Duncan Garner: My open letter to Chloe Swarbrick

Chloe,

I get it ­­­­– you are passionate. Really passionate. But your latest stunt, trying to drag cannabis regulation back into the spotlight, is beyond tone-deaf. We don’t need another debate on legalising marijuana.

Our kids are struggling, families are under pressure and here you are, waving the green flag like the rest of the country is just waiting for permission to get high.

They’re not.

They’re barely coping with what’s in front of them now ­­­­– and there are plenty of distractions and temptations for our kids as it is. NCEA changes, exams, vaping and the biggie that’s slowly destroying them – devices and social media.

Schools are dealing with kids facing behavioural issues like anxiety, depression, vaping-related lung issues and actual substance abuse – not theoretical debates about “regulation”. Our mental health services are stretched beyond breaking point – they don’t need your enthusiasm for cannabis regulation now or anytime in the future. Legalise it and it better come with increased dollars for mental health. You’ll need it.

I’ve written about what happened in Thailand, where they softened their laws and chaos ensued. Now they’re trying to overturn the laws again.

A yes vote sends a message that it must be okay to smoke weed – that’s what they see and that’s what they hear. It happened with vaping. I have four kids – they never smoked but two now vape. Sadly. Make something freely available and people flock to it.

Let’s be brutally honest. The Cannabis Legalisation and Control Referendum happened. The people voted and you lost, yet you insist on dragging another unwanted and divisive debate into the spotlight. Why should you get another go at this after we spent millions on a referendum five years back?