April 17, 2016
Drug war profiling decried
Kaitaia GP Lance O’Sullivan says racial profiling affects the way New Zealand’s drug laws are enforced.
The former New Zealander of the year told a Sunday television talk show that young Maori men in particular get caught by laws that criminalise the possession of small amounts of cannabis.
That’s because police stop and search them, claiming they have reasonable grounds to suspect they are carrying drugs.
Once they come to the attention of the police it’s a slippery slope to getting caught up in the criminal system.
Dr O’Sullivan says low level drug crime needs to be treated as a health issue, with better support services available to people whose lives are affected by drug use.
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