High time to legalise marijuana

It is somewhat amusing that the most prominent crusader of a cause which receives its most support from the teenage to early 30s age group, or Gen Y, at New Zealand's latest election was a 71-year-old Don Brash.

Decriminalisation of marijuana is a cause which is enjoying growing support from all age groups, certainly. Interaction with my peers about this issue and virtually all polls indicate that the decriminalisation of marijuana, cannabis or the substance which is known by any number of terms, is an initiative which is endorsed by youth most of all.

It is a shame that the constituency that Brash relied upon most was Epsom, which comprised of a disproportionately elderly and socially conservative group of voters relative to the rest of the country. This meant that Brash had to backpedal significantly from his initial advocacy of this policy in order to receive enough support to have John Banks elected as the member of parliament for Epsom, giving ACT, and thus Brash, the chance of having additional list MPs in Parliament.

A poll in the US by the well-respected Gallup indicated that the two groups which had the lowest support for the legalisation (admittedly a slightly different policy, but very similar nonetheless) of marijuana were conservatives and the 65-plus age group, from which legalisation had just 34 and 31 per cent support, respectively. By contrast liberals and the 18-29 age group displayed the greatest support, with 69 and 62 per cent.

I would imagine that if statistics could be provided for under-18s on this issue, the support would be even higher. It is clear that as the population ages and more of my age group become eligible to vote the legalisation of marijuana will become a more important and politically satiable policy to advance.

I personally have never smoked cannabis and I imagine I probably never will; but I believe steadfastly that I have no right to impose my own values and my own opinions regarding drug use upon others.

This is a view which, when I discuss it with many of my peers at school, is often shared. By all accounts, cannabis is not a very addictive drug, far less so than tobacco, and individuals are well aware of the harms it causes to their bodies. But there are also benefits to enjoy with the use of these drugs, just as some people enjoy smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol.

It is not for me to decide for others whether the benefits or the costs of marijuana use are greater, because that is an entirely subjective decision to make. From a standpoint of individual liberty, it seems to make sense to legalise marijuana.

But even if we conceded that the use of cannabis had universally negative outcomes, the criminalisation of the substance does little or nothing to reduce its use and only exacerbates its harms.

This year's United Nations World Drug Report was what piqued my interest and spurred me to write a column on the issue. It identified Australia and New Zealand as having some of the highest rates of marijuana use in the world.

Estimated annual worldwide usage of cannabis is between 2.5 and 5 per cent, while the report stated it is between 9.1 and 14.6 per cent in New Zealand. That's higher than in countries where the use of cannabis is decriminalised, such as the Netherlands and Ecuador.

Arguing that cannabis is a gateway drug and legalising it will heighten that role ignores the fact that criminalisation does little to reduce its use.

Attempts to enforce these laws, which costs the Government around $100 million a year, are largely futile.

The more pertinent issue is what happens as a by-product of this ineffective criminalisation. Maintaining the illegal status of marijuana does not make it disappear, but the individuals or organisations who now produce and supply it are always going to be those willing to break the law and risk the consequences of getting caught doing so.

Obviously, these people and groups are, for the most part, gang members, who have little interest in ensuring the safety of what they are selling. If you can't pay for your drugs on time, you get beaten up and physically forced to pay it.

By contrast, in the world of legalisation, there are regulations ensuring safe and not pernicious substances are in the cannabis, there is a greater willingness from those who do get addicted to seek help as they are no longer branded the law-breaking scum of society, and the consequences of any issues you have with the supplier are just like any other product where recourse is sought through the hand of the law rather than the fist of the gang member.

Cannabis itself seldom causes fathomless and incomprehensible harm to the user, but the war on cannabis does exactly that.

More of the leaders of our world are starting to consider the indisputable futility of current anti-cannabis laws and the indefensible and pervasive effect they have on freely acting users. This is comforting, and the increasing support for decriminalisation from younger generations means that political barriers will be unlikely to stand in the way of such an principally proper and practically sensible law change for much longer.

James Penn is deputy head boy at Wanganui High School and was a member of the New Zealand team that competed in the World School Debating Championships.