Government could make $150 million annually from taxing cannabis
The report noted that "drug reform isn't a particularly radical idea these days"
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Decriminalising cannabis would generate money for the Government and ease pressure on New Zealand's courts according to an informal Treasury report. The documents obtained under the Official Information Act by Nelson lawyer Sue Grey came from an internal Treasury forum "to test policy thinking on a range of issues in the public domain," Finance Minister Bill English said. The documents reveal Government spends about $400 million annually enforcing prohibition whereas decriminalisation would generate about $150m in revenue from taxing cannabis. Moreover, it said reforming drug policies would "ease pressure on the justice sector, and lead to fewer criminal convictions for youth and Maori".