"It's Jacinda over Bill" say organisers of medical cannabis rally

Prospects for cannabis law reform are better under Jacinda Adern, say organisers of a rally in support of medical cannabis.

This Saturday NORML and Auckland Patients Group will rally to support safe legal access to medical cannabis - and against synthetics.

National leader Bill English has again ruled out cannabis law reform, even in the face of a spate of deaths from synthetic drugs, however Jacinda Adern, the new leader of the Labour Party, wrote in May 2016 that allowing medical cannabis "is a matter of personal freedom and compassion... Eventually, it's impossible to avoid the wider question of whether cannabis prohibition has been effective, whatever your personal view."

"It's Jacinda over Bill. The Government’s piecemeal changes do not change much for patients, who are still needlessly suffering," said Chris Fowlie, spokesperson for NORML and co-organiser of the rally. "We are calling for patients and their caregivers to be allowed to grow and use cannabis for health purposes."

“We want the NZ Police to declare a moratorium on arresting or prosecuting anyone for medical use, cultivation or supply while this important debate is occurring," added co-organiser Pearl Schomburg, of Auckland Patients Group. "We also want cannabis medicines to be more available, and affordable.”

The rally caps another remarkable month for cannabis law reform:

• The NZ Drug Foundation held a drug policy symposium at Parliament and launched their model drug policy;

• Fairfax ran a major campaign covering cannabis law reform in NZ, and international experts discussed how we could best regulate cannabis;

• NZ Geographic ran a cover story on cannabis including rongoa made by Suzanne Aubert,

• The World Health Organisation called for the decriminalisation of all drugs;

• An editorial in The Listener said "the only way to ensure the safety of recreational drugs is to nationalise their manufacture and supply";

• A TVNZ Colmar Brunton poll showed a majority supported legalising cannabis and regulating its cultivation and sale, which happened this month in the US state of Nevada;

• Peter Dunne said he would vote for Julie Ann Genter's medical cannabis bill.

RALLY DETAILS:

• Saturday 5th August, from High Noon to 2pm

• Queen Street, Auckland - opposite Aotea Square

• More information about the rally is here: https://norml.org.nz/2017/medical-cannabis-queen-street-rally-5-august-2017/

• Our previous rally was held on Saturday the 1st of July. Our next will be on Saturday 2nd September.

ENDS

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