New Zealand Cannabis Tax Could Generate $150m a Year
The government could generate $150 million annually by taxing cannabis, rather than spending $400m a year enforcing drug prohibition, a Treasury note says.
An Official Information Act request by Nelson lawyer Sue Grey turned up the Drug Classification note, part of an internal Treasury forum from 2013.
The previously unreleased document said studies showed alcohol and tobacco caused far more harm than cannabis; that there was no evidence it was a gateway drug, and that Māori "take the brunt of current policies" - making up 14.5 percent of the population, but receiving 43 percent of cannabis convictions.
Finance Minister Bill English, who Ms Grey's information request was directed to, said the document was not an official Treasury recommendation or advice.
"It was a document prepared by a single staff member for an internal forum and did not come to me,” Mr English said.
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