The Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) NZ Coalition which is leading the NO vote against cannabis legalisation in the upcoming referendum has released a new report “Lessons From Cannabis Legalisation 2020”, a comprehensive study of the data outcomes in ‘legalised’ marijuana states in the U.S., and recent developments since legalisation in Canada and Uruguay, the only two countries in the world who have legalised recreational cannabis use.

This study, validated by researchers from institutions such as Harvard and Johns Hopkins University, and using governmental data and the latest peer-reviewed studies, finds that the U.S. states that have legalised marijuana are witnessing rising use rates, thriving black markets, and harms among disadvantaged communities. This is also the early evidence from Canada and Uruguay.

This report which has almost 250 references will serve as an eye-opener for the New Zealand public and gives very persuasive evidence for voting no in the referendum. The legalisation of marijuana has had significant costs both fiscally and in terms of social and health harms. It is clearly evident that cannabis legalisation is a failed policy.

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

This report moves past the spin from cannabis industry proponents who want to normalise and profit from drug use in our communities. 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 report is produced by the SAM-NZ Coalition, in conjunction with research from Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) in the U.S.

Smart Approaches To Marijuana NZ (SAM-NZ) is an alliance of community organisations and leaders in New Zealand (including ex-addicts, educators, ex-police, addiction counsellors, health professionals and community workers) who oppose any attempt to legalise cannabis, based on reputable science and sound principles of public health and safety.

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Media Release 5 September 2020
The Say Nope To Dope campaign is calling on the Make It Legal campaign to stop insulting the New Zealand public with suggestions that they’re basically racist if they don’t vote yes to legalisation..

“Ironically, the insulting comments come in the same week that Auckland University Maori and Pacific Advisor Dr Hirini Kaa warned that for those living in poverty or dealing with systemic racism, cannabis is a lot more damaging and dangerous, and that legalisation ‘won’t fix racism in the justice system, we shouldn’t pretend it will. Our history of social policy in this country really worries me. It’s going to send a signal cannabis is accessible and okay to use.’” says spokesperson Aaron Ironside.

“For the yes campaign to imply that you’re a racist if you vote no in the upcoming referendum is both false, but also condescending and insulting to the vast majority of New Zealanders who are thinking deeply about this important social issue. The pro-cannabis campaign needs to stop trying to falsely “guilt trip” kiwi voters into voting for legalising cannabis.”

The evidence overseas shows that marijuana legalisation poses a significant threat to low-income and minority communities. Though industry proponents suggest that marijuana legalisation will alleviate injustices against socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, disparities in use and criminal offence rates have persisted in U.S. states that legalised marijuana.

While it is important to evaluate the impact of incarceration within certain communities, it is also important to understand the impact of marijuana legalisation on those same communities. It is inappropriate to suggest that only through marijuana legalisation will social justice be achieved or criminal justice inequity remedied. In fact, no such effect has been demonstrated in the states where marijuana was made “legal.”

“Instead of fixing social justice disparities, legalisation merely changes the nature of the arrest in lower income and minority communities due to the new ‘regulations’. What’s more, the cannabis industry has recognised an important new consumer base – just as they did with pokie machines and alcohol outlets which are concentrated in these same areas,” says Mr Ironside.

In a recent interview hosted by SAM-NZ, Will Jones III – a social justice advocate from Washington DC – said that the idea that legalising cannabis is going to deal with systemic injustices and inequalities is naive at best if not outright appropriating issues of systemic injustice for personal gain and personal profit.
ENDS

Media Release 1 September 2020
The SayNopeToDope campaign is calling on the Minister of Justice Andrew Little to release economic reports relating to proposed cannabis legalisation so that voters can make a fully informed decision at the upcoming referendum.

According to the NBR, economic reports on the proposed cannabis legalisation are being withheld by the Ministry of Justice until after the October referendum, with the Ministry of Justice refusing an Official Information Act request on the issue.

“This is significant, because a lot of claims have been made that the legalisation of cannabis could earn up to ½ billion dollars for the taxpayer. This sounds very attractive, but international evidence shows that it is a flawed pipe dream. Cannabis advocates and the marijuana industry are quick to overestimate large amounts of revenue from cannabis sales, but it rarely fully recognises the societal costs of legalisation,” says spokesperson Aaron Ironside.

“Other societal costs not referred to by drug supporters include: greater other drug use, greater marijuana use among underage students, property and other economic damage, controlling an expanded black market, sales to minors, public intoxication, and other burdens. No policy is without its costs. Legalisation also results in administrative and enforcement costs, similar to alcohol regulation.”

“Andrew Little should be releasing any and all information related to this referendum as part of being an open and transparent government. The fiscal reality of changes to our drug laws are just as important as the likely health and societal harms,” says Mr Ironside.

Alcohol and tobacco have already warned us that tax revenue from marijuana sales will fall well short of the costs. Trends have already surfaced in Colorado & Washington state, suggesting that, like tobacco and alcohol, costs outweigh revenues. Over half the pot money promised for drug prevention, education & treatment in Washington State never materialised. Bureaucracy consumes a significant portion of Colorado marijuana tax revenue.

California’s projected marijuana tax revenue by July 2019 is nearly half of what was originally expected when the state began retail sales in 2018, since most consumers continue to purchase marijuana from the black market in order to avoid high taxes. Statistics Canada, a state agency, reports that just 29% of cannabis users buy all of their product from a legal source.
ENDS

Media Release 26 August 2020
New U.S. data released today by Quest Diagnostics has found that rates of marijuana positivity in the workforce have sharply risen both over the last year (2018-2019) and since legalisation was implemented. Furthermore, Quest Diagnostics also reported that workforce drug positivity hit a sixteen-year high in 2019.

Marijuana is the most commonly detected substance and has the highest drug positivity rate among all other tested substances across the majority of industry sectors in the U.S. Marijuana positivity has increased nearly 29% since 2015, according to Quest Diagnostics. Among the top-ranking industries for the highest rates of positive marijuana testing, transportation and warehousing was number one with 33.3%. Meanwhile the construction industry had an average of 26.7% positive marijuana testing (Quest Diagnostics, 2018).

One in four marijuana users who are employed admit to getting high at work within the past year, according to a new survey of cannabis consumers in Washington, Oregon and Colorado, three states where recreational weed is legal. Workforce marijuana-positivity rates in all “legal” states but one (Alaska) are above the national average (Quest Diagnostics, 2019). Most states that have legalised marijuana show an increasing trend in positivity rates.

Insurance claims have become a growing concern among companies in US states that have legalised marijuana because if marijuana use is allowed or drug testing ignored, employers are at risk of liability claims when a marijuana-related injury or illness occurs onsite.

“New Zealand employers have every reason to be concerned about attempts to legalise the recreational use of cannabis. The likely increase in marijuana use and acceptance as a result of any legalisation of the drug will lead to a more dangerous workplace, especially in safety-sensitive industries,” says spokesperson Aaron Ironside.

Top Increases Since Legalisation to 2019: 

Nevada: 142% increase since 2016 (1.9% vs. 4.6%)
Oregon: 136% increase since 2014 (1.9% vs. 4.5%)
Massachusetts: 113% since 2016 (2.7% vs. 3.8%)
Washington: 86.3% increase since 2014 (2.2% vs. 4.1%)
Colorado: 63% increase since 2013 (1.9% vs. 3.1%)
California: 45% increase since 2016 (2.2% vs. 3.2%)
Michigan: 44% increase since 2017 (2.7% vs. 3.9)
Massachusetts: 40% increase since 2016 (2.7% vs. 3.8) 

Top Increases 2018 – 2019:

Washington: 70% increase (2.4% vs. 4.1)
California: 33% increase (2.4% vs. 3.2%)
Maine: 28% increase (5.0% vs. 6.4%)
Michigan: 21.8% increase (3.2% vs. 3.9)
Nevada: 17.9% increase (3.9% vs. 4.6%)
Massachusetts: 15% increase (3.3% vs. 3.8%)