The Debate.
Levi Dwan attends an Ispeak debate at Canterbury University to experience first-hand political opinion around cannabis in New Zealand.
Since launching in early September this is the first event that we’ve attended in our efforts to further educate ourselves and our followers. Our first political discussion concerning the upcoming referendum with two esteemed speakers supporting opposite sides of the argument. Not so much a formal debate, nor did it allow the time for the speakers to go into detail, yet we witnessed an amicable Q&A between two politicians with differing views on how our nation should proceed with the topic at hand.
The Ispeak event in the new UCSA building was hosted by PYLAT (Pacific Youth Leadership and Transformation). Their goal was to hear both sides of an interesting and multi-faceted conversation, and in particular; ponder how this affects the Pacific community. Understandably, both speakers found it slightly difficult to relate this purely to the Pacific community as Aotearoa is composed of myriad cultural backgrounds. Yet, I thought both Marama Davidson (Green Party Leader) and Dale Stephens (Christchurch Central National Candidate) did a fine job of referencing how their ideas impacted the community.
So what were the main talking points of our speaker candidates? Marama spoke strongly in favour of control and legalisation. Her main points were that our current system of prohibition has already failed, in particular when it comes to our youth, and specifically Maori and Pasifika communities. Her first point was that cannabis is already in our communities, so legalising and regulating does not introduce the substance. She stated that the proposed legalisation bill puts some controls around a currently uncontrolled substance. Secondly, Marama believes we should follow a health-based approach rather than a punitive one. Furthermore, the unequal application of our police force’s discretionary enforcement has resulted in unfair treatment of already marginalised communities. Marama pointed out that a methodology of regulation will result in the more appropriate application of our drug laws. She touched on tax revenue earned through a legal market to fund Maori and Pacific health and support services. While certainly in favour of Aotearoa voting yes in the upcoming referendum, Marama made it clear that she believes a thorough review of the draft bill is required with the review to involve community leaders and people affected both positively and negatively to share their views, stipulating that it’s not just a matter for our politicians to decide on alone. It was a pleasure chatting with Marama and we thank her for her time.
Levi Dwan and Marama Davidson during an Ispeak Cannabis event at Canterbury University
Our Christchurch Central National Party candidate, Dale Stephens, approached this discussion from a very different angle. With more than 20 years of experience as a highly regarded police officer, Dale witnessed the pointy end of the stick in relation to drug harm in Aotearoa. He attested that the focus was never on locking up users, but getting the dealers off the street. In his experience, cannabis is definitely a gateway drug. While many pro-cannabis advocates claim it should be a health issue rather than a criminal issue, Dale argued that it has always been a health issue as far as the police are concerned. He believes that by normalising cannabis through legalisation we are not solving the issue of why people are doing drugs in the first place, just adding another burden for our health care services. Dale also stated that regulation will not eradicate the black market, as it will simply focus sales to those who cannot legally access cannabis; people under the age of 20. Lastly, Dale’s strongest point was his question around why we are not spending money on educating people already? He believes that misinformation abounds, so why wait for regulation and control to begin the education process?
Dale Stephens and Levi Dwan (right) during an Ispeak Cannabis event at Canterbury University
With clearly well thought out opinions on this topic of national importance, we enjoyed listening. While the format prevented in-depth analysis of what the science tells us, the floor was opened for questions and the crowd jumped in to ask their burning questions.
I asked Dale, “what [if any] would be the most positive outcome of a yes vote in the referendum?” He answered, “we could finally have a clearer understanding of the specifics of kiwi cannabis usage.”
I also asked Marama a similar question, ”what would be the biggest negative impact if New Zealand votes yes in the upcoming referendum?” Her answer was a little trickier to narrow down and my interpretation was that by regulating cannabis there is a risk that we normalise it, potentially encouraging more people to try cannabis.
All in all, it was a great day out at the University of Canterbury hearing both sides of the discussion and getting some face time with each of these reputable speakers. We hope you enjoyed our first efforts in bringing a balanced discussion to an important issue for the people of Aotearoa.
Levi Dwan.