MarijuanaNews.com : Barbarism In New Zealand: Lies Have Consequences. Severely Handicapped Man Faces Prison for Growing Seven Plants!

Posted October 22, 2004
Analysis by Richard Cowan Sponsored by

Advanced Nutrients.

I read recently that the Iranian mullahs are going to
hang a thirteen year-old girl who was impregnated by her 15 year-old brother
(who received a mere 150 lashes.) Such acts of barbarism are expected in
oriental despotisms, but when barbarism is encountered in advanced Western
democracies, it is much harder to understand.

After all, we have access to information on the Internet
and we are free to express our outrage when confronted with injustice. The
persistence of the cruelties of cannabis prohibition demonstrates the failure
of the media and organized medicine – and dare I say, the churches – to fulfill
their obligations in maintaining a free society.
See

Quacks and Hacks and The New York Times — Reefer Madness 2002 — Atoning for
Printing NORML’s Ad?
and

Religious Leaders Finally Beginning To Organize Opposition To The Drug War, “A
Mutiny for Mercy,” But For Christians There May Be A More Compelling Reason Than
They Realize.

Earlier this month, I reported the death of quadriplegic in Washington, DC, who
was jailed for possession of a small quantity of cannabis.
See

Judicial Murder: Quadriplegic Dies In DC Jail. Compassionate Conservatism At
Work? Michigan MS Patient May Get Mercy, If It Does Not Threaten Drug War. Three
Stories. Infinite Insanity.

Now comes another story from New Zealand that
demonstrates that the lies and hatred spread by decades of prohibitionist
propaganda can drag any society down into depths of mindless cruelty.

Once again, I am indebted to Blair Anderson of the

New Zealand Mild Greens for bringing this to my attention. There are some
great activist down there. I was pleased to post an excellent essay by Blair
and Kevin O’Connell in 2000.
See

New Zealanders’ Analysis of the Consequences of the Violence of Marijuana
Prohibition. Bravo!

The victim in this case is, Neville Yates, a one-legged
medical cannabis user, who suffered brain damage when he was hit by a truck when
he was 14, and has been in a wheelchair ever since. In fact, there are many
parallels with the case of the DC quadriplegic. We can only hope that this story
does not end the same way, but the signs are not hopeful. Despite clear police
perjury, the judge instructed the jury to find him guilty and they complied.

See

One Nation Under George, With Very Little Liberty And Justice for Anyone. Court
Rulings and Court Reality. Jury Smuggled Into Courthouse.

In fact, Mr. Yates has long been a target of New Zealand
law enforcement. Incredibly, he was previously convicted and jailed for nine
months for cannabis cultivation.

He is a particularly outrageous target in the Kiwi
context.

New Zealand, with a population of 4 million – 15% of
whom are native Maori – appears to have the highest rate of cannabis consumption
in the world. It once had the highest arrest rate, however, the number of people
who were actually convicted of cannabis use or possession in 2003 fell to 1,984,
down from the peak of 3,717 reached in 1993.
See

Police State Tactics in New Zealand Mill Raid.

It is also has an estimated 80,000 growers. (Remember
that this is with a population one eighth of Canada’s and one seventieth that of
DEAland! Of course, there really may be over 3 million growers in DEAland, which
is the world’s largest consumer, producer and importer of cannabis.)
See

Fantasy and Reality in UN and US Reports on The Global Drug War. The Real
Numbers Are There. DEAland is The World’s Largest Producer, Importer, and
Consumer of Cannabis.

This excerpted transcript (courtesy Mapinc.org) from the
New Zealand Hansard (parliamentary record) demonstrates the level of reefer
madness that drives the nation’s cannabis policies.

May 19, 2004
New Zealand Hansard

http://www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz/hansard

CANNABIS-LEGAL STATUS

JUDY TURNER ( United Future
) to the Minister of Justice: Is he satisfied with the current legal status of
cannabis; if so, why?

Hon PHIL GOFF ( Minister of
Justice ): The Government has no plans to change the current legal status of
cannabis. That, of course, is part of an electoral
agreement entered into by the Government and United Future. The
Government also has concerns that the legalisation of cannabis would risk
negative social consequences in a number of areas.

(MarijuanaNews note: In order to put together a coalition government, they had
to commit to ignore the recommendations of a Parliamentary committee on
cannabis. Of course, prohibitionists have been ignoring such studies for
decades.)
See

New Zealand “Labour” Government Pledges No Change In Cannabis Laws for Three
Years to Get Support of Right Wing Parties in New Parliament.

Judy Turner: Is the Minister
convinced that the current legal status of cannabis should be retained in light
of the sudden influx of patients to Hawke’s Bay Regional
Hospital’s psychiatric unit, which staff attribute almost entirely to a
particularly strong brew of cannabis use, since it brings out psychotic and
paranoiac tendencies in young people?
See

European Study Shows Potency of Prohibitionist Propaganda. CBS and The AP Lie to
the American People About the Dutch. Surprise!

Hon PHIL GOFF: I think that
it is well established in medical research, and certainly by the Health
Committee, which looked at this issue, that the use of cannabis has very
negative effects on those who have pre-existing mental health disorders. That
is one of the key reasons why I think no party in this House should advocate
greater use of cannabis.
See

New Zealand Pharmacologist Responds to Prohibitionist Editorial. Brilliant
Argument and Interesting History.

Tim Barnett: What problems
does the Minister see resulting from the legalisation of cannabis?

Hon PHIL GOFF: I think the
effect of the legalisation of cannabis would be to make it easier to get and to
drop its price, and that in turn would have an impact in terms of increasing the
consumption of cannabis. As I said in my previous answer, an increased
consumption of cannabis would have a dramatically negative effect on those
people who have mental health disorders. I think it would also have bad effects
on younger people, who are big consumers of cannabis, and bad effects on those
who are currently heavy users of the drug. That is also shown to have negative
effects on how a person functions.

Nandor Tanczos: Does the
Minister have any evidence at all that the cannabis prohibition is effective in
reducing the use or abuse of cannabis; if so, could he please tell the House
what it is, because prohibition does not seem to be working anywhere in the
world?
(MarijuanaNews note: Tanczos is the founder of New
Zealand NORML.)
See

New Zealand NORML Founder Gets Great Publicity Wearing Hemp Suit

For Swearing In Ceremonies In Parliament. — 2 Articles
and

Founder of New Zealand NORML Calls for Rational Debate of Marijuana Laws. But
the Police Minister Is Irrational.

Hon PHIL GOFF: Certainly, the prohibition of cannabis, in itself, will not solve
the problem. The sanctions that are available are a deterrent to using
cannabis. I believe they also mean that the drug is harder to get and more
expensive-although, obviously, it is not impossible to
get. Young people, in particular, are very price sensitive, with regard
to either alcohol or cannabis-the cheaper the price, the more they consume.

See

Do New Zealand Educators Have Any Intellectual Standards? Is Their Ideology More
Important Than Their Students? Weigh the Evidence. That Is More Than They Do.

Gordon Copeland: Does the
Minister agree that the current legal status of cannabis should be retained in
light of the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board annual report
that notes the increasing abuse of cannabis in New Zealand by those aged 15 to
17, and does he agree that even if cannabis use was decriminalised for those
over 18, those younger users would perpetuate the current black market and
profiteering by gangs?
See

UN Nark’s Speech To Swedish Prohibitionists May Cause Permanent Brain Damage.
Illogic, Ignorance and Lying, Especially About the Dutch, Of Course.
and

Is The UN An Instrument of Peace and Freedom Or Of War and Tyranny? UN Narks
Make Answer Clear. Lies and Hatred In Service To International Police State.
(International Narcotics Control Board Report)

Hon PHIL GOFF: I think I have already indicated in previous answers that one of
the areas that I am most worried about is younger people, and the effect that
the chemicals in cannabis have on their mental development and their attitudes.
That is one of the reasons why I personally believe that we should be
extraordinarily cautious before making any change in the status of this drug.

See

Reefer Madness in New Zealand Op-ed Says “We Are Killing Our Kids With
Cannabis’.” And A Little Prohibitionist Humor.

Peter Brown: Will the
Minister be specific; is he saying that as a result of younger people smoking
cannabis for a prolonged period of time they can develop schizophrenia, and is
he aware that that illness can sometimes lead to youth suicide?

(MarijuanaNews note: According to

the New Zealand government’s own data, New Zealand
teenage boys are 500% more likely to commit suicide than their Dutch peers.)
See

Study Finds That Association Between “Cannabis Abuse” and Suicide Related To
Other Problems

Hon PHIL GOFF: I am not sure
that I am qualified to give a medical analysis of whether the use of the drug
contributes to schizophrenia. What I do know from the reports that I have read
is that where a person has a pre-existing condition, that will certainly
dramatically worsen it.
See

Classic Reefer Madness At London Times: “Woman who killed father ‘driven mad by
cannabis.’” Quacks and Hacks and Schizophrenia. Is It Paranoid to Distrust
Politicized Science?
and

Parents The Pro-Drug? Are Nagging Parents Driving Their Kids to Drink? Driving
Schizophrenics Paranoid? Can We Drive the Media to Think?
- cut -

Judy Turner: What is the Minister’s response to recent media reports
regarding the legal status of cannabis, such as the call for decriminalisation
by the leader of the new Mâori party, when the cannabis-related hospitalisation
rate for Mâori is three times the rate for non-Mâori, and to this morning’s
ironic statement regarding the drinking age by Nandor Tanczos, who said: “Yet
again we see young people being blamed for emulating the behaviour of adults.”?

-
cut –
(MarijuanaNews note: Maoris
are seven times more likely to be convicted for cannabis possession than
European Kiwis. Americans will not be surprised that a racial minority is more
adversely impacted by cannabis prohibition. This transcript reflects deliberate
ignorance.)

So, after more than six years of a national debate on
cannabis policies, the members of the New Zealand Parliament have proven that
they are ever so au courant on the latest prohibitionist propaganda from
the UN and narks and others, but they know nothing of the findings of their own
hearings and even less about the success of Dutch cannabis policies.
See

A Major Contribution — Regulate And Tax Cannabis –
Full Text of New Zealand Drug Policy Forum Final Report

It is in this context that a one-legged brain damaged
man in a wheelchair faces jail again for growing SEVEN cannabis plants.
It is in this context that it did not matter that the police had clearly lied,
describing Yates’ grow with the standard international prohibitionist party line
as being “sophisticated” and “hydroponic” when it was just seven plants in soil.

It is in this context, it does not matter that,
according to 2003 report by

NORML, one third of New Zealand doctor’s would prescribe cannabis if it were
legal. “Another 47 percent of doctors surveyed said they knew of
“patients who have discussed the option of cannabis for medicinal use,” and 20
percent said they were aware of patients already using medical pot.
Ten percent of respondents said they currently had
patients who they believed would benefit from medicinal cannabis.”

Here is the transcript of Mr.
Yates’ own testimony to the jury that was intimidated into becoming complicit in
his persecution:

“As you know this started
when I was 14 and received my injuries by being run over by a sheep truck and
trailer.

The extent of my injuries
have been explained to you as well my treatments before my amputation such as
acupuncture and electric shock treatment as well as my pain management and
medications after my amputation.

What I am trying to get
across to you is that I do not use prescribed medicines anymore due to their
addictive nature and the other negative impacts on my life. The fact is that I
do not use prescribed medicine anymore for my pain and instead I use cannabis
because it really does work for me.

(pause)

1 - I have read the letters
from my doctors to you which support my claim of cannabis use for medicinal
purpose.

2 - You heard about the
evidence from the prosecution and how I am not happy with original incorrect
statements from earlier evidence from the police in regard to using words like
mature and hydroponic where upon cross examination of Constable Joel Syme
confirmed the plants were not mature and that the grow was crude as opposed to
sophisticated. Which contradicted Constable Douglas Allen’s initial statement,
which was incorrect in its description of the facts.

You also heard how I have
concerns about the warrant and the informer involved.

3 - You have heard about
police discretionary powers and how the previous time the Police had visited my
flat, that they had not arrested me for growing 4 plants outside.

4 - You have heard how they
told me I should grow inside - which is what I did.

5 -You have heard from Kevin
O’Connell, the cannabis researcher, who indicated that
statistics show that there are on the order of 80,000 New Zealanders whogrow
their own marijuana.

(pause)

6 - You heard from M.P Tim
Barnett who confirmed my long term desire to obtain legal cannabis for medicine,
and how the Government is moving to make this possible.

7 - You have heard according
according to the Prosecutor that this is a simple open and shut case, but it is
Not.

8 - You have heard how Jim
Anderton, the Associate Minister of Helath, explains that cannabis can in fact
be used legally for medical use, provided proper Applications are made under the
Medicines Act, and clinical trial requirements are met, this was also confirmed
by Mr Barnett and Mr O’Connell.

It says here that you can
get it, and I have tried every which way to get it. It is the red tape that
needs untangling here, and my patient’s rights need to be recognised.

(pause)

9 - You have heard from Dr
David Hadorn how medical cannabis can be made available legally in a civil,
humane and evidence-based manner.

It may be the opinion of the
existing New Zealand law that my cannabis use is wrong. But I submit on the
balance of the evidence heard by this court, that it is not me that is wrong,
but the law that is wrong.

Laws have been wrong before,
you know.

(pause)

And that is where you the
jury have the discretionary power to send the message that this law is out of
date.

You have heard from me how I
have consistently claimed throughout this ordeal, that I honestly thought that I
had de-facto permission to grow for my medical use.

And that is what I was
doing.

Out of need and desperation.

Why should I be denied
access to a natural herb which alleviates my suffering and misery. Is it bad
that cannabis helps my pain and helps me smile as well?

So in summary members of the
Jury…

I am
not guilty of committing a crime. Not Guilty.

The
only victim here I see is me.

[victim statement then
read optional]

How long must I wait for a
fair go?

Is it wrong for a person who
is starving to pick an apple?

(pause)

In closing I would like to
say that God said ‘behold I have given you every herb bearing seed’. Not just
this one and that one, but every one.”

Sentencing will be on November
3rd!
(MarijuanaNews note: Torture
takes many forms.)
See

Lies Have Consequences. From Prohibitionist Venom to the Harsh Realities of Life
and Death for Patients. Swedish Prohibitionists, Canadian Bureaucracy and
DEAland Medical Murder.
and

What Is More Important, Prohibition Or The Patients? The Death of Cheryl Miller
Should Remind Us All To Demand A Change In Priorities. Should Pain Be A Crime?

and

Live Free or Die – In Pain. The Ignorance and Arrogance of the Quacks Who Deny
Pain Relief to the Sick and Dying.
and

UK Doctor Studies Cannabis for Pain Relief in Debilitating Illnesses.