I support the NZ Drug Foundation’s push to decriminalise drug use and drug possession.

The key point here is “use” and “possession”. It’s not saying let the dealers and manufacturers away with it, it’s saying we need to take a much more compassionate approach and treat drug users as people in need of help, instead of treating them as criminals.

I’m picking your response will probably be determined by your exposure to drugs or experience with drugs.

By that I mean whether your life has been affected in any way.

I reckon that if someone close to me got hooked on meth, for example, then I’d definitely be wanting the law to take a more compassionate view.

Because I know that I wouldn’t see them as criminals, I’d see them as someone needing help.

Whereas if my life was impacted negatively in any way by a meth head —for example, if someone high on meth had attacked me in the street or broken into my home— then I might not be quite so compassionate.

But if I listen to what the Drug Foundation has to say, then maybe a more compassionate approach would mean less drug addicts attacking people in the street and less drug addicts committing crimes to get money for their drugs.

Because here’s what it says about that in its report:

It says we should decriminalise personal possession and use of drugs —including drug utensils— because evidence from overseas shows that a system where people get help —and aren’t treated as criminals— even when they continue using their drug of choice... it says there is evidence that it works.

In Switzerland for example, where it has what’s called “heroin-assisted treatments”, less people have died from overdoses and there is less drug-related crime.

Another example the foundation gives in its report is Canada, where there are signs that its “safer supply programmes” are reducing the number of drug overdoses and helping drug users lead more stable lives.

So why wouldn’t you give it a go?

But it wants it done in parallel with a whole lot of money being poured into health and harm reduction services.

Which, no matter what your views on our drug laws are, is a no-brainer.

You’ll remember how, late last year, it was revealed that cocaine use in New Zealand is at an all-time high and methamphetamine consumption has doubled. And with people using more cocaine and meth, they’re at much greater risk of things like psychosis and heart issues.

So, either way, there’s going to be some sort of financial burden on the health system at some point, isn’t there?

So why not turn things on their head?

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