Being a Member of Parliament
So Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick, a staunch advocate for legalising cannabis, has been reported as sarcastically congratulating her opponents on their apparent victory in the referendum on legalising the use of cannabis.
Preliminary results suggest cannabis, which has been tried by the vast majority of Kiwi adults, will remain illegal – the ‘no’ camp ahead 53-46, with special votes yet to be counted.
Swarbrick, a vocal supporter of legalisation, commented on what she called the “perversely named” Say Nope to Dope campaign a day after the results came in.
“I’m sorry guys, cannabis still exists,” she said, directly addressing the camera.
“Well done. It still exists.”
She also criticised fellow MPs who refused to reveal publicly how they planned to vote labelling “the majority of parliamentarians” as hypocrites.
She stated, “The thing that drives me the most mad about that is the blatant hypocrisy. You have a majority of parliamentarians who have… said ‘yes I’ve done cannabis, back in the mists of time’. But now they oversee a law which prosecutes, penalises and criminalises people for doing exactly the same thing they did.”
Maybe instead of being such a vocal supporter of legalization she should realize the public have voted and now she should act like a member of parliament and represent the opinions of the voter’s demonstrated in the democratic results from the referendum.
Ms. Swarbrick is after all supposed to be an elected member of parliament sworn to uphold the law, and as such she should be representing the democratic will of the voters as set out in the results of the referendum rather than acting as a spoilt child who has not got her own way, and criticizing other MP’s for their views.
The fact that a lot of people, over a period of time, have broken the law does not in itself mean that the law should be reversed or repealed. In fact if that was the case then we would have to seriously look at repealing a lot of laws such as speed limits etc.
Most drivers have at some stage either deliberately or accidentally exceeded the speed limits on the road but this in itself is not a valid reason for repealing the law enacting the speed limits and the same should be said about many other laws (e.g. smokefree legislation, consumption of alcohol in a public place etc.).
The voters have democratically spoken and it is now time to act like an MP, and remember the old saying – “sarcasm is the lowest form of wit”.
Andy Loader
Co-Chairman P.L.U.G.