Emmaline Pickering-Martin on why she’s voting “Yes” in support of the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill

The important question we have to ask ourselves now is whether we want people to continue using cannabis without legalisation, regulation and control. Do we think it’s okay that people are getting criminal convictions for using a drug that’s relatively commonplace?

We know that the convictions disproportionately affect Māori and Pacific people. We also know that we have a police force who have openly admitted that they operate with an unconscious bias at play, and that they’re trying their best to mitigate this.

And although the police now can use their “discretion” in arresting or charging a person who they find with, or using, cannabis — we’ve also seen the statistics which show that the discretion isn’t being used for Māori and Pacific people.

So, is it okay that we allow one part of our society to be criminalised while other parts of society are being let off the same types of charges?