New Zealand: Drug reform more than political point scoring

By Fiona Hutton, Newsroom

Dr Fiona Hutton shares her New Year wish list of ways the Government could enact wide-ranging reforms to address drug-related harm

Well, what a year it’s been in terms of drug policy and drug law reform, both in New Zealand and farther afield.

New Zealand has seen the debates surrounding the cannabis referendum intensify, a bill to allow terminally ill people to access medical cannabis recently passed, the Mental Health and Addiction Inquiry, He Ara Oranga, calling for the decriminalisation of illegal drugs to address problems relating to addiction and mental health, and the recent government announcement around synthetics.