Cannabis referendum: Andrew Little, Auckland University researchers trade barbs over NZ Government’s ‘unrealistic’ voting material

NewsHub 5 August 2020
Family First Comment: The Government tries to argue through their pamphlet that ‘the Bill’s purpose is to reduce harm to people and communities’, but that is purely the view of those lobbying for change,” spokesman Aaron Ironside said. “Those against the legislation are arguing that legalisation will lead to more harm to people and communities, and this latest analysis backs our position.”
#votenopetodope

Andrew Little says a scientific review of the Government’s proposed cannabis legislation is anything but, after it suggested his ministry’s public information campaign about the referendum made “inflated and unrealistic” claims.

The Justice Minister on Wednesday issued a scathing takedown of the “evidence-based assessment and critique” of the proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Regulation Bill, which was published in the New Zealand Medical Journal earlier this week.

The review was carried out by Benedikt Fischer and Dimitri Daldegan-Bueno, two members of Auckland University’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, ahead of the cannabis legalisation and control referendum on September 19.

he study made a number of criticisms of the draft cannabis legislation, but Fischer and Daldegan-Bueno reserved their most scathing condemnation for the public information campaign run by the Ministry of Justice.

They wrote that the “political promises” laid out in the ministry’s resources – to eliminate the illegal supply of cannabis, restrict young people’s access to it and limit public visibility – were “inflated and unrealistic” and “unlikely to be achievable as stated”.

They also claimed the proposed Bill’s age limits were inconsistent with limits for other legal drug use, and that the laws as they stand could bring “substantial” health risks.

Anti-cannabis advocacy group Say Nope to Dope claimed a win after the review was published, calling it “a scathing assessment of the sales pitch that the Government has given voters”.

“The Government tries to argue through their pamphlet that ‘the Bill’s purpose is to reduce harm to people and communities’, but that is purely the view of those lobbying for change,” spokesman Aaron Ironside said.

“Those against the legislation are arguing that legalisation will lead to more harm to people and communities, and this latest analysis backs our position.”
READ MORE: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/08/cannabis-referendum-andrew-little-auckland-university-researchers-trade-barbs-over-nz-government-s-unrealistic-voting-material.html

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