By Dan Satherley / 3news.co.nz staff
Cannabis campaigner Dakta Green has been sentenced to eight months' jail on charges relating to the possession, supply and sale of cannabis.
Green, 61, operated a high-profile warehouse called The Daktory, where cannabis was openly sold and consumed.
Appearing in the Auckland District Court this morning, he rejected the judge’s offer of home detention, instead opting for jail time.
This morning, prior to sentencing, Green told RadioLIVE's Marcus Lush his conviction was down to "politics".
"One day, and I hope in the near future, our members of Parliament will understand that there is no good reason to send people to jail for cannabis, other than the fact it is an illegal product," said Green.
"It's time we questioned why cannabis is illegal, and the fact that there might be one in a million that have some adverse reaction to cannabis is not a reason to send me to jail – it's a reason to have a health-related approach to dealing with these issues."
Green said the appearance of synthetic, legal cannabis substitutes such as Kronic shows the Government's hypocrisy on drug issues. But apart from that, he doesn't think Kronic helps the legalisation campaign.
"It certainly shows a hypocrisy, but I don't think it's good for our cause at all.
"The fact it's called 'artificial cannabis' means that it is something that is made in a laboratory, and it's a green, leafy material that's had chemicals sprayed on it.
"I agree with the inventor of the product it is not something that one should be consuming."
American organic chemist Prof John Huffman created JWH 018, an appetite stimulant that replicates the effects of THC, the active ingredient in cannabis. He says Kronic could cause irreversible psychological damage, but stopped short of calling for its banning.
"It would probably be useless as marijuana has been illegal in the United States since 1937," Prof Huffman told the Otago Daily Times earlier this week.
Green said he tried Kronic, but it didn't like it, because it tasted nothing like cannabis.
He doesn't think it should be sold in dairies – and nor should alcohol be – instead saying they should only be available through adults-only stores.
"It certainly should be taken out of dairies," he told RadioLIVE. "Alcohol is available from our dairies as well, and that's the most dangerous drug in our society today."
Green argues that cannabis is safer than alcohol and Kronic.
"There are issues with people appearing in hospitals these days on this Kronic, and anybody that ever appears in hospital on cannabis – which has been used safely for thousands of years – it's just because they're inexperienced.
"It's impossible to overdose on cannabis, and there is no chronic after-effect."
Despite years of campaigning, Green doesn't hold out much hope the Government will change its mind.
"[There is] absolutely no indication that there will be any change – in fact, quite the reverse. Any time our Prime Minister or Peter Dunne make comment on cannabis, it's always no, there will be no change.
"But we are very hopeful there will be change in the near future."
The Crown had sought four years' imprisonment for Green.
The Daktory's retail operation might have closed, but the warehouse, located in the West Auckland suburb of New Lynn, will continue to operate as a base for cannabis activists.
3 News