Copeland Gordon: Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill (No 3) — Referral of S.O.P. 298 to Health Committee 
Copeland Gordon: Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill (No 3) — Referral of S.O.P. 298 to Health Committee 
[Volume:621;Page:16830] 
GORDON COPELAND (United Future) 
: 
 I also am delighted that we have the opportunity to discuss in Parliament today the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill (No 3) and the Supplementary Order Paper from Minister Jim Anderton. Like others I thank him for his interest in and dedication to this cause which is very important to the life of our nation. I have a personal vision for New Zealand and I guess it is also the vision of United Future. We would like to see this country free of cannabis free of methamphetamines and free of gangs. My colleague Marc Alexander has some great policies that we think could make that an achievable goal for our nation. 
The main point I want briefly to make in this debate is that we should be very careful in the way we talk to the wider community about drugs. We should ensure that what we say is always based on the best available science. I say that because although anything Nandor Tanczos says in this House about drugs has no credibility whatsoever with the wider New Zealand community—because most people are outraged that he is in Parliament despite being a self-confessed user of cannabis—it is very important that when people like Jim Anderton and others speak on this issue they are science driven. I hope therefore that the select committee will be very science driven in considering the Supplementary Order Paper. 
Some years ago I had the privilege of having some information conveyed to me by an eminent professor of neurology who was visiting this country. He gave a very simple illustration of the difference between alcohol on the one hand and cannabis on the other. His claim was—and others may want to check it out from a scientific point of view—that the human body can process 1 ounce of alcohol per hour. So if one consumes 8 ounces of alcohol the human body will take 8 hours to process it. Someone who has had 10 ounces of alcohol and 8 hours’ sleep will have a 2-hour hangover—as we all know—at the end because the body needs more time to process the drug. On the other hand the professor explained a single joint of cannabis contains an ingredient that will go into the actual structure of the cells that connect with a very vital part of the brain and will disrupt the operation of that part of the brain for as long as 5 or 6 months. I think it is most unhelpful when people in this House sometimes say that the major drug problem in New Zealand is alcohol. That may be true in one sense but it is also extremely misleading. 
It is misleading at a very practical level as every secondary school principal in this country understands. I have spoken to many of them—by the way I do not think there is one who supports the legalisation of cannabis. They tell me that they can pretty quickly pick when a kid in a class of 14 or 15 starts to take cannabis. They can tell because that child’s attitude to study will begin to change almost immediately. They will start to see a fall-off in the child’s work rate particularly in doing homework. They will also see a serious diminishment in the child’s ambition to get ahead study and be successful in life. That is completely different from the effect of alcohol. A schoolteacher cannot tell on Monday morning whether a kid did or did not get sloshed on alcohol on Saturday night but can tell immediately if a kid has started to smoke cannabis. 
I make this point because I think it is extremely important we get the very best science we can when dealing with such drugs and we make very sure we target the right thing. In my view and in the view of United Future nothing is more dangerous in this country right now than methamphetamines and cannabis being taken by children as young as 13 14 or 15. I have even seen 11 to 12-year-olds on those drugs. We are seeing before our eyes the ruination of entire lives because of a habit occurring at that time of life which is a very critical time for the brain’s development. That habit will have lifelong consequences. So at one level it is very unhelpful to claim that alcohol is actually more dangerous. We need to be more nuanced than that to figure out where the real problem is and to ensure that we take all the steps we can to protect our young people and the future of the nation. 
Motion agreed to.