I want to share some thoughts on the cannabis referendum (Cannabis legalisation and control referendum) and why I'm voting YES. It's not one of those threads with references and endless links to studies. This is how I feel. Come for the ride (or mute me, whatever ;-) 1/

First off, cannabis is here and almost 80% of NZers have admitted to using it at least once. So if you have never tried it or think nobody you know is into it, you are already in a small minority of kiwis. Cannabis is already our reality in NZ. 2/

I'm voting Yes because prohibition does more harm than good. The prohibition we have today is harming people, but the harm isn't spread evenly. Police "discretion" is not applied evenly and I want that to end. 3/

I want to see our kids free of drugs. I don't know a single person who wants to see youth drug use do anything but fall. Right now, if you want to buy cannabis, you have to visit a dealer. 4/

Dealers don't ask for ID. They don't have purchase limits, quality standards or potency limits. They will happily up-sell you to their more profitable products, like meth. Cannabis is not a gateway drug: the prohibition business model is the gateway. 5/

We spend a huge amount on police, courts and prisons thanks to prohibition. Imagine if that money was spent on education and help for those that need it. There is potentially a huge new source of income for the government in the form of tax on legal sales. 6/

One of the great tragedies IMO about this referendum is the framing that this is all about smoking cannabis for recreation. It's true, that people do smoke it for that purpose, but many also ingest cannabis as a food for both recreational and health reasons. 7/

I want to share a story of someone I know well: let's call him Jim. Jim injured his back a few years back in a farming accident. He ruptured a disk in his lower back. It was a very painful injury with a long recovery time. 8/

Jim had prescription pain relief from his GP but he was worried about the side effects (damage to his stomach etc and the possibility of developing dependance). Also, the meds didn't help him sleep when any movement in bed at night woke him with shooting pains. 9/

A friend suggested he try edible cannabis. A bit of online research told Jim the potential risks were low for someone of his age (no developing brain to worry about) and the process of turning cannabis into an edible oil to bake with seemed pretty simple. 10/

The first challenge was how to procure cannabis when you don't know anyone "in the scene". Spoiler alert: it's very easy. Chances are, someone you already know is either a current user, or knows someone who is. 11/

Jim asked a couple of friends if they had any connections, and within 24 hours he had purchased the first cannabis he'd bought in his life. The next day he's made some "cannabutter" and baked a batch of chocolate brownies with it. 12/

The effect of eating a small amount before bed were instant. He slept through the night for the first time in weeks and after a couple of days of use his pain had subsided to a shadow of what it was. By eating before sleep, Jim got pain relief benefits, without any "high". 13/

Fast forward a couple of years and it's now just a part of Jim's medicine cabinet. Anxiety, stress, sleeplessness or any aches or pains are easily relieved with a small chocolate snack before bed. No fuss, no impairment, no prescription, and almost no cost. 14/

A sidebar on risk. Jim is middle-aged and pakeha. He has no experience with the criminal justice system and certainly wouldn't consider himself a "drug user" if you asked him. He knows he is at very little risk of being caught or even prosecuted if he was. 15/

He'd be the first to acknowledge his risk is considerably lower than someone younger or non-pakeha. And that's the reason why he's voting yes in the referendum: to give everyone else the benefits he already enjoys under Police "discretion". 16/

Jim has a friend, Mary who recently went through something nobody should have to suffer: seeing her husband succumb to terminal cancer. Jim gave Mary some of his edibles try in case they could help Mary's husband. 17/

Mary confirmed it worked for him. Hearing that something as simple as a cannabis brownie can help with sleeplessness, loss of appetite and anxiety in a terminal patient is another powerful argument for making it legally available to those in need. 18/

When Mary's husband passed away, she used some of the left over edibles and she told Jim it helped her with her grief and anxiety too. We're not talking about intoxication here. It's someone taking the edge off with baked goods. 19/

I just wanted to share those stories in case you had a certain idea of what a "cannabis user" looked like. They are not the grubby stoners the No campaign would like to believe. They are people just like you and me, who want the current system to be fairer. 20/

Please consider voting YES in the referendum to help to undo the harms of prohibition, and let adults decide what to put in their own bodies. 21/21