Only seven people have been imprisoned this year for possession of marijuana.
Jacinda Ardern has stated in the first two leaders debates that under a Labour government, people wouldn’t be locked up for smoking cannabis. During The Spinoff’s debate Paula Bennett claimed that only seven people were currently in prison for possessing the drug. The New Zealand Drug Foundation (via Twitter) confirmed that the numbers were indeed correct. The foundation based this on information obtained from the Department of Corrections through a recent official information request, which shows an average of seven people per year are imprisoned for possession of marijuana (as their only offence). It is unlikely that all seven are in prison at one time. About 150 people were imprisoned in 2016 with a cannabis charge (possession for supply, etc) as their most serious offence. Neither Mrs Bennett nor Ms Ardern mentioned overall (non-custodial) convictions for cannabis, which number in the thousands each year.
Fact or Fiction: All just spin?
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