I have been a registered social worker for over 15 years, and I am very passionate about supporting our vulnerable in Aotearoa. I am 45 years old and have had no criminal convictions since I was 19 which was for cultivating cannabis for personal use. However, although I have a clean slate record I am still not able to work for certain government organisations, and have to submit a personal letter explaining this charge from 26 years ago to the Social Workers Registration Board every year when I apply to renew my social work registration. The barriers the current laws have caused myself and many other New Zealanders to work and to build careers just because we grew a bit of pot is shocking.
