Sunday, October 28, 2012

Synthetic cannabis manufacturers and purveyors should be---

It is becoming increasingly obvious that products that go loosely under the name of ‘synthetic cannabis’ are harmful. There are disturbing reports coming out of our A and an E department about the short term affects and from those who work with clients who have used these products on a long term.  Knowing this just adds weight to recent moves by the Government to make such products either illegal or difficult to gain access to the legal market.’
I think it is time to stop pussy footing around by passing legislation to make all of these products illegal and to close down the outlets who sell them. I am well aware that we could make the same claim for tobacco and alcohol, but that is just a smokescreen to hide behind.
The claim in the Herald today that the manufacturers and sellers of these products are aware of the harmful effects of ‘synthetic cannabis’ but continue to push their products just makes the issue even more important to address. They are taking the same ‘immoral ground’ that suppliers of other harmful products make. Maybe we need a few ‘heavy lawsuits’ against them. They do not have the huge amounts of money behind them that the tobacco and alcohol giants possess, so possibly they could be dealt a ‘death blow’ to knock them out.
Of course, I am dreaming. We know that other products will emerge to take the place of today’s nasty products. It is a never ending battle.

I wanna house! I want it now!

Such is the clarion call from those frustrated Aucklanders (and some other NZers) who want a home but cannot even save for a reasonable deposit, never lone paying the huge mortgage. I am not talking elite homes either here; just a normal three bedroom home in an average suburb.
Probably on the same day a headline will be observed quoting the prices of houses in the towns and secondary cities of New Zealand. Great, you say---why don’t these home seekers move to these towns? ‘We would,’ they reply, ‘but where are the jobs?’
Fair point, so they stay in Auckland, struggling to pay the ever increasing rents and attempting to save for the home that is fast sailing into the distant; never to be achieved.
What can we do as a nation? We can’t even keep up with the housing pressures in Auckland, even if people could afford them. Apparently we need to build 10,000 new homes every year just to tread water as it were, so all the possible new moves by the Government are most likely going to add up to diddly squat.
Are we going to hear the cry for ‘regional development again? Are we going to come up with new solutions whereby people receive help to move and firms become eligible for tax breaks if they make the move to the regions? Some of these things have been mooted in the past, but always being dropped as the financial costs scared the politicians away or the government proposing such policies gets turfed out of office.
Is not this whole issue one that needs a bi-partisan approach? Hell no---- they can’t seem to agree on other issues facing the nation like our bourgeoning need to have an across party policy on retirement, so the chances of any real sense being talked on housing, regional development and the subsequent new jobs, is just going to be ‘pie in the sky’ stuff.
If you are young and wish to own your own home, forget it, unless you are prepared to think outside the square and encourage the political parties to join you. It is going to take a major event that imposes new solutions---an event that overseas, like warfare, increased terrorism or some sort of terrible climatic change.
Why wait for that to happen? Come-on politicians--- get off your butts and talk to one another without point scoring. We cannot let our problems just slip to future generations.

New Zealand's Got Talent---you better believe it!

For ALL of my overseas readers, go to UTube and stick in New Zealands Got Talent and I am sure you will agree. Check it out. Makes me so proud to be a Kiwi.