In a recent article, Dr Rose Crossin and Professor Joe Boden argue strongly and convincingly that it is time to “overhaul New Zealand’s outdated and harmful drug laws. A new approach Crossin and Bodin argue in favour of a health-based, Te Tiriti aligned approach that not only reduces harm but saves tax money and police Read more
End of Life Choice Act (EOLC) Referendum, is one of two referendums being held alongside the October 17 New Zealand General Election. The New Zealand Catholic bishops’ Nathaniel Centre for Bioethics is providing a series of weekly briefs for parish newsletters. The first brief says: The End of Life Choice Act is not an option Read more
John Kleinsman, director of The Nathaniel Centre for Bioethics – an agency of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, says the conference believes it is dangerous to implement any euthanasia law. But the conference specifically takes issue with the proposed End of Life Choice Act that is the subject of the impending referendum. “I think Read more
Two drug policy experts have identified gaps and challenges in New Zealand’s proposal for legalizing recreational cannabis. Associate Professor Chris Wilkins and Dr Marta Rychert of Massey University argue in Addiction that New Zealand’s Cannabis Legislation and Control Bill (CLCB) needs to be strengthened in two critical areas: Set a formal minimum price for cannabis Read more
A digital sign displayed on a school board outside St Paul’s College in Ponsonby in Auckland reads: “To legalise is to normalise. Say no.” “Isn’t it illegal for a high school to push political opinions on students?” a Reddit user posted in the forum. According to Education Ministry guidance, boards of trustees as a state Read more
Legalising cannabis has the potential to counter systemic racism, see more treatment services and lift poor communities that have become embroiled in the black market, the chief science adviser to the Prime Minister says. But Dr Juliet Gerrard says whether that would come to pass if the country voted to legalise recreational cannabis is unknown. Read more
If the cannabis legislation outlined in parliament this week is approved in next year’s referendum, a heritage church in Christchurch will become a cannabis café. The proposed legislation would legalise the sale and consumption of cannabis at licensed premises. Cookie Time founder Michael Mayell has partnered with Abe Gray, the founder of New Zealand’s first Read more
Next year New Zealand will hold public referenda to decide whether to legalise assisted suicide and recreational marijuana. Separately, parliament is considering a bill that would decriminalise abortion. Simultaneously tackling all three could “foster an already growing culture war in New Zealand,” said Bryce Edwards, a political commentator and lecturer at Victoria University in Wellington. Read more
Next year New Zealanders will vote in a referendum on whether euthanasia should be legalised after a long-fought bill passed 69 to 51 in parliament on Wednesday. If endorsed by the public in a referendum the new law will allow those who are terminally ill to request assisted dying. Earlier in the day Stuff published an opinion Read more
On Wednesday night, New Zealand’s Parliament voted by a 63 to 57 majority in favour of amending David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill to make its acceptance conditional on a binding referendum. With the acceptance of the amendment requiring a referendum, the Bill is likely to pass the third reading in November. However, it Read more