Voting no to cannabis won’t make it go away
Kia ora, Neighbours. I’m a bit worried about Parmjeet Parmar’s ad on Neighbourly warning against voting yes in the cannabis referendum, I wanted to give the other side.
The facts show that the current criminalisation of cannabis is arbitrary and leads to racist outcomes in the justice system. 70% of NZ has smoked weed, yet it’s Māori who are predominately prosecuted for cannabis use. The costs of those criminal conviction are huge, leading to lost job opportunities and social stigma.
Further, she says NZ “can’t afford” the “social burden” of legalising cannabis. It’s unclear that means. In other countries with legalised cannabis, youth consumption has gone down and in New Zealand tax revenue from the legally sold cannabis - which would otherwise be sold on the black market - is to be used for drug education and to fund the health system. Police spend an extraordinary amount of time and money hunting for cannabis plantations and prosecuting people currently, leading to criminal records and wasted resource which could be used combating violent crime.
More information is available on the NZ Drug Foundation website. I also wrote a column about this for Stuff.
i.stuff.co.nz...
🧩😏 Riddle me this, Neighbours…
I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?
Do you think you know the answer?
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Scam Alert: Bank cold calls
ASB is warning customers about reports of cold calls from scammers claiming to be from ASB. These scammers are trying to obtain personal information, including usernames, dates of birth, and verification codes sent to your mobile phone.
🛡️ The "Caller Check" Test
If you get a call from someone claiming to be from ASB and you’re unsure, just ask them for a Caller Check. You will then be able to verify the call through the app.
Remember, banks will:
❌ Never ask for your banking passwords, PINs, or verification codes
❌ Never need to know your full credit card number – especially the CVC
❌ Never ask you to download software or remotely access your device
❌ Never ask you to purchase gift cards or transfer funds.
If you have received a phone call and think your account has been compromised, call ASB on 0800 ASB FRAUD (0800 272 372), or visit your local branch.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
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