fRoss Bell is right, it was a knee jerk response.. Andrew Little is wrong, he too is locked into the prohibition paradigm. This is not about synthetics (already a name carrying baggage, Aspro is synthetic, and going by these standards discussed here so too is alcohol. ).

New Zealand Labour Party leader is seemingly bereft of short term memory for it was the 'right solution' when LABOUR passed in 2008, an order in council creating an additional class "D" amending the Misuse of Drugs Act, in which to place drugs (primarily used recreationally) that were less harmful than alcohol. [it was the last thing Helen Clark did]

I have cause and reason to believe the impact of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition delegates, Eddie Ellison and Jack Cole made on Health Minister in charge of Drug Policy, Jim Anderton in 2004 and Anderton's following day announcement (on Good Friday　 ) of a pending "Class D" initiatives consistent with the pro forma proposal of the MildGreens to the respective Select Committees (some 16 presentations) the most important being our presentation 'how to do this.. by Order in Council' - that was the game changer.

The "Restricted Substances Regulations" were heralded by Professor David Nutt as the best drug laws in the world. Somewhat ironically, Christchurch's sister city Seattle (Washington State) that later passed a a state wide recreational cannabis model lead by then Senator Roger Goodman (who said of our Labour Party lead reg's, they were 'erudite, concise, and workable'). Goodman headed up the King County Bar Association 'health and safety' drug policy advocacy that saw in the Washington State "cannabis Law Reform' with the multifaceted purpose of community safety, wellbeing and protecting young people'. Roger Goodman invited the writer to present "Class D" to the US based annual Volunteer Committee of Lawyers (or VCL) get together in Alberquerque, New Mexico. [VCL was the legislative instrument that famously overturned alcohol prohibition in the USA]

What was more instructive to the Washington harm reduction initiative and informs us where we need to go.... is who was involved!

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Professional and Civic Coalition for Drug Policy Reform

The King County Bar Association has strengthened links with other organizations in the professional and civic communities. Nowhere else in the nation has such a coalition of groups been activated on drug policy reform issues to this extent. Among our partners:

King County Bar Association

Church Council of Greater Seattle

King County Medical Society

League of Women Voters of Washington

Loren Miller Bar Association

Municipal League of King County

National Alliance on Mental Illness of Washington

Seattle League of Women Voters

Washington Academy of Family Physicians

Washington Osteopathic Medical Association

Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility

Washington Society of Addiction Medicine

Washington State Bar Association

Washington State Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics

Washington State Medical Association

Washington State Pharmacy Association

Washington State Psychiatric Association

Washington State Psychological Association

Washington State Public Health Association

The Washington State Bar and Medical Associations, with encouragement and guidance from the KCBA, adopted their own resolutions in 2001 stating official positions on drug policy.

For more information on projects like this at other bar associations, or to start a similar project or committee at your bar association, please visit the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers' website at www.vcl.org.

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They did this for the kids.....

Look who jumped up for the re-shuffle... Minister of Police, Minister of Corrections, Minister of Health, and Minister of Social Welfare. (tellme that's not the POLitics of POT) I think I should run against the Courts and Justice Minister, Hon. Amy Adams! It might help her speak her mind!