ABSTRACT
In 1972, members of an American commission on marijuana, the Schafer Commission, visited New Zealand and recommended a relaxation of the marijuana laws. That same year, Britain passed a Misuse of Drugs Act that divided drugs into three classes according to their supposed potential for harm. In 1975, influenced by both Britain and the United States as well as by recommendations from second Board of Health Report of 1973, New Zealand passed its own Misuse of Drugs Act, using a British-style classification and reducing penalties for most drugs. The emergence of gangs in post-war New Zealand had much to do with the international development of youth culture which spread here primarily through music and film. The 1950s was a time of economic buoyancy. National revenue during the decade exceeded expenditure every year except 1958, and total revenue grew by 150 per cent. The total population, boosted by immigration, grew 25 per cent in the 1950s, reaching 2.4 million by 1960.
