NewsHub 9 May 2019
Family First Comment: Far more to worry about than just gummi bears.
This shows just how naïve OR misleading the Greens are being around the real risks of cannabis products.
#saynopetodope
Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick has brushed off National’s concerns around cannabis-infused edibles, suggesting most types will likely be banned.
National’s drug law reform spokesperson Paula Bennett said cannabis-infused edibles could be “dressed up so they’re appealing to young people and accidental use is of real concern”.
Swarbrick wouldn’t confirm cannabis-infused gummy bears would definitely be banned, but said there was consensus among the Greens, Labour and New Zealand First that protecting children and displacing the black market were top priorities.
“In line with all of those things, it’s pretty evident that we will be following what other jurisdictions have done in terms of banning or ensuring that we won’t have gummy bears.”
Swarbrick said there’s no way with the Government’s “health-based approach” to drug reform that “we would be enabling products that could be argued as targeted towards children”.
She said there will be “nothing to glorify the consumption of cannabis” – and actually, “quite the opposite because there will be public education campaigns about the harms”.
Swarbrick wouldn’t confirm cannabis-infused gummy bears would definitely be banned, but said there was consensus among the Greens, Labour and New Zealand First that protecting children and displacing the black market were top priorities.
“In line with all of those things, it’s pretty evident that we will be following what other jurisdictions have done in terms of banning or ensuring that we won’t have gummy bears.”
Swarbrick said there’s no way with the Government’s “health-based approach” to drug reform that “we would be enabling products that could be argued as targeted towards children”.
She said there will be “nothing to glorify the consumption of cannabis” – and actually, “quite the opposite because there will be public education campaigns about the harms”.
Comparing cannabis-infused lollies to alcohol-soaked lollies, Bennett said: “You’re not going to get absolutely drunk off a couple of vodka-soaked lollies, but you can get absolutely wasted on a few concentrated marijuana [edibles].”
READ MORE: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/05/cannabis-gummy-bears-could-be-banned-under-law-reform.html
