Pubdate: Tue, 12 Sep 2000
Source: Evening Post (New Zealand)
Copyright: Wellington Newspapers (2000) Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.evpost.co.nz/
Bookmark: additional articles on cannabis are available at 
http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm

MPS SHOULD LISTEN TO YOUTH ON CANNABIS

Another Youth Parliament has come and gone. Members of Parliament from 
throughout the country chose about 120 young people to come to Wellington 
for what is a triennial event and recreate as realistically as possible 
what happens in Parliament, writes The Evening Post in an editorial.

Over two days, they talked, debated, listened and learned.

But they also came to contribute and one of the objectives of the Youth 
Parliament is surely to let the views of young people be heard, 
particularly by those politicians who sponsor them. Said Youth Affairs 
Minister Laila Harre: "We need to do some more listening to you, about your 
ideas of how you can become more active, and participate more in the things 
that go on around here." How true. But will they?

Decriminalisation of cannabis was an issue at this year's Youth Parliament. 
It's also an issue for New Zealand. Terms of reference for a review of 
marijuana laws are about to be announced.

Decriminalising - a weasel word for legalising - marijuana for private use 
is a favoured position.

Some MPs argue that harmful effects of the hallucinogenic are outweighed by 
concerns that convictions for possessing marijuana take too high a social 
toll later and that high marijuana usage brings the law itself into 
disrespect. Polls and surveys have shown increasing usage among young 
people and secondary school students.

Green MP Nandor Tanczos has trumpeted the need for law changes while school 
principals, teachers and numerous others have begged politicians to 
consider the harmful effects of even partial legalisation.

The Youth Parliament turned down partial legalisation by 69 votes to 47. 
Participants debated a mock Bill passionately from both sides.

It was hardly radical. Having up to 5g for personal and private use would 
not be a criminal offence and offenders would be punished by infringement 
notices and fines that would go into a drug education fund. Smoking 
cannabis in public would be an offence.

But to the majority at the Youth Parliament, it was hip to be square. "Just 
because other countries do, it doesn't mean we've got to jump into the lake 
with the rest of these lemmings and do it too," said West Auckland Youth MP 
Vanessa Mulu. Laila Harre rightly said she hoped a review would take heed 
of what the Youth Parliament had said.

Sadly, Mr Tanczos has quickly developed bad habits.

Somewhat churlishly, he said the youth of New Zealand were not represented 
by the Youth Parliament. His failure to respect the views of those who were 
there and acknowledge their right to express them was a crude put-down. The 
vote told him a majority believe he's wrong.

He should stop deluding himself: he doesn't speak for the youth of this 
country, he doesn't know what they're thinking. Young people, when given 
the opportunities and the right environment, can think and decide for 
themselves. They want to contribute to decision-making and, as one attendee 
Lucila van Dam wrote in this newspaper, a sense of personal accountability 
and respect for democracy follows.

This isn't new. Throughout time, youth have expressed similar wishes of 
self-determination, but the Youth Parliament allows an opportunity for 
youth to be heard and be seen to be heard.

For politicians, that means paying more than lip service to an ideal.

It should also mean the Ministry of Youth Affairs should get its act together.

Its website is still showing the programme for the last one held in 
September 1997, complete with pictures of Minister Deborah Morris. Someone 
should tell the Ministry Ms Morris resigned from Parliament in December, 1998.
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MAP posted-by: Thunder