Cannabis is legal

[White Out 403]

At 3.40$ per pill with shipping included, the 20 mg CBD pills I take with trace or no THC is not worth it. I had some relief from back pain but not total relief. I would take 2 pills but .. cmon. I'm going to spend 7 dollars everytime I need some pain relief? That price needs to come down.

[GordonBlue]

I don't know much about people from New Zealand, but in 2020 I'm a bit shocked they'd vote no to legalizing cannabis.

https://globalnews.ca/news/7431750/n...cannabis-vote/

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

I don't know much about people from New Zealand, but in 2020 I'm a bit shocked they'd vote no to legalizing cannabis.

https://globalnews.ca/news/7431750/n...cannabis-vote/

Yeah that really surprises me. I, like you, don't know a lot about NZ culture/society. From my vantage point on the other side of the world it seems pretty forward thinking.

[Sliver]

Especially when they have countries like ours that have shown no down sides that I can think of to legalization. Rake in tax revenue, a bunch of us are no longer criminals overnight, and it's fun AF to use. It's absurd some people want to take that away from others.

[Huntingwhale]

Meh, it's their choice. Not every ''liberal'' society needs to follow what other Western countries do. I not an expert in NZ society, but maybe smoking weed isn't viewed as pleasurable as it is here. The people voted and chose. I have no issue with that result. I say this as someone who enjoys a good toke.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

Meh, it's their choice. Not every ''liberal'' society needs to follow what other Western countries do. I not an expert in NZ society, but maybe smoking weed isn't viewed as pleasurable as it is here. The people voted and chose. I have no issue with that result. I say this as someone who enjoys a good toke.

they voted overwhelmingly for assisted suicide, but voted against allowing a person to legally take something to make those last few days or months more bearable.

I was just surprised and thought that weird.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

Meh, it's their choice. Not every ''liberal'' society needs to follow what other Western countries do. I not an expert in NZ society, but maybe smoking weed isn't viewed as pleasurable as it is here. The people voted and chose. I have no issue with that result. I say this as someone who enjoys a good toke.

For people that don't consume cannabis, it really doesn't matter whether it's legal or not. It's legality doesn't affect them, but here they are taking that away from people who want to consume cannabis. It doesn't seem fair and it would certainly be frustrating to be in NZ and have your neighbours vote to keep you a criminal when they had the power to let you do your thing free of legal consequences.

If cannabis consumers are in the minority, then maybe they needed some help from the government to protect them from the will of the majority. If we let the majority dictate everything, then minority rights would be harmed.

Seems unjust.

And don't they have the perfect weather to grow it? Lots of money to be made!

[troutman]

If I tell people I take edibles, many here still look at me like I'm kind of naughty. How long has it been legal now?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

Meh, it's their choice. Not every ''liberal'' society needs to follow what other Western countries do. I not an expert in NZ society, but maybe smoking weed isn't viewed as pleasurable as it is here. The people voted and chose. I have no issue with that result. I say this as someone who enjoys a good toke.

I have no issue with the result, just surprised by it considering all their other approaches to societal issues.

I say this as someone who doesn't enjoy a good toke.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by troutman

If I tell people I take edibles, many here still look at me like I'm kind of naughty. How long has it been legal now?

Maybe don't have a bowl of "gummie bears" on your desk...........

[mrkajz44]

Definitely still feels like its taboo here. I'm on the social committee at my job and we have (or used to) lots of events where drinking is almost encouraged, but there is zero talk ever about consuming any cannabis. I thought it would be more widespread for sure by now.

[GoinAllTheWay]

It hasn't been anywhere long enough to overcome decades of cannabis being taboo. It will happen but it's going to take much more time. I think there's already been some change in peoples attitudes alreadyTBH.

I absolutely think that the Hollywood type takes on cannabis consumption from organizations like "MADD" is putting out aren't helping. Like the guy driving through the drivethru chuckling to himself the whole time while doing the "wait, what??" drives me nuts.

Consuming cannabis in real life is almost always nothing like how they show it in movies and TV shows.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

Definitely still feels like its taboo here. I'm on the social committee at my job and we have (or used to) lots of events where drinking is almost encouraged, but there is zero talk ever about consuming any cannabis. I thought it would be more widespread for sure by now.

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

It hasn't been anywhere long enough to overcome decades of cannabis being taboo. It will happen but it's going to take much more time. I think there's already been some change in peoples attitudes alreadyTBH.

I absolutely think that the Hollywood type takes on cannabis consumption from organizations like "MADD" is putting out aren't helping. Like the guy driving through the drivethru chuckling to himself the whole time while doing the "wait, what??" drives me nuts.

Consuming cannabis in real life is almost always nothing like how they show it in movies and TV shows.

There are still some segments of society that view drinking as "bad".

I mean we can't even enjoy a picnic and a beer in a public park.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

Definitely still feels like its taboo here. I'm on the social committee at my job and we have (or used to) lots of events where drinking is almost encouraged, but there is zero talk ever about consuming any cannabis. I thought it would be more widespread for sure by now.

When cannabis was officially legalized, the last place I worked at sent out an e-mail telling everyone how cannabis was not to be used at any work related function (ie: don't show up stoned), blah blah blah. Of course, there was never mention of people refraining from getting black-out drunk at the company Christmas party.

[CliffFletcher]

25 per cent of Canadians used pot in the last year (fewer than 20 per cent recreationally). 80 per cent consume alcohol.

Anyone expecting pot to become as socially acceptable as drinking any time soon is going to be disappointed.

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

When cannabis was officially legalized, the last place I worked at sent out an e-mail telling everyone how cannabis was not to be used at any work related function (ie: don't show up stoned), blah blah blah. Of course, there was never mention of people refraining from getting black-out drunk at the company Christmas party.

I brought gummies to my Xmas party and had them sitting on the table for anyone who wanted. No issues

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

25 per cent of Canadians used pot in the last year (fewer than 20 per cent recreationally). 80 per cent consume alcohol.

Anyone expecting pot to become as socially acceptable as drinking any time soon is going to be disappointed.

What percentage of those groups are judgey snobs?

[Party Elephant]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

I don't know much about people from New Zealand, but in 2020 I'm a bit shocked they'd vote no to legalizing cannabis.

https://globalnews.ca/news/7431750/n...cannabis-vote/

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Yeah that really surprises me. I, like you, don't know a lot about NZ culture/society. From my vantage point on the other side of the world it seems pretty forward thinking.

Originally Posted by Sliver

Especially when they have countries like ours that have shown no down sides that I can think of to legalization. Rake in tax revenue, a bunch of us are no longer criminals overnight, and it's fun AF to use. It's absurd some people want to take that away from others.

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

Meh, it's their choice. Not every ''liberal'' society needs to follow what other Western countries do. I not an expert in NZ society, but maybe smoking weed isn't viewed as pleasurable as it is here. The people voted and chose. I have no issue with that result. I say this as someone who enjoys a good toke.

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

they voted overwhelmingly for assisted suicide, but voted against allowing a person to legally take something to make those last few days or months more bearable.

I was just surprised and thought that weird.

Originally Posted by Sliver

For people that don't consume cannabis, it really doesn't matter whether it's legal or not. It's legality doesn't affect them, but here they are taking that away from people who want to consume cannabis. It doesn't seem fair and it would certainly be frustrating to be in NZ and have your neighbours vote to keep you a criminal when they had the power to let you do your thing free of legal consequences.

If cannabis consumers are in the minority, then maybe they needed some help from the government to protect them from the will of the majority. If we let the majority dictate everything, then minority rights would be harmed.

Seems unjust.

Where to start. I am very disappointed in the preliminary results that came out yesterday, although they are only preliminary results. There are still almost 500 000 special votes to be counted and they would need to go 2:1 in favour in order to tip the vote the other way. It's unlikely but not impossible.

The No side was backed by a large campaign of misinformation and fear mongering, and it was very well funded. I got bomabarded with ads from the Say Nope to Dope campaign for months and while I dismissed it as rubbish it seems a lot of voters didn't. This was EVERYWHERE on social media in the leadup to the election. There have been allegations that the No campaign was backed by US based anti drug lobbies as well.

The Yes campaign, championed by the Green Party, used a fact, science and health based approach. It focused on what was being done in other countries such as Canada, it focused on the potential tax revenue, the reduction in gang control, etc. It was backed by NZ doctors. What it lacked was catchy slogans and big funding, and apparently that was enough for it to fail (again, votes aren't done being counted).

I'm most disappointed in PM Jacinda Ardern's approach to the referendum. She refused to say which way she was voting under the guise of not wanting to influence the public's decision, even though the opposition National party did not reciprocate as their leader and all their MPs announced they were voting No. Only yesterday after preliminary votes were announced did she publicly state that she had voted in favour. This is one person who understood the issue very well, who absolutely could have influenced the vote, but refused to do so out of fear of losing political capital for herself and her own party.

Also, this referendum is non-binding. The (now labour majority) government could still introduce legislation, or a half measure like decriminalising personal use. I hope they do, but of course they won't due to the potential backlash. Hope I'm wrong.

What a mess.

[GGG]

Direct democracy sucks.

People don’t have the knowledge to effectively determine if legalization is the correct Solution. We elect people whose job it is to study these issues and make a decision based on the best available data

Referendums are not effective. Just to some polling and it’s close enough. 2/3rds of New Zealanders are against pot legalization. A referendum wasn’t required to get that information.