America Not Alone in Marijuana Debates

For many years, Americans have looked to the Netherlands as the only place with forgiving drug policies. In fact, many travelers visit this country because it is known as the marijuana capital of the world, with open use offered to each citizen.

Many people in the US are working to set up a drug system similar to that of the Netherlands, in the hopes that legalization will lead to less crime and less government spending. It appears that many citizens of New Zealand are currently looking to do the same thing.

New Zealand marijuana supporters are looking to Donald Brash this election: one of the only politicians who has taken a public stance in support of marijuana legalization. As parliamentary leader of the National Party, Brash is in a very influential position, though the whole of his party does not agree with his views on this issue.

One citizen spoke in support of Brash, saying that the criminalization of marijuana is wasting police funds [and, as a result, taxpayer money]. He also expressed his opinion that [illegal] marijuana offers easy funds to violent and dangerous street gangs, who use the profits from this soft drug to import harder drugs into the country.

Another citizen held a different opinion, however. This citizen believes that decriminalization will not improve anything and that more energy should be focused on rehabilitation and use prevention. His opinion seems to be fueled by the fact that he was attacked three times in his life, each time by someone who was high.

Statistically, marijuana smokers are not violent, though many heavy drug users will mix this substance with other, more extreme substances. It is unlikely that these attacks were provoked by simple marijuana use, but the majority voice of New Zealand remains to be identified.

If another country were to join the Netherlands in marijuana decriminalization, it would only be a matter of time before more countries started to question their own policies. The Netherlands, after all, has an extremely low drug abuse rate, as well as low crime rates. Hopefully the U.S. and New Zealand will soon be able to claim the same.