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Ed

Ed
In Media Release

Support for Recreational Dope Going ‘Up in Smoke’

Media Release 17 August 2019
The SayNopeToDope Campaign is welcoming yet another poll showing plummeting support for legalising cannabis in New Zealand.

The Horizon Research poll shows support for legalising has plummeted from 60% last November to just 39%. This is a similar trend to the recent 1 NEWS Colmar Brunton Poll (39% support), and the Newshub-Reid Research Poll (41.7% support).

“We’re stoked that our messaging and our saynopetodope campaign is getting through to families. It is clear that while Kiwis strongly support a compassionate response to those in real need with a cautious and researched approach around cannabis medicine, when they thoughtfully consider the real implications of legalising recreational use, they completely reject the proposal – and rightly so,” says a spokesperson for the SayNopeToDope campaign.

Evidence shows that marijuana – which has skyrocketed in average potency over the past decades – is addictive and harmful to the human brain, especially when used by adolescents. In US states that have already legalised the drug, there has been an increase in drugged driving crashes, youth marijuana use, and costs that far outweigh tax revenues from marijuana. These states have seen a black market that continues to thrive, sustained marijuana arrest rates, and tobacco company investment in marijuana.

New statistics, collected by the Ministry of Health, show that in 2008 only 192 people were hospitalised with a primary cannabis diagnosis, but by 2018 this had increased by 160% to over 500. Almost 6,000 people over 10 years have been hospitalised. Those suffering from a psychotic disorder due to cannabis (the most common diagnosis) increased from 90 to 226 over the same time period – an increase of 150%. Earlier Ministry of Health figures gained under the Official Information Act show that 73 children (0 – 14 years) have been hospitalised in the past five years either for poisoning or for mental and behavioural disorders due to the use of cannabis.

“When people think about ‘cannabis’, they probably immediately think about the same overused photos by the media of a marijuana plant and a joint being smoked. But legalising marijuana will be far more than that. People will be popping it between classes, sucking on it while driving, drinking it before work, chewing on it while they talk to others, and eating it as a dessert. THC concentrate is mixed into almost any type of food or drink. The potency of edibles (several times that of an average joint) and their attractiveness to kids will lead to serious problems. THC-infused products will include: coffee, ice-cream, baked goods, lolly-pops, fizzy drinks, water bottles, tea, hot cocoa, breath mints & spray, intimate oils, pills, lollies, chewing gum, marinara sauce, baklava, and many more,” says a spokesperson for the SayNopeToDope campaign.

Recent polling by Curia Market Research found that 85% think that cannabis use can damage the brains of young people under the age of 25, 81% think that drivers using cannabis are more likely to cause accidents, 63% think that cannabis users aged under 25 are less likely to get a job (only 20% think it makes no difference) and half of NZers think that cannabis usage will increase if restrictions are reduced.

“At a time when New Zealand’s mental health system is bursting at the seams, why would we go and legitimise a mind-altering product which will simply add to social harm?”

The SayNopeToDope Campaign is calling on the government to stop wasting time and resources on a referendum and to focus their energies on more pressing issues such as housing, health, education and strengthening families.
ENDS

 

Ed
In Recent News

Mike’s Minute: Three reasons why legalising cannabis is a dopey idea

NewsTalk ZB 14 August 2019
Family First Comment: Once again, Hosking is on the ball…
1. another poll with two-thirds of the construction industry here worried about the effects.
2. they can’t get enough truck driver employees that can pass a drug test.
3. “there has been a spike in kids and teenagers being treated for addiction. Babies finding caregivers’ edible cannabis products are ending up in hospital. There’s a 27 per cent increase in kids with troubles – 70 per cent of those cases come from states that have legalised dope.”

More insight today into why the cannabis referendum and law reform, or to use a more accurate term “legalisation,” will be voted down.

Last time we talked about this, a poll came out with a very solid majority favouring rejection.

New detail for you today. One, another poll with two-thirds of the construction industry here worried about the effects. Why? Because it’s already hard enough to find workers, and stoned workers aren’t the sort you want up scaffolding.

Drugs are already an issue, making drugs more freely available isn’t making that problem easier to deal with.

Two, they are currently 60,000 truck drivers short in America. That’s just truck drivers. Miles aren’t being covered, business isn’t being done, and yards are closing. This in a booming economy. Why? Drugs, they can’t get candidates that pass a test.

Three, Colorado. A bloke called Sam Wong, a doctor who works at the children’s hospital has seen for himself the effects of making dope legal. He’s seen it locally, and had it confirmed in a nationwide study he conducted.

Remember when we talked to Chloe Swarbrick and she told us to look at Colorado, and we did. We interviewed a police force member who dealt with drugs. He said as clearly and as loudly as possible, don’t do it.

Sam Wong says the same. There has been a spike in kids and teenagers being treated for addiction. Babies finding caregivers’ edible cannabis products are ending up in hospital. There’s a 27 per cent increase in kids with troubles – 70 per cent of those cases come from states that have legalised dope.

THC (the active ingredient in cannabis) levels have gone from 3.7 per cent to 20 per cent. Once it’s legalised it’s easy to get the highest grade in the strongest form. The states have raised $3 billion in taxes so far.
READ MORE: https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/mike-hosking-breakfast/video/mikes-minute-three-reasons-why-legalising-cannabis-is-a-dopey-idea/

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Ed
In Recent News

Marijuana use may lower sperm count, block ovulation

Star Advertiser 12 August 2019
Family First Comment: For couples struggling with conception, smoking weed isn’t a joke; it sends their chances of having a baby up in smoke. In an article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers say they want doctors and patients trying to conceive to be aware that smoking marijuana might make it more difficult. How?
• erectile dysfunction in men and infertility in women.
• decreased sperm count.
• delayed or no ovulation
• prenatal exposure to marijuana and problems for the child

For couples struggling with conception, smoking weed isn’t a joke; it sends their chances of having a baby up in smoke.

In an article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers say they want doctors and patients trying to conceive to be aware that smoking marijuana might make it more difficult. How?

>> THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, acts on receptors in the hypothalamus, pituitary gland and reproductive organs, making it more difficult to conceive.

In women the hypothalamus produces gonadotropin-releasing hormone, which leads to a cascade of other hormones needed for ovulation and to prepare the uterus for a fertilized egg. Pituitary problems can contribute to erectile dysfunction in men and infertility in women.

>> Another problem: decreased sperm count. A Danish study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that smoking marijuana more than once a week reduced sperm count by 29% in guys 18 to 28 years old.

>> Marijuana could delay or prevent ovulation if smoked more than three times in the past three months.

>> One more caution: Authors of a study called “It’s Not Your Mother’s Marijuana,” published in Clinics in Perinatology, point out that if you’re pregnant and smoke today’s superpowered weed, prenatal exposure to marijuana can result in problems with your child’s executive functioning skills, attention, behavior and school achievement later on.
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/08/12/features/marijuana-use-may-lower-sperm-count-block-ovulation/
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Ed
In Media Release

Hospitalisation For Marijuana Continues To Increase

Media Release 14 August 2019
More damning statistics of marijuana hospitalisations in New Zealand are further proof that we should go nowhere legalising cannabis. The SayNopeToDope Campaign also says that too many children are being hospitalised for marijuana poisoning and mental harm already, and that this rate will also only increase if the drug is legalised.

New statistics, collected by the Ministry of Health, show that in 2008 only 192 people were hospitalised with a primary cannabis diagnosis, but by 2018 this had increased by 160% to over 500. Almost 6,000 people over 10 years have been hospitalised. Those suffering from a psychotic disorder due to cannabis (the most common diagnosis) increased from 90 to 226 over the same time period – an increase of 150%.

Earlier Ministry of Health figures gained under the Official Information Act show that 73 children (0 – 14 years) have been hospitalised in the past five years either for poisoning or for mental and behavioural disorders due to the use of cannabis. This is over four times the number of hospitalisations compared to synthetic cannabis for the same age group.

“These stats will only worsen if marijuana is legalised in New Zealand and the marijuana industry floods the market with highly potent cannabis concentrates – edibles, dabbing (smoking highly concentrated THC) and vaping – as they have in all other jurisdictions where cannabis has been allowed. This should sound the warning bell that marijuana is absolutely a health issue, which is why the law is so important for protecting public health and safety. A soft approach would be a disaster,” says a spokesperson for the SayNopeToDope campaign.

This is similar to the overseas experience where marijuana has been legalised. The number of teenagers sent to emergency rooms more than quadrupled after marijuana was legalised in Colorado — mostly for mental health symptoms, researchers reported in 2017. The yearly rate of emergency department visits related to marijuana for all ages increased 52%, and hospitalisations increased 148% in Colorado (2012 compared to 2016). A recent study conducted in Colorado also found that following recreational marijuana commercialisation in 2013, marijuana-detection rates significantly increased among traumatic injury patients in Colorado hospitals.

A study conducted in Washington State found that the rate of paediatric exposures to marijuana (children aged 9 or under) was 2.3 times higher following retail sales than it was before legalisation. And in Oregon, for children 5 years or younger, the number rose by 271% from 14 cases in 2014 to 52 cases in 2017.

The latest Colorado toxicology reports show the percentage of adolescent suicide victims testing positive for marijuana continues to increase. Between 2011 and 2013, 20.7% of suicide victims between the ages of 10 and 19 tested positive for marijuana (compared with 12.7% who tested positive for alcohol). By 2014-2016, 22.4% tested positive for marijuana (compared with 9.3% for alcohol). 

In the UK, 15,000 teenage hospital admissions have taken place over the past five years as a result of taking cannabis – some of whom were rushed to hospital suffering from serious psychosis.

“At a time when New Zealand’s mental health system is bursting at the seams, why would we legitimise a mind-altering product which will simply add to social harm? It’s patently obvious that legalisation will increase its use, and harm. So-called ‘regulation’ doesn’t change the fact that drugs harm.”

“This is not a ‘war on drugs’ – this is a defence of our brains and health and wellbeing. Legalising a harmful drug like marijuana – or any other drug for that matter – is not a healthy option.”
ENDS

 

Ed
In Recent News

Vaping linked to marijuana use in young people, research says

CNN 12 August 2019
Family First Comment: “The review found that the odds of marijuana use were 3.5 times higher in people who vaped compared to those who didn’t. That link suggests that “e-cigarettes really need to be considered in the broad category of addictive and harmful substances.””

Young people who vape are more likely to use marijuana, according to a study published Monday. The findings, researchers say, support the theory that nicotine rewires the developing brain, changing how people respond to and crave addictive substances.

“Adolescents have a brain that’s still changing and developing,” said Dr. Nicholas Chadi, the lead author on the study, who conducted the research as a fellow in pediatric addiction medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

When a young brain is exposed to an addictive substance such as nicotine, it “tends to be sensitized to other substances; it tends to seek a thrilling, rewarding sensation,” said Chadi. “And so other substances like marijuana become more appealing.”

The research, published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics, analyzed more than 20 pre-existing studies of people ages 10 to 24. The review found that the odds of marijuana use were 3.5 times higher in people who vaped compared to those who didn’t.

That link suggests that “e-cigarettes really need to be considered in the broad category of addictive and harmful substances,” said Chadi, who is now an assistant professor at the University of Montreal.

“We can’t think of e-cigarettes as a less-harmful alternative to cigarettes with adolescents,” he said, in part because “just like cigarettes, e-cigarettes increase your risk of using marijuana, and marijuana, we know, has several implications and negative health consequences in adolescents.”
READ MORE: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/12/health/e-cigarette-marijuana-young-people-study/index.html
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Ed
In Recent News

Claims that youth use has decreased in Colorado is ‘propoganda’ based on flawed surveys

15 Aug 2019
Jo McGuire, Executive Director of the National Drug and Alcohol Screening Programme in Colorado was interviewed by Newstalk ZB‘s Mike Hosking this morning.

She destroys many of the arguments being used by the Greens and the Drug Foundation.

Well worth the listen.

Facts matter!

Ed
In Recent News

Family First reports on Cannabis Legalisation in Canada



Bob McCoskrie from Family First has a confession to make. He purchased drugs….
in Vancouver, Canada 🇨🇦 (where it’s legal to do so).

Canada legalised marijuana in 2018 amidst promises of strong regulations and restrictions on the types of product sold. How’s that working out? And how should we treat similar ‘promises’ made in NZ?

For more details, go to www.saynopetodope.org.nz/Canada

[No products were consumed in the making of this documentary, no animals were harmed, and you should definitely not try this at home!]
Ed
In Recent News

Marijuana legalization: The unintended consequences of more potent pot

CBS News 10 August 2019
Family First Comment: “… a new nationwide study shows a 27% increase in children and teenagers getting emergency treatment for marijuana toxicity. Seventy percent of the cases occurred in states with legalized marijuana.”
www.VoteNO.nz

The legalization of recreational marijuana in almost a dozen states shows how America’s attitude toward the drug may be changing. But the drug has changed too: Newly developed strains of marijuana are far stronger than what people were smoking in the past, leading to unintended consequences like addiction and marijuana toxicity.

“Typically, young children around the age of 2 are getting into caregivers’ — whether it’s parents’, grandparents’, babysitters’ — marijuana products, often edible products,” said Dr. Sam Wang.

Wang’s findings from Colorado’s Children’s Hospital are included in a new nationwide study that showed a 27% increase in children and teenagers getting emergency treatment for marijuana toxicity. Seventy percent of the cases occurred in states with legalized marijuana.

“In severe circumstances, it can affect how they’re breathing and make them comatose and be put on a ventilator,” Wang said.

An exponential increase in marijuana’s psychoactive ingredient, THC, is at the center of the crisis. THC content has spiked from 3.7% to more than 20% — and some cannabis concentrates contain close to 100% THC.

Twenty-year-old Colton said that his addiction to marijuana began when the drug was legalized five years ago while he was attending high school in Colorado.

“Once it was legalized, it was so… easy to get in its strongest form straight from the dispensary,” Colton said. His father, Andrew Brandt, believes the high levels of THC fueled his son’s addiction.
READ MORE: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marijuana-the-unintended-consequences-of-more-potent-pot/

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Ed
In Recent News

Work fears if cannabis legal

Two thirds of construction industry members worried about the effects of cannabis law reform
Stuff co.nz 11 August 2019
Family First Comment: “As soon as you use the word ‘legal’ the perception is that it’s OK to do it.”
Anyone knows that – except the Government and the Druggie Foundation.

Construction industry figures say recruitment of the already under-resourced sector will worsen if cannabis is legalised.

A Civil Contractors NZ annual report highlighted legalised cannabis as an issue looming over the sector with two thirds of nearly 90 respondents saying it would negatively impact their business.

Civil Contractors NZ chief Peter Silcock said businesses were already struggling with staff recruitment “due to substance abuse” and legal weed would “make it even harder”.

Founder of workplace drug testing company Workcare, Karl Hardy, “100 per cent” expected to see drug related recruitment issues worsen in the event of legalisation.

“As soon as you use the word ‘legal’ the perception is that it’s OK to do it.”

Around 70 per cent of its positive tests results were for cannabis, he said.

New Zealand has a construction worker short fall in the tens of thousands while also plagued by a housing shortage, particularly in the main centres.

Managing director of Robert Lax Max recruitment, Pat Quin, believes the industry is right to be concerned, specifically about cannabis. He said companies could face legal challenges if staff are dismissed over a failed test that may relate to cannabis smoked weeks prior.
READ MORE: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/114808173/two-thirds-of-construction-industry-members-worried-about-the-effects-of-cannabis-law-reform?cid=app-iPhone

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Ed
In Recent News

‘Decriminalisation’ drug law change tightened at 11th hour

NZ Herald 7 August 2019
Family First Comment: The government has now decriminalised not just cannabis, but ALL drugs – P, cocaine, heroine etc
Thankfully NZ First has softened just how radical it is – but it’s still flawed.
“NZ Police Association president Chris Cahill said under the original bill, police would consider health and addiction issues if they came across a group of people smoking methamphetamine at a kids’ playground. Under the changed bill, he said the officers would consider the environment and whether the activity was harming the community.”
National MP Paula Bennett said the bill decriminalized drugs by stealth. “National supports both greater rehabilitation and tougher sentences, treatment and deterrence should go hand in hand. However this Bill means Police won’t prosecute people who are buying and using hard drugs including P, heroin and cocaine.”
#softondrugs

A late change to a bill described as de facto decriminalisation of drug use is likely to swing the balance more towards police prosecutions and away from health referrals, the Police Association says.

But association president Chris Cahill said he still expected the Misuse of Drugs Amendment bill, which passed its third reading today, to lead to a “significant” drop in prosecutions for drug use.

The change to the bill means that the test for prosecuting drug users will be whether a therapeutic approach would be more beneficial “to the public interest” rather than for the individual involved.

It was championed by New Zealand First and agreed to by Labour and the Greens, and accepted during the committee stage of the bill last night.

The Police Association, the Drug Foundation, the Law Society and the Green Party have all called the original bill effective decriminalisation for drug use because it meant police should only prosecute drug users if that was a better outcome than a therapeutic approach.
READ MORE: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?objectid=12256494&ref=twitter

Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill passes final reading
Radio NZ News 7 August 2019
National police spokesperson Brett Hudson said it would tie the hands of police and Crown prosecutors.

Mr Hudson said if for example someone caught multiple time with possession of meth and the police deemed it in the public interest to prosecute, as soon the case went to court it would be challenged.

“They can argue in the court it has to be proven a health-based approach would not have been better in the public interest in that case and that did not and has not existed in the discretionary powers officers have exercised before,” he said.

National MP Paula Bennett said the bill decriminalized drugs by stealth.

“National supports both greater rehabilitation and tougher sentences, treatment and deterrence should go hand in hand.

“However this Bill means Police won’t prosecute people who are buying and using hard drugs including P, heroin and cocaine,” she said.

Ms Bennett added police aren’t social workers and the bill meant it will be up to them to help people try to find services that don’t exist.
READ MORE: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/396192/misuse-of-drugs-amendment-bill-passes-final-reading
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