cannabisnews.com: Call to Relax Cannabis Law Call to Relax Cannabis Law Posted by FoM on May 07, 2000 at 22:39:43 PT By Keith Ramsay Source: The Press On-Line About 150 people gathered in Cathedral Square to support the relaxing of cannabis laws in New Zealand. The event was part of a international "J" day involving more than 100 cities internationally, including Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. The campaign was estimated to attract more than one million people worldwide. Green Party co-leader Rod Donald and Labour MP for Christchurch Central Tim Barnett spoke to Saturday's gathering organised by the National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Mr Donald delivered a conservative message, advocating the right to use the drug for personal use. But he said the laws should protect minors in the same way that alcohol laws did. Anyone selling the drug to those under the age of 18 could not expect any protection from the law. He also urged marijuana users not to flout the laws by smoking in public because that could fuel arguments against the reformation of the laws. He said for many, fears surrounded the reformation of the law, but most of their fears were unfounded. He likened it to the fears that were raised before the introduction of the homosexual law reform bill. "People were rightly concerned about the effects it could have had on young people but none of their fears were realised." Mr Barnett also supported the reformation of the law relating to cannabis use. He said the law was wrong and must change. "Many people would fight to stop the law change. They are wrong, but there were genuine and difficult questions to be answered before most MPs would agree to reform," he said. They needed to know that using marijuana would not increase health problems, that it would not make it easier for school children to get hold of cannabis, and that organised crime would not be fed by the sale of marijuana, if the law were changed. He said the seeds of a public relations disaster was ever-present in the campaign for cannabis law reform. He urged supporters of the law reform to move carefully. New Zealand News from The Press - Monday, May 08, 2000 Millennium Marijuana Marchhttp://www.millionmarijuanamarch.com/mmm/mmm1_1.htmJ-Day 2000, Albert Park, Aucklandhttp://www.norml.org.nz/norml/Files/Events/jday2000.htmAlphabetical MMM 2000 Reports. By Cityhttp://www.cannabinoid.com/wwwboard/politics/messages/25/25276.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on May 08, 2000 at 12:21:55 PT: The further away from the Washington DC the saner the drug policies. And the less dogmatic the dialogues are.That's not to say that the antis elsewhere aren't reading from the US DrugWarriors' script; it's painfully obvious that many have been infected with the barely-checked hysteria that seems to be the hallmark of our DrugWarriors. The arguments of foreign antis are almost word-for-word the same bilge spouted by our own self-appointed moral proctors. Their collusion in the US efforts in attempting to intimidate the leaders of sovereign nations (a la the Tasmanian opium crop affair of last year) show the same lack of respect for facts and good sense that their counterparts demonstrate within the US.Fortuntely, though, other nations have not been quite so regimented as ours has been for the last 50 years; their people are far less prone to complacency in allowing their liberties to be as trampled as we are. Which is why I believe that cannabis will become legal in places such as Australia and New Zealand first before it ever is here.Then watch what the antis will scream then! I dare them to say that the people of those countries, staunch friends of the US despite some important issues (such as Pine Gap and nukes) are a bunch of naive goofs led astray by the 'legalization lobby'. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: