A bold call from experts on drug legalisation

Our current drug laws are harmful, according to a group of experts who want to see the Misuse of Drugs Act overhauled A push to legalise all drugs in New Zealand hasn't come from stoners and the strung out - it's backed by 155 academics and experts who say the current regime doesn't work New Zealand's drug legislation hasn't been overhauled in nearly 50 years, in spite of a recommendation from the Law Commission in 2011 to do so. Our Misuse of Drugs Act was passed in 1975 and is based on a United Nations framework set in 1961. Now a new organisation, Harm Reduction Coalition Aotearoa - backed by 155 experts - is calling on the Government to not only amend the legislation, but scrap it all together, and legalise all drugs. Dr. Rose Crossin is a professor at the University of Otago and a member of the coalition. She acknowledges that it would be a world first but is a strong advocate for reform, saying the drug causing the most harm, alcohol, is already legal. "What it comes down to is a choice about where we would like the control of drugs to sit ... we've got a very powerful alcohol industry which I would argue has a policy influence, but for other drugs, we're letting the black market run our drug policy," she says. But what would it look like if New Zealand were to legalise the drug market? Crossin says the proposed Psychoactive Drugs Act would regulate the supply of all drugs, including alcohol, under the same framework. It is taking a harm reduction approach which is centred around people being able to make informed choices. That could include having drugs packaged with dangers clearly displayed, like we already see on tobacco and cigarettes. "For some drugs, maybe they should only be available by medical prescription, or we could consider whether only specialist pharmacies would sell them," she says. No country has gone as far as legalising the entire drug market, however Crossin says there are examples where easing restrictions on some drugs has worked. Germany is the latest country to relax its laws on cannabis, becoming the largest European country to legalise the possession and cultivation of the recreational drug. Doctor Fiona Hutton, who is a criminology professor at Victoria University, says in countries where cannabis has been legalised harm has reduced, because the substance supply is carefully regulated. "Because people don't want to break the law to consume the substances that they would like to consume. People would much rather get substances through a carefully regulated supply," she says. But there are also examples where easing drug laws hasn't worked. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details