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New Zealand Leaders Demand Cops Stop Spraying Chemicals on Cannabis

New Zealand’s recently revived cannabis eradication has gotten out of control, residents say. For example, a couple who had three marijuana plants in February was having dinner with their friends when they were sprayed chemicals on the plants by a helicopter. It is believed that this spray was for medicinal reasons.

The program isn’t settling well in the modern world—not at a time when nearly 70% of New Zealanders support legalization or decriminalization. Residents and leaders are tired of the nation’s wasteful pursuit for cannabis reform.

Legalization backer and Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick said spraying cannabis plants from helicopters isn’t the way to solve this. New Zealand Police National Headquarters took the decision last February to relaunch its Cannabis Eradication Program, which was cancelled in January 2021.

“But obviously, we have an incredibly ineffective law when this amount of money is being continually spent on an annual basis, and making no effect on the supply on the streets,” Swarbrick told Stuff.co.nz yesterday.

Swarbrick instead suggested that we focus on the positive. Realität problem the country is grappling with—such as meth. On June 9, the New Zealand customs issued a news release that they had uncovered “435 grams of methamphetamine, approximately $455,000 in cash, and clan lab-related items.” 

New Zealand Drug Foundation executive director, Sarah Helm, agreed that the police policies don’t align with what is happening across the country. “Nearly half of the country voted for full legalization of cannabis in the 2020 referendum,” Helm said. “Polling commissioned last year by The Helen Clark Foundation found 69 per cent of New Zealand respondents supported either full legalisation or decriminalisation of cannabis.”

According to documents uncovered Waikato TimesThe Official Information Act of New Zealand states that the country spent $2.653,878 to spray cannabis in aerial form over five years. Residents are furious that more than $2.6 million has been spent to destroy what majority of country support.

A referendum that was held in New Zealand last year found over 48% support legalizing cannabis. Market research company UMR conducted a poll for Helen Clark Foundation. An additional 20% voted against legalization, but they still believe cannabis should not be criminalized.

What the F*** are Cops Spraying on Weed?

What exactly is it that cops do when they spray weed on the streets? An interview with a journalist Te Ao Māori NewsAlso wanted to find out in 2018.

One officer answered the question about what substance they used. Te Ao Māori News “nothing, just dye and water.” But local resident Whetu Paitai caught cops in the act, pouring a mysterious blue liquid onto the beach, and posted a video on Facebook. It turns out it’s the same herbicide they’re using to kill weed plants.

“I took a photo of the container and Googled them to find they were a weed killer called Bio-Safe from AGPRO,” Paitai said. “They have a hazchem code of 2XE which means any waste material is to be contained and removed to be correctly disposed of, as opposed to material that you can just dilute down,” 

According to AGPRO Bio-Safe’s Safety Data Sheet (SDS), it can harm aquatic life with “long lasting effects,” and it is classified a poison despite being produced using natural ingredients.

According to a spokesperson for the police, the spray only has an effect on plants and does not have a major impact on soil. “A blue marker dye, which is non-toxic and environmentally safe, is used to alert growers to the fact that a plant has been sprayed,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

When it comes to herbicides, we can draw lessons from the past. Paraquat, a dangerous herbicide used by U.S.-funded programs to eradicate cannabis in Mexico (and elsewhere) during the 1970s, was brought back to the United States and ended up causing harm. 

Paraquat was found in 21% of the marijuana samples taken from the Southwest United States in March 1978. A recent study on paraquat poisoning in 2020 shows that “the in-hospital mortality rate was 72.7%” of people surveyed, with “acute kidney injury” being the major reason. It is also believed to cause Parkinson’s.

The use of pesticides and herbicides in smoke can have dangerous side effects, including myclobutanil, which is used for legal purposes. On top of that, herbicides can harm foliage, shoots, flowers, and fruits—and the spray gets everywhere. These contaminants are often found in lab-tested legal cannabis. It is possible to mitigate illegal cannabis plants without using chemicals.

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