If reducing harm to society is the goal, a cost-benefit analysis shows cannabis prohibition has failed
- Written by Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato

The case for a referendum on New Zealand’s cannabis law was already urgent in 2015 when the supposedly more pressing issue was whether we should change the flag. As I argued at the time, prohibition had failed and was costing society far more than the drug itself.
As with alcohol, tobacco, prostitution and gambling, regulation...