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Hot Topic Hawke’s Bay
Hot Topic Hawke’s Bay
1 mins to read

Current drug laws support racial profiling - Lance O'Sullivan

Sun, 17 Apr 2016

Lance O’Sullivan says New Zealand’s current drug laws, which criminalise the possession of small amounts of cannabis, lead to poor outcomes for young Maori men in particular.

Speaking to Q+A’s Jessica Mutch, the 2014 New Zealander of the Year said when young people, especially Maori, come to the to the attention of the police for low-level crime it’s a “slippery slope”.

“These kids get engaged in the criminal system, and if you treat a person like a criminal, they’ll end up like a criminal,” he said.

“I actually believe our current legislation, which criminalises low-level crime, acts to support racial profiling," Dr O'Sullivan said. 

"A police officer can stop and search someone on reasonable grounds to suspect they have marijuana. That could be just a whiff of something; it could be anything. You don’t have to subjectively prove that to the judge. You can just say, ‘Oh, I thought that person carried drugs.’ Now, I actually think that contributes to the racial profiling that goes on in New Zealand.”

Dr O’Sullivan supports treating low-level drug crime as a health issue, with better support services available to people whose lives are affected by drug use.

Watch the full interview here.

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Current drug laws support racial profiling - Lance O'Sullivan
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