Three Te Tai Tokerau candidates have made their case for voting 'yes' or 'no' in the upcoming cannabis referendum.
Labour's Kelvin Davis, the Māori Party's Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Billy Te Kahika Jr from Advance NZ gave their views in an election debate hosted by The Hui on Tuesday night.
A question on whether recreational cannabis should be legal will be asked as part of this year's general election. Legislation on how a legal market would work has been drafted, but unlike the euthanasia referendum it won't automatically become law if the 'yes' vote wins.
Davis and Kapa-Kingi are both voting 'yes' and Te Kahika is voting 'no'.
"I'm voting for it," Davis told debate host Mihingarangi Forbes. "It is a health issue, we don't want our people criminalised because they use marijuana."
Kapa-Kingi is voting yes, but only "with good solid cultural imperatives and clinical tautoko to ensure it's all lined up and good to go".
Te Kehika said he is voting 'no' because he believes it is a health issue and it instead should be decriminalised.
"We don't need more drugs available to our people. We need to give them hope," he said.
"We need to focus on getting rid of P which is destroying our community in Te Tai Tokerau and these guys [the Government] have failed to deal with it."
A poll last year by The Hui found three-quarters of Māori back the legalisation of cannabis. Drug Foundation director Ross Bell said at the time they had good reasons to back a change.
"Cannabis use rates are pretty similar between Māori and non-Māori, but Māori are four times more likely to get a conviction."
Māori are three-times more likely to be arrested and convicted of a cannabis-related crime than non-Māori, according to a report by the Prime Minister's chief science adviser Juliet Gerrard released in July.
"Coupled with being 10 times more likely to get a conviction if you’re male. Māori men in particular are disproportionately impacted by the illegal status of cannabis," the report said.
Racial biases also could also mean that the discretion afforded to police may privilege non-Māori and disadvantage Māori.
"Though police have discretion to take a health-oriented approach rather than prosecuting those using cannabis, inherent biases in police discretion implied by the disproportionate arrests and convictions for cannabis possession for Māori suggest that this law change may not address social inequities as much as legalising cannabis could," the report said.
"While systemic racism persists in our justice system, the current cannabis laws will continue to disproportionately affect Māori and fuel social disparities."
