Cannabis Legalisation: I'll Be Voting Yes, Here's Why / A.J. Hendry

On October 17th we will be asked to vote on whether we support the legalization of cannabis.

It's a big decision, and understandably there are A LOT of passionate opinions on both sides of the debate.

I for one will be voting yes.

I haven't reached this decision lightly, and to be completely honest, I settled on the decision only recently after reading the legislation.

By biggest concern before hand was that legalisation would create the sort of issues we've seen associated with the alcohol industry. Big business coming in, pushing the drug, advertising on every street corner with the rich marketing - and benefiting from - cannabis in a manner which manipulates and exploits our vulnerable whānau.

There's been a lot made of this possibility, especially by groups such as Say Nope To Dope. And it's a legitimate concern.

However, after reading the legislation it is apparent that the bill anticipates and seeks to counteract that very concern.

I won't go into the legislation in detail, I would encourage you to read it for yourself (or at least the summary), but I will say that the bill lays out quite explicitly that its aim is to 1) reduce the harms associated with cannabis use, and 2) to educate in order to reduce use over time. It follows up with some very strict regulations, and creates systems designed to monitor the industry in order to ensure these objectives are realized.

After reading the legislation it has become apparent to me that groups agitating for the status quo by making this point are not acting in good faith.

But, regardless, for some people, there is a deeper moral issue at work here.

Using drugs is wrong right? So why would we legalize something that isn't right?

Good question. For me it's about dealing with the reality

When we vote on October 17th, we're not voting on whether we think cannabis is a good thing, or whether we think people should use it, or even if we think people should be able to purchase or consume cannabis.

The reality is cannabis already exists.

People already have access to it.

And it is already well utilized.

One of the fears that some people hold is that by legalising cannabis we normalize it for our young people, and make it more accessible.

That argument - I believe - falls short, and once again, is not grounded in reality. The reality is young people are already using cannabis, it is already a normal part of the youth expierence. It's not foreign to them, and it's not hard to get. The issue is, that while it is illegal young people are buying an unregulated product, and they are buying it from the black market. Putting our rangatahi in an environment where they are exposed to gangs, crime, harder and more dangerous drugs, and are put at risk of being harmed by the "justice" system.

What this bill does is seek to deal with this reality.

Cannabis exists.

People are using it.

Young people have access to it.

So what are we going to do about it?

How do we reduce the harms associated with cannabis, and mitigate the risks that come with both it's purchase and it's use?

Let's talk about some of those harms.

Addiction and mental illness are two of the chief concerns I hear when having this korero.

People are rightly concerned about the harm addiction has on people, especially our young people. And also, of the risk of rangatahi developing mental illness as a result of using this drug.

When I first began my career as a Youth Development Worker I used to hold the same concerns. I was staunchly against cannabis and any movements towards legalisation.

However, the longer I've been in the game, the more clearly I've seen that it is not drugs that are the problem, but the truama, hurt, and mental illness that lie beneath.

People who use drugs to help them manage their reality, do so for a reason. Instead of judging our whānau who are struggling with addiction, it is more helpful to ask what's going on for people, and to seek to understand the hurt that drives the addiction.

When the hurt is dealt with, when healing occurs, addiction loses its power.

I've seen this to be true time and time again.

I've seen people literally dying from synthetic and meth addictions, I've walked alongside people day by day, people whose use is so toxic that I haven't known if they will be alive when I come back to see them the next day.

I've seen what happens when those people are embraced, when they aren't shamed for their addiction, when instead of being rejected, they are supported and loved, I've seen the healing and transformation that can take place.

From my expierence addiction and mental illness are never the result of cannabis use, but the drivers behind it.

At the moment under prohibition we as a society are burying our head in the sand. Our current approach to cannabis isn't fit for purpose, in many ways we are pretending like it doesn't exist. Out of sight, out of mind.

But it does exist.

And their are harms associated with it's use, but prohibition doesn't address them, it just pretends like they aren't there.

We cannot ignore cannabis into oblivion, neither can we punish our way free of addiction.

Legalisation won't get rid of the black market, it won't end racial injustice overnight, it won't make the harms of cannabis disappear, but it will help us mitigate those risks. It will allow us to funnel resources into addiction services, mental health services and education. It will begin breaking down the stigma and discrimination that currently affects people wrestling with addiction. It will allow health professionals like myself to manaaki our whānau without them having that fear that they will be judged or rejected due to their use of a currently illegal substance.

Here is the reality.

Cannabis isn't going anywhere.

Legal or illegal, people are going to use it.

Instead of judging people who use cannabis, we should be asking ourselves why people are becoming addicted to the use of drugs in the first place?

Is it because they are bad people, or is because their core needs aren't getting met?

Depression, anxiety, mental illness, truama, for many people cannabis is a tool they use to try and manage these realities.

As someone who is supporting people daily who are expierencing addiction I'm asking myself, what option will best help me and my team to manaaki our whānau?

As it stands, all the major harms associated with cannabis use exist under prohibition.

At the end of the day, I believe a vote for yes is what will help us prevent the most harm.

A.J. Hendry is a Youth Development Worker of almost 10 years. He currently leads a team of Youth Workers who support rangatahi who have experienced homelessness and has extensive expierence supporting rangatahi to heal and recover from addiction.

For more korero on this topic check out our conversation on the podcast with AOD counsellor and youth practitioner Peter Thorburn here.