Less well documented is the social harm - people getting kicked out of school for a drug offence, a drug conviction on a record which could affect employment prospects and cascade into a series of social harms. Gerrard noted that cannabis offences would still exist in the proposed legal framework - for example, for smoking in public, advertising, or supplying or selling to someone under 20. "It's absolutely clear it's much easier to provide health and social support for legal drugs than illegal ones. "People are much more likely to seek help if cannabis is legal, presuming that health and social services are made available - and that could reduce harm." The key question is the harm it might do and whether that harm increases or decreases in a legalised framework compared to the status quo.

Source: Otago Daily Times July 06, 2020 23:03 UTC