said he was pleased to be invited to present ideas for effective cannabis laws in the latest issue of the Drug Foundation newsletter.
"Whatever your take on the health effects of cannabis – and we all have our opinions – it is clear that prohibition has not worked, and a drugs policy re-think is in order," said Mr Fowlie in a guest column written for Matters of Substance.
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Read More (3472 bytes) | | NORML Press Releases | Score: 0
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Posted by norml on Tuesday, October 02 2007 (4485 reads)
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Although scientific research indicates that cannabis actually has far less impact on the psychomotor skills needed for driving than alcohol does, and is seldom a causal factor in car crashes, the National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) supports safe driving behaviour and promotes a set of "Principles for Responsible Cannabis Use", which includes "no driving".
However, NORML has some serious concerns regarding drug testing drivers.
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Read More (3050 bytes) | | Drug Testing | Score: 3.33
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138 Stories (7 Pages, 20 Per Page)
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| Older Articles |
| September 30, 2007 | | · | Help oppose BZP prohibition! (2) |
| September 11, 2007 | | · | History shows BZP ban will only make any problems worse (1) |
| September 06, 2007 | | · | NORML's submission on the Electoral Finance Bill (1) |
| July 26, 2007 | | · | Police want to seize Granny's house (1) |
| · | Vote on Medicinal Cannabis Bill now 13 Feb 2008 (2) |
| · | Misuse of Drugs Act to be reviewed (2) |
| July 24, 2007 | | · | Saliva tests not reliable (0) |
| · | Police Act under review (0) |
| July 23, 2007 | | · | Property Seizure 1: The Proceeds of Crimes Act 1991 - What you need to know (1) |
| May 08, 2007 | | · | It's Been an 'All Out War' on Pot Smokers for 35 Years (1) |
| · | West's dilemma on drugs (2) |
| November 06, 2006 | | · | ''If only they behaved like adults!'' (5) |
| October 03, 2006 | | · | 70 per cent of all drug busts are for ''personal'' amounts of cannabis (5) |
| July 11, 2006 | | · | Medical Cannabis opinion poll & Stanlake murder enquiry show need for law change (4) |
| April 11, 2006 | | · | National Drug Policy review - have your say (2) |
| December 06, 2005 | | · | Doctor wants ban on herbal party pills (3) |
| October 03, 2005 | | · | NZ Drug Foundation: Muddled thinking behind drug policy criticism (2) |
| September 10, 2005 | | · | Britain: Pot Reclassification Associated With Decline In Teen Use (4) |
| · | Marijuana Use by Young People: The Impace of State Medical Marijuana Laws (3) |
| September 05, 2005 | | · | Recorded cannabis offences down 19%; NZ still Number One pot-arresting country (3) |
| July 19, 2005 | | · | Nats and United Future against cannabis law change (2) |
| · | Nandor's Decrim Bill will reduce harms of prohibition (2) |
| June 21, 2005 | | · | Criminal Proceeds Bill draconian and dangerous (4) |
| June 06, 2005 | | · | Drug Tourists Go Dutch (3) |
| May 24, 2005 | | · | Political Spat Over New Drug Controls (4) |
| May 23, 2005 | | · | Misuse of Drugs Amendment makes it easier to ban substances than to downgrade (4) |
| April 21, 2005 | | · | Dutch towns want to legalise cannabis production (4) |
| January 23, 2005 | | · | Submissions due for Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill (No 3) Supplementary Order Pa (3) |
| December 05, 2004 | | · | Dope grower owns up for wife's sake (0) |
| October 26, 2004 | | · | New evidence-based drug education initiative for schools (11) |
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