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Newsbrief:
New
Zealand
Moves
to
Heighten
Methamphetamine
Penalties
--
Life
Sentences
for
Some
Offenses
3/14/03
The government of New Zealand
is moving to reclassify methamphetamine from a Class B to a Class A drug,
the New Zealand Herald reported Thursday. The change in status will
significantly increase the penalties facing methamphetamine violators.
Currently, persons convicted
of meth manufacture, trafficking or distribution face a maximum of 14 years
in prison; if meth is moved to Class A status, that penalty increases to
a possible life sentence. Similarly, persons convicted of simple
meth possession currently face up to three months in jail; under the government's
proposal that sentence would be increased to six months and a $1000 (NZ)
fine. Changing meth to a Class A drug would also enable police to
conduct searches for meth labs without first obtaining a search warrant.
While New Zealand law enforcement
officials said they had been pushing for the change for years, the government
appears to have been prodded to act by an Auckland judge's decision earlier
this week to throw out charges in a meth manufacturing case because police
used an illegal search warrant.
Methamphetamine use is reportedly
on the rise in New Zealand -- police shut down 147 meth labs last year,
compared to eight in 1999 -- and has been linked in press stories to several
sensational murders.
The parliamentary Health
Select Committee recommended Wednesday that meth be upgraded, saying stiffer
penalties would deter its use and adding that the upgrade was needed to
protect "vulnerable" groups, such as Maoris and young people. An
Order in Council to change the drug's classification will come before Parliament
in a matter of weeks, the Herald reported.
-- END --
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Issue #278, 3/14/03
Federal Judge Refuses to Block Potential Federal Arrests of California Medical Marijuana Patients | No Comment: Antonio Maria Costa, Director-General of UN Office on Drugs and Crime Addresses Swedes on Marijuana | Funding Crunch Hits Drug Reform Movement | DRCNet Interview: Adam Jones, Teachers Against Prohibition | DRCNet Book Review: "Down by the River: Drugs, Money, Murder, and Family," Charles Bowden (2002, Simon & Schuster, $27.00 HB) | Alert: HEA Reform Legislation Re-filed, Needs Your Support | Newsbrief: Mexican Anti-Drug Choppers Shot Down, Five Dead | Newsbrief: Colorado Kiddie Meth Bill Passes, Awaits Governor's Signature | Newsbrief: Colorado Legislators Ponder Plan to Cut Nonviolent Offender, Drug Sentences | Newsbrief: Illinois DA Makes Woman Meth Poster Child | Newsbrief: House Panel Goes After Federal Judge for Being Too Lenient on Drug Offenders | Newsbrief: Who Wants Drug Testing? Not Pennsylvania Cops, Not Colorado Teachers | Newsbrief: New Zealand Moves to Heighten Methamphetamine Penalties -- Life Sentences for Some Offenses | The Reformer's Calendar
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