Show Script:
Well, the media continue to campaign for legalisation despite not being able to win the cannabis referendum in 2020. They’re still sulking.
And the media regularly use their mates at the Drug Foundation (or Druggie Foundation as I refer to them as).
Last week was another classic example.
Radio NZ shouted “Decriminalising drug use best way to combat rising addiction, report finds”
A major new report says decriminalising all drug use is the best way to combat rising addiction and harm. The Drug Foundation is recommending a complete overhaul of the Misuse of Drugs Act, throwing out the drug classification system, and legalising some lower-risk drugs through a not-for-profit model. Executive director Sarah Helm said the Misuse of Drugs Act had been a “colossal failure” since it was introduced 50 years ago in 1975.
Apparently because a law is 50 years old, it must be replaced.
Don’t tell the Druggie Foundation how old the murder laws or the rape laws are eh. Or kidnapping, torture, manslaughter, aggravated wounding. 1961. 64 years! Time to tear them down – apparently. So old and out of date.
But back to our article.
How many contrary voices were found to balance this article. No-one. Not even one! It was a paid infomercial for the Drug Foundation – but paid by your tax money – given that it was Radio NZ and the Druggie Foundation receives government funding.
Derek Cheng at the NZ Herald is regularly writing about the issue. In fact, in our analysis of the media coverage of the cannabis referendum, he was one of the worst culprits in his coverage with a 70 / 30 bias in favour of a yes vote from his 9 articles.
And he jumped on the Drug Foundation report – Decriminalise, depoliticise, destigmatise: New report says drug laws are ‘colossal failure’ that exacerbate harm
How many contrary voices were found to balance this article? In 49 paragraphs but two large bullet point summaries from the report, there was ONE paragraph. 1 in 49. That sounds balanced.
Asked about any plans to review the MODA, Health Minister Simeon Brown said: “New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for a Government that would strengthen law and order in this country. Liberalising drug laws would do the complete opposite of that.”
Give a knighthood to Simeon Brown for reading the room – unlike the NZ Herald.
This fair and balanced media isn’t going to well, is it.
Then there was Newstalk ZB saying ‘We need to do something different’: Growing calls to decriminalise drugs following new report
And they interview a well known soft-on-drugs proponent from Victoria University – a criminology professor! – which says it all.
Oh – Newstalk ZB also interviewed another person. Someone from the opposing viewpoint to the “decriminalise all drugs” side.
Of course not. They interviewed the Druggie Foundation – the author of the report
‘Removes those penalties’: NZ Drug Foundation reveals how decriminalising drug use could work
But Newstalk ZB didn’t seem interested in asking anybody why decriminalisation wouldn’t work.
Now, interestingly, Radio NZ didn’t think they’d got the message through – and nobody was listening to their viewpoint. So they had another crack. Four days later.
New report recommends decriminalisation of illicit drugs
And it was off to interview another well-known campaigner for liberal drug laws – ironically an American, so is that an imported culture war – Professor Joe Boden from Otago University.
We still haven’t had the phone call yet for the opposing viewpoint.
So the media have absolutely sucked at providing any balanced coverage or critique of this report.
It’s been a paid advertorial for their mates at the Druggie Foundation
I really wish they were so kind to us when we published interviews with Israel and maria Folau, or shared the testimonies of detransitioners such as Issy and Zara – oh wait, they totally ignore those things.
Stick to the media narrative, Bob
But it was Stuff’s coverage that was appalling also.
This was their report
‘Colossal failure’: Drug Foundation calls for law reform as three die each week
And just like all the other media, it was a paid advertorial for the Druggie Foundation. Completely and hopelessly one-side and bias. Appalling.
Not a single contrary voice.
But they then managed to turn it into a 6pm news report – just to really push the narrative.
Let’s have a watch – and pull it to pieces
- “borrowed time – gripped by a drugs crisis” Where’s Greta Thunberg when you need hysterics. And by the way, quoting Canada and the US who have legalised cannabis and decriminalised all drugs in some states probably aren’t the best countries to warn us about if youre wanting to push a liberal drug policy eh. Bad start!
- You hear constantly that more of a crime means we should do away with calling it a crime. More meth use. Legalise it. just imagine if we used that argument for family violence, sexual assault, murders, ram raids. “They’re increasing – time to decriminalise”. It sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it.
- “communities calling out in concern” – yes they’re calling for protection, enforcement, treatment – but certainly not a weakening or softening of the law. We need the coercion and authority of the law to force people to get the treatment that either they don’t think they need – they do – or they can’t find.
- Don’t tell the Druggie Foundation but there has already been de facto decriminalisation because the police can use discretion. And 3 fatal overdoses is from consumption – those choosing to break the law. Overdoses won’t change if the law is liberalised.
- Substance use increasing – I’ll come back to that one. A fact check on that one will blow this report out of the water
- The reason for the worrying Maori stats – is because their usage is disproportionately high – so the adverse outcomes reflect that
- “harm reduction” – when the Druggie Foundation use this terminology, this is where they tell high schoolers how to use meth safely, not to mix meth with other drugs, not to use it after 3pm so you can sleep, how to be discreet about your use – you know, those sorts of helpful tips for teenagers. Yes – this is what they tell young people. Oh – and the Russian Roulette of “drug testing”.
Let’s just deal with the myth about police wasting time locking up someone smoking a joint.
It’s a complete lie – but it’s one rolled out by the Druggie Foundation constantly.
As we said during the cannabis referendum, part of the ‘health’ argument is based on the myth that ‘petty’ marijuana users are filling our prisons. But statistics obtained from the Ministry of Justice show that sentences may be ‘influenced by their previous offending history’. It will be difficult to meet somebody who says they’ve been behind bars for smoking a joint, and that’s their only crime. International studies have shown that most are imprisoned for drug-related offences, that is, crimes committed while on drugs (murder, armed robbery, theft, assault, child abuse, etc.) or crimes committed in order to obtain drugs.
Erroneous claims that we are wasting time and resources focusing on the criminal aspect fail to understand that police diversion and Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment (AODT) Courts have been increasingly used to good effect.
We support that. Use the coercion of the law to get people into the treatment they need.
It was also interesting that the media reports quoted Portugal. What they fail to mention is that Portugal (trumpeted as the model of drug laws by drug lobbyists in NZ) coerces treatment and rehabilitation. We should reject the notion that coerced treatment (aided by legal sanction) is unworkable or unacceptable for drug users.
Broadcaster and commentator Mike Yardley once said “The NZ Drug Foundation argues it’s a complete waste of ‘hundreds of thousands of police hours’ trying to enforce the law, criminalising and imprisoning Kiwis for low level possession… (but) 42% of front-line police officer hours are consumed on dealing to family violence. If you apply the extreme, absurd and self-serving logic of the legalise lobby, the police should surrender to family violence too, because so many Kiwis are indulging in this sick and twisted national sport. Ditto for child abuse, tax evasion, drink-driving, shop-lifting, or any other social scourge you care to name.”
Just finally in this puff piece by Stuff on their 6pm news on Three, they wheel in a proponent. The problem is that its classic evidence of the gateway drug – advancing to harder drugs from cannabis. And interestingly it was the consequence of the law which ultimately turned his life around. And he knows the damage of drugs – just like the damage of family violence, sexual crimes and murder.
Kevin has an amazing testimony. In fact, I found an article on Kevin from 2019 and it’s a great story of the law and health working in tandem.
He was in and out of jail with serious crimes related to drug use – impacting himself and those he loved and those in the community. His time in prison was to protect the community. But eventually after a number of crimes – and often getting a weak sentence and another and another chance, he shares:
One day Mum said my picture was in the paper [Rotorua Daily Post], that I was wanted for drugs-related charges. I handed myself in, that’s when things started to change for me, I felt guilty and ashamed. My mother showed me tough love, she gave me a bed, fed and supported me, she didn’t enable me, there’s a big difference. I went to counselling,
He’s now an addiction counsellor and says his dream is to go back to prison and run these programmes.
That’s the example of the law and health approach working in tandem. Protecting communities. Coercing offenders into treatment.
Finally – some public polling. But the question actually confuses the roll of providing addiction services and support to get off drugs, with also having the ability to police it through the law – and dealing with drug dealers and growers etc.
And a dig at the Government.
Yeah that was appalling.
Did you note how many contrasting views there were?
A one sentence statement from the government – but no robust debate about the fallacies of what the Drug Foundation wants.
And that’s because the media:
- support the drug foundation narrative
- know deep down that the narrative can’t withstand scrutiny.
They lost the cannabis referendum despite trying to shut down our argument. They daren’t make the same mistake again eh.
Let me give you just one critique of the report – well, I could give many. But a glaring one.
The report tries to present an image of massive increase in drug use by young people.
According to the Ministry of Health chart – which ironically shows a decrease in use since we voted NO in the cannabis referendum to legalisation, the rate for 15-24 is around 24%. That’s having used it even just once in the past 12 months. The Drug Foundation deliberately use the most vague chart – used at least once in the past 12 months.
From Smart Approaches to Marijuana (also known as SAM), they report with regard to the first states that legalised marijuana in the US – Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon:
The prevalence of past-month marijuana use among 18–25-year-olds has increased in the first four states that legalized recreational marijuana: Colorado and Washington legalized during the 2012 election cycle and Alaska and Oregon legalized in the 2014 cycle. Past-month use––as opposed to lifetime or past-year use––is indicative of heavier, more frequent use.
So these are frequent users – not just a one-off or a very occasional dabble.
31–35% of 18–25-year-olds in the first states that legalized recreational marijuana were past-month users of marijuana in 2021–2022
Around 1/3rd of young people – using monthly.
Compared to kiwi young people – 24% – and that may be just a one-off dabble in the past year.
In fact, I looked up the data for regular use on the Ministry of Health website. See – that’s the problem for the Druggie Foundation. We can destroy every one of their arguments with actual facts and logic.
Look at this. It doesn’t show monthly use, but it does show weekly use.
Just 5% of the total population use cannabis weekly, but look down the bottom right. For 15-24, less than 8% use it regularly. Let bump it up a bit for monthly perhaps – but remember the figure in the US states where they’ve liberalised the law. Up to 35%!
Incredible contrast eh
In fact, I thought I would look up the use of amphetamine-type stimulants – and this is any use in the past 12 months. Could be just a one-off.
1.3%
Even for young people, it’s less than 2%.
But remember what our news reporter said – borrowed time – gripped by a drugs crisis.
So keeping the drug illegal keeps the use down.
Probably don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure this out eh.
We need to say no to drugs. Then we say no to overdoses, say no to destroying lives and communities and health.
Ironically, on the Drug Foundation website, they’re selling merchandise which says “Just Say No”
Just say no to the war on drugs!
They seriously are deluded, aren’t they.
While the NZ media continue their campaign for drugs and to legalise marijuana, we continue to see highly alarming outcomes from legalising cannabis in US states, including “spiralling addiction, psychotic illnesses and hospitals facing a deluge of poisonings”.
Remember the claims made by pro-drug activists in support of cannabis legalisation in New Zealand. According to the Government, the Green Party, NZ Drug Foundation and Helen Clark Foundation, we were supposed believe that legalising recreational cannabis would lead to significant health benefits, reduced black market, no increase in usage, reduction in mental health issues, reduced crime and so on. Thankfully, 51.2% of us weren’t fooled into believing this, just enough Kiwis to vote down the proposed cannabis legalisation bill.
It’s not the first or the last time the media will go on this campaign.
Our good friends at 1News were very concerned just last November.
They were very concerned.
More Kiwis are facing charges for cannabis possession offences even after police were directed five years ago not to prosecute unless it was in the public interest to do so. In 2019, the Misuse of Drugs Amendment was passed into law, giving police discretion on whether to prosecute when someone is found in possession of an illicit drug for personal use. Police were directed to consider whether prosecution is required in the public interest or if a health-centred approach would be more beneficial.
Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said the increase in prosecution “doesn’t seem fair”.
Well at least the Green MP admits what the real agenda is eh
Legalise.
What 1News and Ginny Anderson and other drug activists never acknowledge is that all the research shows that most convictions are not for the drug use per se – but for drug related offences, that is, crimes committed while on drugs (murder, armed robbery, theft, assault, child abuse, etc.) or crimes committed in order to obtain drugs. Or for dealing drugs and putting our families and communities at risk.
If that line in the graph has to continue to go up to protect families, so be it.
NZ made a great decision in 2020 by voting no to legalising cannabis – despite the ongoing wailing of the media, drug advocates and certain politicians.
But don’t expect the media or the drug activists to go quiet on this issue any time soon.
As one of our favourite Green MPs admitted, they want to legalise all drugs.
They also want to defund the police and do away with prisons in some form.
I think they – like some in the media – may been smoking too much dope eh.
