120 Reasons: Deb

Deb.jpg

The reason I want to see the law change is because I have seen so many young lives affected by being prosecuted for insignificant amounts of cannabis and other drugs. It may be that they have parking or driving offences, however it’s the drug offences that they end up in prison for. My own life was spent in and out of court for drug related offending and I know the toll this took on me and those around me. I also had 4 years of a partner being in jail, missing the birth of his daughter all because of drugs. He needed treatment as did I, we both finally received that 3 years later. I’ve also more recently seen the serious impact of a family member caught in the web of dealing for gangs. This world continues to be next level dodgy & unsafe, my heart shrinks at the impact of this and the related consequences.

Drug law reform would remove drugs from organised crime, it would position those needing help to have a health based approach and it would remove the stigma that is so associated with drug use. I think we would also see a decrease in the harm caused by drugs and less young people using as has been the case in Portugal, Canada & the USA. As well as a change in policing style such as Portugal uses. It is time to change, it is time to improve our approach to drugs in Aotearoa.

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Kathy

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May McLeod

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Peter

I have been a pharmacist for over 40 years including...

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Jesse

When I was in my first year of uni, some...

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Simon

If my children choose to experiment with cannabis when they...

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Kerry

I have been a registered social worker for over 15...

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Russel

I am a victim of unsafe work practices here in...

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Peter

Kia ora, I am a mental health support worker and...

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Aj

I have fibromyalgia and multiple other health issues that weed...

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Millie

When drugs become legalised the means of getting them do...

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Fred

The prohibition of Marijuana (Cannabis) was done in 1937 by...

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Sharon

The Marijuana debate is very clear, let’s live up to...

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Hilda

I have worked along side alcoholics in Twelve Step programmes...

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James

I have witnessed for over 40 years the harm caused...

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Charmaine

I was diagnosed 15 years ago with medium to severe...

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Robyn

We need to stop making money out of our citizens....

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Anna

I have recently been diagnosed with C-PTSD with dissociative disorders. My...

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Evelyn

Being a teenager of the 70s, all the folk I...

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Ruby

When I was in the 4th year of my acupuncture...

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Julian

I’ve been working with drug issues for four decades. I’ve...

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Wiki

I am in my early 50s. A mother, a grandmother,...

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Elizabeth

I am a nurse and have seen so many people...

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Kyle

We should change our drug laws because it will enable...

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Eliot

We should change our drug laws because a war on...

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Robert

I have depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, paranoia and...

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Kathryn

There’s no logic or science behind our drug laws, they...

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Nicholas

My story is of a hard life bullied at school...

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Floyd

Cannabis is being re–adopted by many countries around the world....

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Benjamin

At the age of 6-years old I was involved in...

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Lauren

Because prisons don’t work. 60% of the prison population will...

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Wendy

When a law that was supposed to reduce drug use...

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Chris

My wife suffers from epilepsy and marijuana keeps her seizures...

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Leanne

I recently lost my mother due to a blood disorder,...

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Jennifer

People who use drugs can and do recover! With support...

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Scarlett

Our current drug laws are creating little impact, if we...

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Russell

Treatment-resistant C-PTSD has made my life very difficult to live...

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Tony

I’m a psychologist that works in the drug and alcohol...

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Mr Sausage

I am a normal bloke in my fifties. It was...

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Russell

The existing laws have comprehensively failed in their stated purpose...

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Carey

I have progressive Multiple Sclerosis and one of my worst...

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Isaac

Do you think that the local gang run tinny house...

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Kellie

Because it's time, it's time for change. I have worked...

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Kate

I have watched one of my best friends go from...

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Laila

I live in a community in West Auckland where young...

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Geneva

I believe in drug law reform because the harm caused...

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Jenny

We spend $95k+ to keep a prisoner in jail for...

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Hannah

I trained as a nurse and worked with many vulnerable...

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Fiona

I’d like politicians to support drug law reform and legalise/decriminalise...

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Lori

I want to see a change in how we treat...

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Roderick

Somebody close to me died of a heroin overdose. As...

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Warwick

Drug law reform is an essential component of a modern...

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Cyndi

I have worked in addictions for 10 years and I...

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Brian

Seven years ago I was busted for growing the cannabis...

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Andre

We should look to what works in the world and...

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Catherine

The war on drugs is government sanctioned bigotry against a...

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Tusilima

I was convicted for the cultivation of three female plants...

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Ricardo

The war on drugs is the war on the poor....

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Madison

  I live in a small rural community on the...

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John

  In 1968 I was 18 when convicted of cultivation...

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Aimee

I have seen the damaging effects of pushing drug users...

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Ian

  We scattered Chris's ashes last week, after a small...

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Anna

  It’s simple really – punishing people for drug use...

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Natalie

  When I was young I experimented with drugs, as...

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Kelsey

I would like to see the Government treat drug use...

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Jim

I spent 10 years as a prison consultant. There is...

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Paul

34 years on from a drug-related conviction, I still have...

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Matt

  The report of the 2018 Government Inquiry into Mental...

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Eugene

He take hauora tēnei ngāngara, arā te kiriwara, ehara he...

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Tracey

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Ken

I believe we should legalize marijuana because of two reasons....

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Kali

We treat people who use drugs as criminals purely for...

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Jack

My reason for wanting to change our drug laws is...

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Diana

I have worked as an alcohol and other drug counsellor...

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