Email that would be sent on your behalf
Email To: YourMP@parliament.govt.nz
cc To: Your email address
From: Your name, ruabionz@gmail.com
Kia ora [MP Name],
Decriminalisation of personal cannabis consumption and cultivation
I am writing as a resident of [Electorate] to ask that you support the decriminalisation of personal cannabis consumption and limited home cultivation for adults in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Cost to taxpayers – Every year millions of public dollars are spent on policing and processing low-level cannabis offences - money that could instead fund more useful government services. Front-line policing hours, court time and imprisonment for minor drug offences have been estimated to cost taxpayers approximately $60million over a four-year period. Some estimates for the full cost of cannabis to the justice system is $720mill over the same period.
Discretion is not enough – The 2019 Misuse of Drugs Act amendment instructs Police to use discretion for personal possession, yet last year roughly a third of all drug-possession charges - about 5,000 cases - involved cannabis; and it is increasing in recent years.
Low relative harm – Independent public-health analyses consistently rank cannabis well below alcohol and tobacco for overall harm to users and society, while acknowledging that any use is not risk-free. Treating a comparatively low-harm substance as a criminal matter is out of step with evidence-based policy.
Minor convictions cost more than the benefit of deterrence - Even when no prison time is served, a minor cannabis conviction typically costs a New Zealander hundreds of dollars up-front and thousands more in foregone earnings/employment, higher benefit reliance and lost opportunities over time – costs that fall heaviest on young people and Māori.
I am not calling for full commercial legalisation. Rather, I seek a sensible, health-focused reform that allows adults to possess and grow a small amount of cannabis for personal use without fear of criminal sanction - similar to the successful model adopted in the ACT, Australia.
Such a change would:
Free Police and courts to target more serious harm issues
Align the law with current scientific evidence
Reduce inequity in the justice system while upholding public health objectives.
I respectfully urge you to support, sponsor, or vote for legislation that enacts decriminalisation and home-grow provisions. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further or provide any information that might assist your deliberations.
More detailed information can be found at www.ruabio.com/tell-parliament-decriminalise
Ngā mihi nui,
[Your Name]
[Email and contact details]
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