Drug Law Reform Policy - Towards a Harm Reduction Model

Read the Drug Law Reform Policy Summary

Principles

The Green Party recognises that:

• A rational drug policy is important for society as a whole;
• A drug-free lifestyle is the healthiest;
• Some individuals in society will choose to use alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and other drugs regardless of their legal status;
• Current Government policies in relation to alcohol, cannabis and other drugs are failing to minimise harm and are instead creating a further set of problems;
• There are adverse health, social and economic consequences from the use of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and other drugs for both individuals and society;
• Dependence on prescription drugs is also a problem;
• Not all drug use is abusive or problematic.

Goals

The specific goals of this policy are to:

• Reduce the size and profits of the illicit drug market by the greatest amount; and
• Provide the greatest level of harm reduction for society and for users of legal and illegal drugs; and
• Reduce alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and other drug abuse.

Steps towards Harm Reduction and Drug Law Reform

The Green Party proposes that harm reduction programmes and drug law reform be carefully implemented over a period of time to allow each stage to be monitored, evaluated and, if necessary, modified.

Immediate Steps for Harm Reduction

Enforcement and medical treatment

• The Government will make it clear to the police that it is the Government's priority to place the prosecution of crimes such as domestic violence and violent offending ahead of prosecution for personal cannabis possession while new legislation is enacted.
• Enable registered medical practitioners and specialists to prescribe cannabis products for severely ill patients.

Drug education

• Ensure that a comprehensive and effective drug education programme is available to schools and communities, which promotes a drug-free lifestyle as the healthiest and informs young people of the risks of using cannabis, alcohol and tobacco and other drugs.
• Expand both youth and adult drug education and ensure they are based on approaches that have been shown to:
  • Be successful in reducing drug abuse;
  • Be consistent with the approach taken by the Government's 2002 Youth Development Strategy which focuses on building young people's sense of self-esteem and connection with their community;
  • Include information on the hazards of using cannabis, alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (legal and illegal), "dope-driving", "drink driving", the effects of both short-term and chronic use, and the hazards of the use of two or more drugs together.
• Establish and adequately fund a Ministerial Advisory Group on Drug Education, to develop and implement measures for evaluating drug education programmes and to improve delivery of drug education messages, particularly to young people.

Medium Term Steps for Harm Reduction

Public Health measures

• Ban broadcast alcohol advertising.
• Require compulsory health warnings on all alcohol and tobacco products.
• Ban the direct to consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals, because this practice drives up the demand for pharmaceuticals.
• Support use of pricing mechanisms, including taxes, duties and levies, to discourage the use of tobacco and alcohol.

Cannabis specific initiatives

• Eliminate penalties for personal cannabis use for people aged 18 years and over.
• Introduce a legal age limit of 18 years for personal cannabis use (this is consistent with alcohol). Those under 18 found in possession of cannabis would be treated in a way consistent with the Government's 2002 Youth Development Strategy.
• Define in law the limits on growing cannabis for personal use.
• Ensure it remains an offence to drive while under the influence of cannabis.
• Ensure that cannabis smoking is covered in the Smokefree Environments Act.
• Commercial cultivation and trading of marijuana for profit would remain illegal, and areas currently relying on large scale illegal cultivation for their income will be assisted in making a transition to other work.

Drug addiction treatment

• Continue support for smoking cessation programmes.
• Support the ongoing implementation of the 1998 report Blueprint for Mental Health Services in New Zealand.
• Support continued funding increases to allow the service provision targets in the Blueprint to be met and where necessary exceeded
• Support strong integration of, and better resourcing for, mental health and substance misuse services.

Pharmaceutical Drugs

• Require Pharmac to take a lead role in seeking to reduce the inappropriate prescribing of drugs such as anti-depressants, through nation-wide education campaigns, and working with doctors and pharmacies.
• Place tighter controls on the highly addictive classes of drugs, and work with doctors and the wide community to educate them on safer alternatives and the risks of dependence.

Longer Term Steps for Harm Reduction

MonitoringThe effects of the drug education programmes, the drug addiction treatment programmes, the public health measures, the pharmaceutical controls, and the removal of penalties for personal use of cannabis will be monitored and evaluated.This monitoring and evaluation would be considered as part of the overall review of drug policy below.Public Review of Drug LawsThe Green Party proposes that the Government conduct a comprehensive and public review of all drug-related legislation, including the Sale of Liquor Act, the Smokefree Environments Act and Misuse of Drugs Act.The purpose of the review is to develop integrated, effective harm reduction legislation in order to:

• Reduce harm and cost to society and individuals from drug use and abuse; and
• Enhance people's capacity for informed choice.

Defining Harm Reduction

The Greens use the term "harm reduction" to mean a policy or program directed towards reducing the adverse health, social and economic consequences of drug use to the community and to the individual user.