CannabisManifesto

The 2014 election manifesto of the Aotearoa Legalise

Cannabis Party

Table of Contents

Candidate List - p2

Core Principles - p3

Core Policy - p4

Economic Policy - p5

Housing Policy - p7

Health Policy - p9

Security Policy - p11

Justice Policy - p13

Immigration Policy - p15

Transport Policy - p17

Treaty of Waitangi Policy - p19

Education Policy - p21

Industry Policy - p23

Christchurch Policy - p25

Environment Policy - p27

Regulations Policy - p291

1. Julian Crawford (Dunedin South)

2. Abe Gray (Dunedin North)

3. Emma-jane Mihaere Kingi (Te Tai Tonga)

4. Alistair Gregory (Wellington Central)

5. Jeff Lye (Kelston)

6. Richard Goode (Mana)

7. Romana Marnz Manning (Tukituki)

8. Robert Wilkinson (Christchurch East)

9. Jamie Dombroski (New Plymouth)

10. Sandy Mulqueen (List)

11. Adrian mcDermott (Te Atatu)

12. Ants Heath (List)

13. Paul McMullan (List)

Candidate List

2

Core Principles

1. TruthWe support honest, transparent government, making rational decisions

based on the best scientific and empirical evidence available.

2. FreedomWe support personal responsibility and freedom of choice.

3. JusticeWe support the rule of law, upheld by common law courts and an

impartial justice system.

4. PeaceWe support non-violent conflict resolution and the non-aggression

principle.

5. EcologyWe support protections for the natural environment and conservation of

native plant and animal species.

6. CommerceWe support economic growth, fiscal responsibility and job creation

based on a sound supply of money.

7. Te Tiriti o WaitangiWe support the principles embodied in Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty

of Waitangi).

8. Limited AuthorityWe support constitutional limits to the powers of the state, particularly

where they undermine human rights or national sovereignty.

9. Personal BeliefsWe support the free exercise of religion or spiritual beliefs without

involvement from the state.

10. DemocracyWe support participatory democracy, representative government and

parliamentary procedure.3

Core Policy

Bottom Lines:

Possession, cultivation and use of cannabis shall be free from prosecution.

Regulated R18 cannabis commerce is to be established, similar to alcohol and tobacco.

All cannabis convictions are to be quashed.

Medicinal cannabis dispensaries are to be established.

Full-scale cannabis-hemp production and utilisation is to be enabled. A high priority is to be given the production of biofuels from hemp.

Policy Objectives:

Redirect hundreds of millions of dollars from the Law and Order budget into frontline policing.

Grow the economy by developing cannabis commerce and creating jobs in the hemp industry, increasing tax revenue.

Increase funding to sectors in need such as, health, education and employment.

Improve access to health services, with medical cannabis.

Improve drug education while decreasing availability of cannabis to teenagers.

Reduce crime while increasing respect for police.

Benefit the environment with hemp cultivation, saving forests while reducing pollution and CO2 emissions.

Replace petroleum products with hemp, including fuel and plastics.

Improve nutrition with hemp foods.

4

Economics

Spokesman Julian Crawford

Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party’s shadow budget shows

responsible spending and a focus on growth. It paves the way for adding significantly to government revenue in the next three years. We will maintain $72 bil-lion of existing spending, except for $200 million in the Law and Order budget, which was spent on cannabis prohibition. This money will be freed up for real police work, rehabilita-tion and drug education programmes. E c o n o m -ics spokesman Julian Crawford said can-nabis and hemp were emerging as significant growth industries in the 21st century. “If ALCP’s budget is im-plemented, small to medium busi-nesses will have significant oppor-tunities,” he said. “Our policy combines eco-nomic growth with environmental sustainability. All New Zealanders will be better off, while existing services will be maintained.”

Within three years our poli-cy aims to add an additional $1 bil-lion of revenue to the government annually, Mr Crawford said. “This would come from taxes paid on the commercial pro-duction, manufacture and retail of cannabis, medical marijuana and hemp. Hemp products include biofuels, hempcrete, bio-plastics, health-foods and textiles.”

“This means that any spending by ALCP would be significantly outstripped by revenue, allowing increased fund-ing for social services and tax-cuts.” By far the biggest expenditure in the first year of the budget is a compensation package

for all New Zealanders whose trav-el or employment prospects have been impacted by a cannabis con-viction $140 million will be spent on clinical trials of medical can-nabis and research scholarships for postgraduate students to study can-nabinoids.

“Our policy aims to add $1 billion

of revenue to the government

annually.

5

Projected spending and revenue combined with the Government’s discretionary fund shows the net gain of ALCP policy.

Hemp food in schools will be allo-cated $50 million to provided free hemp milk and protein products to school children. Affordable Hempcrete housing will be given a boost of $100 million to provide low cost or social housing that is warm, dry and eco-friendly. Hemp farmers will be able to apply for subsidies totalling $50 million. Once up and running the hemp industry will compete glob-ally but contribute revenue locally. A new regulatory authority to licence the commercial cultiva-tion and sale of cannabis will be set

up at a cost of $10 million. Mr Crawford said that after two years, ALCP policy would be a net positive for the government’s books. “While it would cost some money to implement our policy, all of ALCP’s spending will be recov-ered by revenue,” he said. “ALCP supports the move towards surplus and paying down debt.”

Julian Crawford is the leader of the ALCP. He has a degree is Political Stud-ies and Philosophy from the University of Otago and a Diploma in Journalism from Aoraki Polytechnic.

6

Housing

Spokesman Adrian McDermott

Affordable and energy efficient building materials are needed

to ease the housing crisis. Increasing the supply of houses will help reduce property inflation and create more afford-able housing, especially in Auck-land and Christchurch. Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud recently built 42 hempcrete houses in England for around NZ$8 million, or less than $200,000 per house. “I look at the range of materials out there, I cannot find one to match Hemp. I can’t find one which has such a low embodied energy, that locks carbon in and has such a low environmental impact,” Mr McCloud said. “It can be grown locally and harvested with minimum inputs in a matter of just a few months. It’s an incredibly expedient building material. I cannot find a material which does what Hemp does.” In ALCP’s shadow budget

$100 million was allocated for new hempcrete housing projects. Housing spokesman Adrian McDermott said this funding could be increased with matching private sector investment and the pre-sale of properties to low-income home buyers. “Our aim is to build 1000 affordable hempcrete houses to

showcase this technolo-gy, to make homes more affordable for first-time buyers and reduce pres-sure on the housing mar-ket,” he said. “We hope that the hempcrete housing in-dustry will develop si-multaneously in the pri-vate sector to make many

more homes warmer, drier and healthier. Numerous jobs would be created for builders and hemp farmers to meet the needs of this growing housing market.” Older houses could also apply for funding to help retro-fit their existing homes with hemp-crete panels.Hemp is used in the production of

“I cannot find a material which

does what hemp does.

- Kevin McCloud

7

A new sustainable housing project in the northwest of Scotland will feature industrial hemp as the main building material.

eco-friendly chipboard and fibre board. These building materials can be used for the internal panel-ing of houses. Industrial hemp is also used to produce an eco-friendly insula-tion called hempbatts. Hemp in-sulation will add significantly to the energy retention of a house, by trapping in heat. By using hemp products to replace concrete, timber and pink-batts, new houses will be made pri-marily from warm, dry and healthy materials, sourced locally. The construction of 1000 new hempcrete homes will gener-ate numerous employment oppor-tunities including trade training ap-prenticeships.

Jobs will also be created for hemp farmers who will be com-missioned to grow the raw building materials locally. Local factories will turn the harvested hemp into hempcrete, hempboard and hempbatts before it is supplied to building sites. As a result, carbon dioxide will be sequestered from the atmo-sphere and locked into the building materials. ALCP also supports assis-tance schemes to help low income and disadvantaged families access-ing affordable hempcrete homes.

Adrian McDermott is a retired build-er and registered electrician, based in West Auckland. He is also a qualified mathematician.

8

Health

Spokesman Alistair Gregory

The core principles of the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis

Party support rational decision-making based on the best scientific and empirical evidence available. This is especially true for health policy. ALCP Health spokesman Alistair Gregory said properly tri-alled and evidence-based medi-cines were now in use overseas and should be available as an option for health practitioners in New Zealand. “Most recently there has been public-ity about the benefits of low-THC cannabis treatment for epilepsy,” he said. “ C h a r l o t t e ’s Web cannabis oil has already shown promising results for chil-dren with a severe form of epilepsy called Dravet’s syndrome.” Commissioner for Children Dr Russell Wills said “the medici-nal use of cannabis for children should be trialled”. Clinical trials for medical

cannabis were also recommended by the Law Commission’s 2011 re-port into the Misuse of Drugs Act. “New Zealand could be-come a world leader in the field if our scientists could begin do-ing medical cannabis research,” Alistair Gregory said. “ALCP has allocated $100 million for clinical trials of medi-cal cannabis in its shadow bud-

get as well as a further $40 million for research scholarships.” Trials will include treatments for chronic pain, cancer, epilepsy, nausea, depression, eat-ing disorders and skin conditions. Cannabis has also shown promise in the fight against MRSA

and other superbugs. Alistair Gregory said Har-vard Medical School had described cannabis as “the wonder drug of the 21st century” which would be “used by millions” of people worldwide. “New Zealand can not af-ford to be left behind on the issue,

“The wonder

drug of the 21st century.

- Harvard Medical School

9

Cannabis will be available on prescription or grown at home under ALCP policy.

because patients are suffering with-out it,” he said. “Not only can cannabinoids be used to treat a wide variety of illnesses, they can also be used to create customised medications tai-lored to each patient.” Many countries allow the medical use of cannabis and exam-ples such as Canada and the Neth-erlands suggest how we could reg-ulate medical cannabis and make it simpler for people to obtain medi-cation. In Australia proposals to decriminalise medical marijuana have gained backing from the Aus-tralian Medical Association and the

NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Asso-ciation. A bill currently before the New South Wales state parliament would approve cannabis use for terminally-ill patients. Norfolk Island has also is-sued a licence to cultivate medi-cal cannabis but it was revoked by their Australian administrator Gary Hardgrave. “The ramifications will be that the public will be denied ac-cess to relief that they desperately need,” Tasman Cannabinoids CEO Troy Langman said. Alistair Gregory is a Wellington based chef. He suffers from spina bifida and uses medical cannabis to help treat it.

10

Security

Spokesman Ants Heath

Smelling cannabis will no longer be an excuse for police to con-

duct warrant-less searches accord-ing to Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party policy However, the police and defence force will have more fund-ing for core services due to a redis-tribution of their budgets. If ALCP is successful, these departments would no longer be involved in cannabis enforcement, freeing up funds for core police and defence work. ALCP Security spokesman Ants Heath said neither department would have its budget cut if cannabis became legal. “Police would save over $50 million in enforce-ment costs if cannabis was legal, helping solve their budget short-fall” he said. “This money could be al-located to front-line policing and investigating violent crime.” During operation lime, po-lice tracked multiple suspects us-

ing their mobile phone data. Police also filmed members of the public going to legal gardening stores be-cause they were suspected of being cannabis growers. Under ALCP policy, the po-lice, defence force, SIS and GCSB will no longer be able to conduct surveillance operations on New Zealanders simply because they are a cannabis user.

Police will also be banned from conduct-ing drug dog searches in schools. In many cas-es children have been searched without their parents’ approval. Mr Heath said the defence force would save the money currently spent flying Air force he-

licopters during the annual canna-bis eradication operation. “It is a waste of tax-payer’s money to use military helicopters to search for cannabis plants,” Mr Heath said. “Redistributing this money away from cannabis operations would help the Air Force focus on

“This money

could be allocated to front-line policing.

11

Cannabis eradication by police, using military helicopters, will be a thing of the past under ALCP policy.

its core purpose.” The war on drugs is a 40-year-old war battle by the New Zealand government against its own citizens. Cannabis prohibition should be ended immediately. Customs will also be able to free up resources if cannabis was legalised. Mr Heath said there would be a lot less cannabis smuggled into New Zealand if it could be purchased here legally “Customs will have less cannabis interceptions to deal with, so would be able to dedicate more time to biosecurity threats,” he said. “There will be less demand

for drug dogs giving them the op-portunity to train more dogs for biosecurity work,” A new regulatory authority will issue licences to New Zealand-ers who want to import or export cannabis. This will make it easier to trade in cannabis internationally and make it even less likely Cus-toms will have to deal with illegal cannabis shipments. The police, defence force, SIS, GCSB and Customs will all have more resources and funding freed up if they no longer have to deal with cannabis offences. Ants Heath is a Wellington based actor.

12

Justice

Spokesman Paul McMullan

The Justice and Corrections budgets will make a saving of

well over $100 million annually, under Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party policy. Around 10% of the prison population is being held for can-nabis only offences at a cost of $90,000 per prisoner, while the courts are spending over $20 mil-lion each year prosecuting canna-bis cases. Under ALCP policy, all sentences for cannabis related of-fences would be can-celed, including prison, probation and fines. All cannabis charges currently be-fore the courts would be dropped as well. ALCP Justice spokesman Paul McMullan said cannabis only prisoners would be freed, cannabis convictions would be quashed and compensation is-sued. “Not everyone with a can-nabis conviction would be eligible for compensation but if they can

convince a panel of judges that their travel or employment prospects have been impacted, they would be entitled to between $5,000 and $100,000 each,” he said. “This is to allow people to restore their careers and dignity and to be compensated for any stigma they suffered under prohibition.” A Royal Commission of In-quiry will be set up to assess each

claim on a case-by-case basis. ALCP policy will also result in the oppor-tunity for prisoners to seek compensation for the time they have spent in prison, if they believe they were excessively punished. ALCP policy will also put an end to the

civil forfeiture of property because of cannabis offences. Marlborough pensioner Gary Tittleton had his house sold by the Crown after police found 8 plants growing there and 3 pounds of buds “It’s cost me a bloody for-

“Cannabis

convictions would be

quashed and compensation

issued.

13

Cannabis will no longer be a criminal offence under ALCP policy

tune, this is my daughter’s inheri-tance, my pension plan,” Tittleton said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m bloody pissed off, all for marijuana plants, to me it is bullshit.” Under ALCP policy, anyone who has had their property seized because of cannabis offences will have their civil case reopened. In many cases they will be entitled to the return of property and compen-sation, according to ALCP policy. Many people have had their home taken off them based on the suspicion of a crime. There is a reverse onus of proof for them to prove their house wasn’t paid for

illegally. This is an affront to the long held property rights in our law. Just because someone grows cannabis, that is not just grounds to strip them of property rights. Prop-erty rights should be unalienable. ALCP policy would mean it is no longer legal for courts to issue search warrants based on the suspi-cion of cannabis use. Under ALCP policy, cannabis users would have nothing to fear from the law.

Paul McMullan has successfully de-fended himself in court on cannabis charges.

14

Immigration

Spokesman Jeff Lye

Reform is needed to New Zea-land’s immigration laws the

Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party says. The party has called for cannabis convictions to be re-moved as a barrier to immigration and travel. ALCP Immigration spokes-man Jeff Lye said anyone making visa applications should be able to hide their cannabis con-victions. “The fact that someone has a convic-tion for cannabis in a foreign jurisdiction should not prevent them gaining residency or cit-izenship,” Mr Lye said. “Cannabis is rap-idly becoming socially acceptable and these changes to the law would streamline immigra-tion particularly for people coming from countries with draconian drug laws.” Mr Lye said the amnesty should also apply to tourist and stu-dent visas. “Tourists and students with

cannabis convictions should be al-lowed into the country,” he said. “We don’t want the travel of New Zealanders hindered by a cannabis conviction, why should we prevent foreigners with canna-bis convictions coming here.” Mr Lye said the legalisa-tion and regulation of cannabis in New Zealand would create signifi-cant opportunities for the tourism

industry. “People from all around the world travel to places like Amster-dam and Colorado to experience cannabis in a legal environment,” he said. “New Zealand could attract similar lev-els of tourism if premi-

um quality cannabis is available for traveling cannabis connoisseurs.” The need to receive medi-cal cannabis treatment or an op-portunity to learn about industrial hemp, could also bring tourists to New Zealand, if ALCP policy is implemented. Compensation and a Royal

“I want to go back to New

Zealand.

- Bianca Schier

15

New Zealand relies on its clean green image to promote tourism.

pardon should be issued to anyone deported for historical cannabis convictions. This includes Petra and Gunther Schier whose whole family, including three young chil-dren, were deported to Germany after having settled in New Zea-land for many years. Mr Schier arrived in New Zealand some years previously and failed to disclose a marijuana con-viction on his immigration forms. He maintains that he did not fully understand English at the time. The family were extradited by the Immigration Minister de-spite the German authorities hav-ing expunged his conviction from

the records. In a pre-Christmas letter to friends and supporters, mother Pe-tra Schier, said “Bianca’s birthday is in two days and when asked what she was wishing for she said, I want to go back to New Zealand and if that wish can’t come true, then it has to be my Christmas wish.” These three children, who were born in New Zealand and were citizens, were put out of their New Zealand home and were never brought to answer by due process of law.

Jeff Lye is an Auckland based business owner with three children and nine grandchildren.

16

Transport

Spokesman Jamie Dombroski

The transport and energy sectors stand to benefit significantly

according to policy released by the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party. Industrial hemp is the best source of biofuel and other renew-able resources, needed to fuel New Zealand’s economy. ALCP Transport spokes-man Jamie Dombroski said much of New Zealand’s elec-tricity generation and transport fuels could be produced locally from hemp, replacing petro-leum. “Our policy would subsidise farm-ers to switch to grow-ing hemp for biofuel production,” Mr Dom-broski said. “Hemp produces more than five times the biomass of other crops. It is a fast-growing and en-vironmentally-friendly renewable resource.” Hemp hurds can be turned into bio-charcoal by heating it in an enclosed chamber. The gases are evaporated and condensed into liq-

uid biofuels. Bio-ethanol can also be produced using fermentation of the biomass. ALCP has allocated $50 million in subsiudies for hemp farming, in its shadow budget. This funding will help purchase pyroly-sis machines needed to make the biofuel. Multiple hemp farmers will

be able to share one ma-chine, while some will even be portable and can be taken to hemp farms. Hemp is not only used as a fuel, it is also being used to make auto-matic panels such as car doors. BMW is using hemp in the paneling of

some of its new cars because of its strength, light weight and durabil-ity. A Canadian Car company has gone a step further and made a car chassis from hemp, called the Kestral. These are modern day ex-amples of the vision shared by Henry Ford, who also made a car

“Hemp produces more than five

times the biomass of other crops.

17

Hemp biofuels will be available at the petrol station, under ALCP policy.

chassis from hemp.Ford envisioned his car running on hemp biofuel. New Zealand has an oppor-tunity to rid itself of dependance on foreign fuel supplies. Locally grown hemp could power our cars, motorbikes, buses, trucks, trains and aeroplanes. Fuel independence will give New Zealand insulation from the fluctuating price of oil and de-stabilisation in the Middle East. By investing in hemp en-ergy solutions New Zealand can ensure it’s electricity is generated from renewable resources. By using hemp biofuel to generate electrici-ty, we can set up a local network of

charging stations for electric cars. While hemp fuel still pro-duces CO2, it does not contain sul-phur and other pollutants which are found in petrol. Hemp crops grown around New Zealand will act as carbon sinks, absorbing as much CO2 as the vehicle are emitting. Achieving carbon neutral transport without extra costs or disruption to the economy will be a major positive for New Zealand road users. Petrol stations can begin by adding hemp biofuel into existing fuel and eventually move to 100% hemp biofuel.Jamie Dombroski works in the oil and gas industry.

18

Treaty of Waitangi

Spokeswoman Emma-Jane Mihaere Kingi

The Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party has made a commitment

to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi). The party recognises that where there are differences in trans-lation, the Maori language version of the Treaty takes precedence. Article 2 of the Treaty grants Maori tino rangatiratanga or the unqualified exercise of their chieftainship over their lands, villages, and all their property and trea-sures. ALCP Maori Affairs spokeswoman Emma-Jane Mihaere Kingi said cannabis prohibition had resulted in the disproportionate arrest, prosecution and imprisonment of Maori. “Maori are three times more likely to be arrested and four times more likely to be convicted for cannabis than non-Maori,” she said. “The racist implementation of cannabis laws is in breach of the promise of tino rangatiratanga in

Te Tiriti o Waitangi.” Even though cannabis was introduced to Aotearoa by Europe-an settlers, Maori have a long his-tory of cannabis use since then. “Maori have grown medi-cal cannabis ever since it was in-troduced at Jerusalem by Mother Mary Aubert in 1885 and integrated with traditional Maori medicine,” Ms Kingi said.

“To target Maori for arrest because of their cannabis use is interfer-ing with these customs.” Ms Kingi said many plots of Maori owned land would be ideal for growing legal hemp. “Industrial hemp could be the economic crop that generates jobs

and get the economy working for Maori families,” she said. “We can use hemp to make insulation for our homes and en-sure our whanau are kept dry and warm.” Ms Kingi said many dis-eases could be treated with medical cannabis including the so-called

“Maori are three

times more likely to be arrested.

19

Te Tiriti o Waitangi grants Maori tino rangatiratanga or chieftainship over their own land, this includes the right to grow cannabis.

diseases of poverty. “Cannabis has been used as a medicine by Maori since 1885 and it is time to start using it as an integral part of Whanau Ora,” she said. “THCV has shown promise for treating type 2 diabetes by pre-serving islet cells in the pancreas that produce insulin.” Many pacific islands are also interested in the legal cannabis and hemp trade. In 2010 the Mariana Islands parliament legalised cannabis for recreational use. However, the leg-islation was defeated in the upper house, under pressure from the US

authorities. In 2014 Norfolk Island’s Government issued a licence to a Tasmanian company to grow 1000 kg of medical grade cannabis. Legal medical cannabis pa-tients in Canada had arranged to purchase the cannabis. However, the Australian Administrator of Norfolk Island cancelled the medi-cal cannabis licence. The move by Norfolk Island follow previous interest in starting an Industrial Hemp industry on the island.

Emma-Jane Mihaere Kingi is of Ngāti Kahungunu descent.

20

Education

Spokesman Abe Gray

Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party policy will bring better

nutrition to primary schools, bet-ter drug education in secondary schools and scholarships for tertia-ry research into medical cannabis. Medical cannabis research will be boosted by $140 million if ALCP policy is implemented. Pe-diatric epilepsy treatment will be one of the main priorities for the research scholarships. There has been a lot of in-terest in the story of Charlotte Figi, one of the first children with epilepsy to be treated with cannabis. A canna-bis strain called Char-lotte’s Web was named after her. ALCP Educa-tion spokesman Abe Gray said parents whose children had seizures should be allowed to treat their condition with low-THC cannabis. “As many as 12,000 kiwi kids have epilepsy and some of their families are calling for Char-lotte’s Web to be legalised here,”

he said. “Universities and Crown research institutes will be the main beneficiaries of the proposed grants and they will be able to monitor medical cannabis use by patients, as part of the research.” Mr Gray said scholarships will enable the study of medical cannabis for pain relief, cancer treatment, nausea and a variety of other conditions. “Universities could help

implement the recom-mendations of the Law Commission and begin clinical trials of raw can-nabis immediately,” he said. “There is no reason to continue denying sick and dying patients the life saving medicine that

they need.” Secondary schools will see reform of their drug education pro-grammes, under ALCP policy. Mr Gray said the prohi-bitionist model of teaching ab-stinence from drugs was failing young New Zealanders. More than

“Scholarships

will enable the study of medical

cannabis.

21

Medical cannabis research will be boosted by $140 million under ALCP policy.

80% of young New Zealanders try cannabis before they turn 21. “Clearly the current edu-cation programme is not reducing teenage drug use,” Mr Gray said. “There needs to be a focus on harm minimisation rather than punitive measures.” Harm minismisation re-quires teaching about safe methods of ingesting drugs as well as high-lighting their relative risks. This includes more promo-tion around the health risks of alco-hol and tobacco. Education would also focus on promoting an R18 age limit for legal cannabis and discouraging underage consumption.

Primary schools will ben-efit from a hemp food in schools programme, under ALCP policy. Mr Gray said hemp seed foods were highly nutritious and would help improve the health of school children. “Hemp seed has the opti-mal balance of Omega 3, 6 and 9 plus all the essential amino acids,” he said. “Hemp milk and hemp seed cereals will give kiwi kids the start to the day they need to focus on educational achievement.”

Abe Gray is a biology tutor at the Uni-versity of Otago and has a Masters of Science degree.

22

Industry

Spokeswoman Sandy Mulqueen

Hemp technology is going to be vital in a high-tech, eco-

friendly economy, the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party says. Bio-polymers and textiles made from hemp are an exciting emerging industry which could be a viable alternative to synthetic fi-bres. ALCP policy would make it much easier for New Zealanders to obtain a hemp licence or get a job in the hemp indus-try. ALCP Industry spokeswoman Sandy Mulqueen said New Zealand farms were ideally suited to grow-ing hemp for produc-tion of a variety of high-value end-use technologies. “Our shadow budget in-vests $50 million to help farmers transition to hemp, creating jobs in manufacturing and retail of prod-ucts, including bio-polymer and graphene,” she said. “Graphene is even stronger than diamond, more conductive

that copper and more flexible than rubber.” Dr David Mitlin of the Journal of Materials Science said “if you look at hemp fibre its struc-ture makes nano-sheets with high surface area and that is very condu-cive to super capacitors”. Graphene super capacitors are being made from hemp fibres at a fraction of the cost of traditional processes.

Researchers at Waikato University have been investigating the use of natural fibres such as hemp to reinforce com-posite materials. They’re also looking at bioderived polymers to encase them in. One of the main polymers they are work-

ing with is based on polylactide. It has been successfully used on its own as a polymer for making bio-degradable bottles. Researchers are working on improving the proper-ties of PLA by reinforcing it with natural fibres, which will also bio-degrade.

“It is made

entirely from the longest and cleanest fibres.

23

Hemp fibre from a new $30 million factory in Alberta, Canada

They’re looking at hemp fibre because it’s one of the stiff-est and strongest natural cellulose-based fibres. It’s also lightweight, making it easier to build with. Ms Mulqueen said hemp would also provide a seasonal al-ternative to wool. “Hemp is a very underrat-ed yarn. It has all of the beautiful qualities of linen; durability, wash-ability, versatility,” she said. “Hemp yarn is completely smooth and consistent because it is made entirely from the longest and cleanest fibres available. It is very strong while its softness makes it both easy to work with and very comfortable when it comes in con-

tact with the skin.” The hemp industry in New Zealand will also create opportu-nities for tourism and educational courses. If New Zealand can lead the world in developing a hemp based economy, people will travel here from overseas to learn how to produce hemp products. We have an opportunity to transform industry into an envi-ronmentally friendly driver of eco-nomic growth. We can restore our manufacturing sector and return to an export-led economy.Sandy is a former Waimate District Councillor and business executive for Waimate Knitwear. She is based in South Otago.

24

Christchurch

Spokesman Robert Wilkinson

If it cannot be implemented na-tionally, ALCP would instruct

CERA to legalise cannabis in Can-terbury only. CERA has wide powers to suspend or relax any New Zealand law except the Bill of Rights Act. ALCP Canterbury recovery spokesman Robert Wilkinson said CERA should use those powers to relax the cannabis laws in Canterbury. “The people of Christchurch have al-ready suffered enough stress following the earthquakes, legalising cannabis would relieve some of the pressure,” Mr Wilkinson said. “Cannabis is great for relieving stress and has been proven to have medical ben-efits for PTSD.” Canterbury would also re-ceive an economic windfall, worth hundreds of million of dollars an-nually, if it became New Zealand’s sole supplier of legal cannabis. A special levy would di-rect the profits from legal cannabis

sales to pay down Christchurch City Council debt and pay for the rebuild. The Earthquake Recovery Minister’s office has responded to the claim by the ALCP that the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority’s powers could be used to relax cannabis laws in the re-gion.

A spokesman for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee’s office said the party had overesti-mated CERA’s powers, which could only be used for the core purpose of earthquake recovery. “They’re not carte blanche to use and so you

would have to make a case that you were speeding up or removing hin-drances to earthquake recovery. “It’s quite a specific Act and it all pertains to earthquake re-covery,” the spokesman said. “Also the use of the Act has a panel of judges and Government experts that we have to inform of intended uses of the act and whilst

“CERA has powers to

suspend or relax New

Zealand laws

25

Funding the rebuild of Christchurch and the paying down of council debt could be achieved with the help of cannabis legalisation.

we could technically push through changes in opposition to them, that’s never happened, which is indicative of the way we’ve used those powers and I’m quite sure in this case they would oppose it.” Mr Wilkinson welcomed the admission by CERA that they technically have the power to relax the cannabis laws in Canterbury. “CERA have backed up what the ALCP have been saying about the laws in Canterbury,” he said. “While it may not seem like the core business of CERA, we still maintain that it will help pay for the rebuild and reduce the stress

levels of Cantabrians.” Mr Wilkinson said CERA should take a broader approach to changing Canterbury’s laws that takes into account the needs of the local people rather than just focus-ing on building regulations. “I have previously worked for the Earthquake Commission and the region needs to do more to pay for the rebuild,” he said. “Otherwise Christchurch City Council debt will get out of control, leading to asset sales.”

Robert Wilkinson is a former EQC employee and has experience settling earthquake related insurance claims.

26

Environment

Spokeswoman Romana Manning

The Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party has the best environmen-

tal policy of any political party. It is the only party with a policy that can replace most petro-leum products with biofuel, pro-duced locally. ALCP Environment spokes-woman Romana Marnz Manning said hemp was a fast-growing, high cellulose plant, ideal for making biofuel. “Bio-charcoal, bio-ethanol, bio-diesel and bio-gas can all be extracted from hemp. These biofuels will sig-nificantly reduce emis-sions and lower our re-liance on fossil fuels,” she said. “The industry, energy and transport sectors could all transition to car-bon-neutral hemp biofuels without losing profitability.” A leading ocean researcher, Charles Moore, said plastic pollu-tion “posed a bigger threat to the planet than climate change”. With hemp bio-plastics, we

can stop adding to the problem be-cause it is biodegradable, Ms Man-ning said. Zeoform is company with a patented process for producing hemp plastic, which can be formed into any shape or color needed. “The final material can be formed into almost anything and can be cut, routed, machined, drilled, screwed, nailed and glued in the same way wood can be. It

can also be coloured and finished in any way cre-ators like. The material is water and fire resistant,” the Australian company said. “Bio-plastics can be five times stiffer and 2.5 times stronger than regu-lar plastics.” Ms Manning said

hemp would also reduce our reli-ance on forestry, especially for wood-pulp. “Too many New Zealand-ers are being injured or killed in the forestry sector, the risk of injury would be reduced significantly if they were working on hemp plan-

“Replace most

petroleum products with

biofuel.

27

Hemp biomass can be used to produce all of the same products as fossil fuels.

tations,” she said. “Hemp crops, which can be harvested annually, will also se-quester large amounts of CO2.” ALCP will incentivise farmers to plant hemp along their waterways to prevent run off from dairy farms. This will help absorb effluent and create a natural barrier between cattle and waterways. Growing hemp on strips of land around dairy farms will allow for biofuel production without tak-ing away space from valuable food

producing land. Hemp seeds are also ideal feed for farm animals. Hemp is the key to our car-bon-neutral future. It will allow us to continue to produce energy and run vehicles without having to de-grade the environment any further. Hemp plastics will end our reliance on landfills, allowing much more of our rubbish to biodegrade.

Romana Marnz Manning has experi-ence running a small farm in Hawkes Bay where she cared for many animals.

28

Regulations

Spokesman Dr Richard Goode

The Aotearoa Legalise Canna-bis Party’s regulatory policy is

calling for a new Ministry of Can-nabis. The regulatory authority would be established at a cost of $10 million according to ALCP’s shadow budget. ALCP Regulatory spokes-man Dr Richard Goode said the Cannabis Ministry would issue licences for the commercial cannabis trade and help with training pro-grammes for those in-terested in the indus-try. “Licensing the commercial produc-tion and sale of canna-bis will allow conditions to be put in place such as an R18 age-limit and a tax regime,” he said. “Home-grown cannabis and social dealing among friends will not require a licence and will be tax-free. The medical marijuana industry will be offered tax-breaks so they only pay 50% of regular taxes. The hemp industry will pay

regular taxes, while the commer-cial-recreational industry will pay excise duty on top of regular tax-es.”The definition of adult will be set at 18-years-old or above, while the limits for personal use will be set as high as possible in negotiation with the Government. This allows easy access to

personal or medical can-nabis while ensuring that commercial players con-tribute the most to public revenue. Dr Goode said the new authority will also of-fer training programmes to help get the industry off the ground. These regulations

will encourage cannabis commerce while ensuring an even playing field and a market driven approach to pricing. All New Zealanders will be better off once legal canna-bis sales are contributing to public revenue.

Dr Richard Goode is an IT expert. He has a PhD in Philosophy from the Uni-versity of Otago.

“Commercial

players contribute the most to public

revenue.

29

REGULATORY POWERS:Stop the Arrests: Instruct police to use their discretion and stop arresting cannabis users. Instruct courts to drop all pending cannabis charges. Remove cannabis from the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Overturn Convictions: Ensure all cannabis convictions are quashed and a Royal pardon issued. Instruct corrections to release all prisoners who are serving cannabis sentences. Instruct corrections to wipe all fines and probation sentences for cannabis offences. Establish a judicial panel to issue compensation for historical cannabis convictions.

Personal Use: Allow adults to possess and use cannabis for personal use. Allow adults to grow cannabis at home for personal use. Allow adults to trade cannabis with each other for personal use. Instruct IRD not to tax personal cannabis trade.

Medical Cannabis: Allow medical patients to use cannabis and access it from a doctor or pharmacy. Allow caregivers to grow cannabis at home for individual patients. Issue licences to grow medical cannabis on a commercial scale. Issue licences to process and wholesale medical cannabis on a commercial scale. Issue licences to dispensaries and pharmacies to retail medical cannabis. Train doctors in how to prescribe medical cannabis. Instruct IRD to give a 50% tax-break to the medical cannabis industry.

Industrial Hemp: Allow anyone to register to grow industrial hemp without a licence. Run training programmes in growing industrial hemp. Run training programmes for processing and manufacturing industrial hemp. Allow any business to retail industrial hemp products. Instruct IRD to tax industrial hemp at the usual tax rate.

Commercial-Recreational Cannabis: Issue licences to grow cannabis on a commercial scale. Issue licences to process or wholesale cannabis for commercial purposes. Issue licences to operate a retail cannabis outlet. Instruct IRD to tax commercial cannabis sales at the usual rate with added excise. Allow adults to buy personal amounts of cannabis from retail outlets.

International Trade: Issue licences to import cannabis products into New Zealand. Issue licences to export cannabis products from New Zealand.

30

DON'T HATEREGULATEBetween 2000 and 2006, 29,827 people in NZ were convicted on

cannabis related charges. A large proportion have no prior convictions, and most of which are law abiding citizens.

Many suffer severe illness where clinical research has proven medicinal cannabis to be the most effective treatment.

REPEAL PROHIBITION. STOP CONVICTING INNOCENT KIWIS.