New Zealand Law Comission Review of The Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 The moment we've all been waiting for!!! Official Page http://www.lawcom.govt.nz/ProjectGeneral.aspx?ProjectID=143 Full text PDF of Issues Paper 'Controlling and Regulating Drugs': http://otagonorml.com/uploads/Publication_143_455_IP16%20-%20Controlling... Law Commission Online Discussion Forum http://talklaw.co.nz/talkdrugs News Stories TVNZ: Call for new approach to drug offences http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/call-new-approach-drug-offences-3361320 TV3: Drug legislation outdated - law commission http://www.3news.co.nz/Drug-legislation-outdated---law-commission/tabid/... Radio NZ: Law Commission recommends less punitive approach to drug crimes http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/national/ckpt/2010/02/11/law_commission_r... The Press: Cannabis 'ok' for medicinal use - Law Commission http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3317457/Cannabis-ok-for-medicinal-use-La... NZ Herald/NZPA: Drug law proposals set to be rejected http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10625569&p... Green Party: Drug laws hurting our families http://www.greens.org.nz/press-releases/drug-laws-hurting-our-families NZ Drug Foundation: Modernising New Zealand’s drug law http://www.drugfoundation.org.nz/media/modernising-new-zealands-drug-law Key Quotes relating to cannabis laws: coming soon ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NORML New Zealand Press Release Regulated, Taxable Cannabis Market Needed, say Drug Law Reformers http://norml.org.nz/article702.html The Law Commission review has not lived up to its promise, despite some good recommendations, says NZ’s oldest cannabis law reform group, NORML. “The recommendation on medicinal cannabis is welcome, and would bring us into line with many other countries and 14 of the United States of America,” says President Phil Saxby. “The big problem is prohibition, and the Law Commission has not done what it said it would do – start from first principles. Instead of proposing regulation and controls that work, it says we should keep using the same old controls that don’t work. A regulated, taxable cannabis market is needed to replace the evils of the uncontrolled, criminal market in cannabis and other drugs.” “A regulated cannabis market means adult-only use. Instead, NZ has the highest rate of teenage cannabis-use in the world,” says Mr Saxby. “The benefits of a taxable cannabis market are obvious. This country’s cannabis consumers – over 400,000 of them, according to the Law Commission – will never consent to their unjust persecution under the Misuse of Drugs Act, but they would agree to be taxed,” he says. NORML NZ has campaigned against prohibition for thirty years, since its foundation in 1979. “Prohibition is expensive, in wasted and ruined lives as well as taking up valuable Police and Court time,” says Phil Saxby. “There is no free society that can successfully prohibit the personal use of drugs, whether alcohol, or cannabis, or similar activities like gambling. Prohibition just creates an opportunity for criminals, and its harshest penalties fall on the 2% who get caught – mostly the young, the poor and Maori.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Official Law Commission Media Release Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Palmer President Law Commission Release of the Law Commission’s Issues Paper on Controlling and Regulating Drugs The Law Commission releases today its Issues Paper on Controlling and Regulating Drugs. “The Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 is over 30 years old. Patterns of drug use and knowledge of drug harms has changed markedly over this time”, Law Commission President Sir Geoffrey Palmer said. “Like alcohol, illegal drugs cause considerable harm. The key question is what approach will most effectively mitigate that harm?” “New Zealand’s international obligations under 3 drug conventions require that most of the commonly used drugs be prohibited except for medical and scientific purposes.” “But there is scope for a range of different approaches within the convention framework.” “Large scale commercial drug dealing is the most serious drug offending. It wreaks havoc in our communities. The law already imposes heavy penalties in these cases and it should continue to do so”. “But there may be a case for taking more flexible approaches to offences involving possession of small quantities of drugs for personal use”, Sir Geoffrey said. “The Issues Paper canvasses a range of options for dealing with these offences including a formal cautioning scheme, an infringement notice regime and a greater use of diversion into education and treatment.” “These more flexible approaches are likely to be much more effective at reducing drug harm than simply punishing drug users. They ensure law enforcement resources are directed at the most harmful drug activities while addressing drug users’ needs for education and treatment”. “The report also canvasses possible approaches to new drugs, such as party pills, that are not covered by the drug conventions and regularly come on the market. Currently these substances can be imported, manufactured and sold without any controls. This creates a real risk of harm to the public”. “The Commission proposes a new regime which would require manufacturers and importers to seek an approval for a substance before it can be released onto the market. This is how other hazardous substances are currently dealt with.” “The Commission also proposes that there should be some minimum regulatory controls such as age and advertising restrictions that should apply unless the substance is prohibited altogether”. “The report canvasses a range of other issues including: 1. whether the current system of classifying drugs as Class A, B or C should remain and if so whether any changes to it are required 2. how better alignment can be achieved between the Medicines Act and the Misuse of Drugs Act so that the law is more accessible 3. whether marijuana should be available on a controlled basis for medicinal use 4. the need for a sufficient number of drug treatment facilities and how to ensure an appropriate emphasis on treatment 5. whether and in what circumstances people should be able to be detained compulsorily for alcohol and drug treatment”. “These are difficult and controversial issues”, Sir Geoffrey Palmer said. “Though illegal drugs are regulated quite differently from alcohol for historical and cultural reasons there are similarities between this and our project on liquor laws. In both contexts the challenge is to find the right mix of strategies to reduce overall harm. “A common theme in both projects is the need for greater emphasis on treatment”. The Law Commission has an online consultation website – http://www.talklaw.co.nz to generate public discussion on these issues. The Commission will also be consulting with experts in the area. Submissions close 30 April 2010. The Commission will provide final recommendations to Government in July. -ENDS- Contact: Dr Warren Young on (04) 9144838 or (021) 557783 Or Val Sim (04) 9144814 or (021) 2237461 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Review of Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 Opened 1 Jul 2007 Contact Details Jo Dinsdale jdinsdale@lawcom.govt.nz 04 914 4807 Criminal Law It has been more than 30 years since the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 was first enacted. The Act has been amended on numerous occasions and is complex and difficult to understand and navigate. The Act’s framework is based on the recommendations of the 1973 report of the Blake-Palmer Committee and largely reflects the drug policies and issues of that era. There is concern that the Act is not well aligned with New Zealand’s National Drug Policy and does not provide a coherent and effective legislative framework for responding to the use of psychoactive drugs. The objective of the review is to propose a contemporary legislative framework for regulating drugs that is consistent with New Zealand’s international obligations concerning illegal and other drugs and reflects current knowledge and understanding about drug related harm. Current stage of the review: The Law Commission is currently working on an issues paper which will set out what we see as the key issues and problems to be resolved and make suggestions for reform. Chapters of the issues paper will canvass the following range of topics: drug use and the harms arising from drug use; New Zealand’s drug policy; the history of drug regulation in New Zealand; the approach we currently take to drug regulation; the international conventions that apply to drugs; the different justifications for regulation and the various models of regulation that are available; an overview of drug treatment, education and other strategies for reducing drug related harm; criminal sanctions and law enforcement; and the options for reform. The issues paper will be available early 2010. Public submissions will be invited on the paper. Misuse of Drugs Act Review Terms of Reference The Commission will review the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 and make proposals for a new legislative regime consistent with New Zealand’s international obligations concerning illegal and other drugs. The issues to be considered by the Commission will include: (a) Whether the legislative regime should reflect the principle of harm minimisation underpinning the National Drug Policy; (b) What is the most suitable model or models for the control of drugs; (c) Which substances the statutory regime should cover; (d) How should new psychoactive substances be treated; (e) Whether drugs should continue to be subject to the current classification system or should be categorised by some alternative process or mechanism; (f) If a classification system for categorising drugs is retained, is the current placement of substances appropriate; (g) The appropriate offence and penalty structure; (h) Whether the existing statutory dealing presumption should continue to apply in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Hansen case; (i) Whether the enforcement powers proposed by the Commission in its report on Search and Surveillance Powers are adequate to investigate drug offences; (j) What legislative framework provides the most suitable structure to reflect the linkages between drugs and other similar substances; (k) Which agency or agencies should be responsible for the administration of the legislative regime. It is not intended that the Commission will make recommendations with respect to the regulation of alcohol or tobacco in undertaking this review. Media Release 19 march 2008 Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Palmer - President Law Commission Review of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 “The Law Commission’s review of the Misuse of Drugs Act is attracting a lot of attention,” the President of the Law Commission said today. “The Terms of Reference for this inquiry are attached. The Law Commission will be following its usual processes of publishing an issues paper and taking public submissions on it in due course,” Sir Geoffrey said. “Some people will be concerned these Terms of Reference do not include alcohol and tobacco. “The Law Commission takes the view that the project would be unmanageably large if these were included. The exclusion of these substances from the terms of reference does not preclude the Commission from taking into account the relative harms of these and other substances.” “Lessons learnt from the regulation of alcohol and tobacco will be taken on board in the course of this review.” Contact: Geoffrey Palmer 04 473 3453 From Drug Foundation Website: "Drugs. We all know about them, most of us have friends who use them and many of us use them ourselves, or have used them. We know they can sometimes make us feel good. We also know they can seriously screw up our lives and the lives of those we love. Getting caught with drugs can also lead to big trouble with the law. This year, our 35 year old drug law is being reviewed by the Law Commission. To get you thinking about how this impacts on you and your community, ask yourself the following questions: * If you have a mate who is addicted to drugs, how would you want them to be treated? Would you prefer they got treatment or were arrested and taken to a police cell? * Is it fair that an 18 year old who occasionally experiments with drugs and gets busted by the cops could end up with a criminal conviction that stuffs up their chances of getting a job? * Are you planning on doing an OE? Did you know that a criminal conviction from even the most minor drug offence could mean that you are not allowed to travel to some countries? * Do you want to know more about how drugs are classified? Why is it that if you are caught with ecstasy, you could face much harsher punishment than if you are caught with cannabis? Is ecstasy really more harmful than cannabis? Who decides this and how? * How should we decide what drugs should be made illegal in this country and what drugs should be allowed to be sold in shops? Do we need stricter controls on new types of party pills? * Do you think that someone who smokes pot now and then and gives some of their cannabis to a mate should be treated as a drug dealer and could face going to jail? * Is it reasonable to force certain people who are dependent on drugs to have treatment and to hold them in detention against their will? * Should people with chronic painful illnesses be allowed to use cannabis to relieve their symptoms? * Should the Police be spending tends of millions of dollars each year trying to pull out cannabis plants when there is a backlog of child abuse cases and other crimes waiting to be investigated? This is your big chance to have your say about drug laws in our country. As part of the review, the Law Commission has put out a report called ‘Controlling and regulating drugs’. A summary of this report including a series of questions is available from www.talklaw.co.nz/talkdrugs. Some of the topics and questions in the report seem very complex and legalistic. But don’t let this put you off having your say. At the heart of the matter is whether you think drug users should be viewed as criminals or as people who need help. It is also about having your say into what we should be doing better to reduce the harms that drugs cause to individuals, families and communities. The New Zealand Drug Foundation has prepared a toolkit to help you make your submission. You can download this from www.drugfoundation.org.nz/moda/toolkit/about-this-toolkit . This can be used as a guide but you don’t have to agree with everything we say. We are very happy to talk to you about any of the issues in the Law Commission report so please get in touch with us if you have any questions. Some facts to consider Did you know that: * Nearly one in two adults in New Zealand has used cannabis in their lifetime. This is over 1 million people. * During a two year period, 333,684 hours of police time were spent on cannabis drug enforcement. This cost New Zealand taxpayers $116.2 million. * Many other countries have changed their drug laws so that drug addicts get proper help rather than punishment, drug users don’t face arrest, and police focus their resources on busting big time drug dealers. If you have any questions or need more information about the drug law review, please get in touch with us: New Zealand Drug Foundation"