Category: Health
Listening to the news each day, you could be excused for thinking that the country is shrouded in despair and on the brink of crisis – for, with an election looming, that’s how many in the media are depicting New Zealand. However, before deciding to emigrate, let’s look at how others from outside the country portray us.
Imagine being an artisan cheese maker, so proud of your product and your whole organic farming operation that you agree to Country Calendar featuring you on one of their shows. One would think that should be a good news story – but not so for 74 year old Biddy Fraser-Davies of Cwmglyn Cheese.
I am a former food manufacturer, now a food journalist. For the past 15 years I’ve written and made feature stories about New Zealand’s artisan producers, including many who operate in the dairy sector.
They say nothing is more certain in life than death and taxes. For governments, charged with the task of deciding how to spend our tax money, their choices can indeed mean the difference between life and death.
I have had Melanoma Cancer since I was sixteen. I have had 45 Lymph nodes taken from my neck and my arm. I have had five tumours surgically removed. I have had two brain tumours and surgeries within six weeks of one another. I have four in-operable tumours on my lungs. Keytruda could be my saving grace.
After each general election, briefing papers are prepared by public agencies for the incoming government. They provide a snapshot of New Zealand. According to the State Services Commission, New Zealand’s government is bigger than ever before.
Cannabis is clearly a very dangerous drug. It causes cancer, lung disease, psychosis, and can lead to the onset of schizophrenia. It is highly addictive and can become a gateway to hard drugs. In addition it causes impairment that can result in accidents, hospitalisation, or death.
New Zealand has one of the highest reported rates of cannabis use, with about three-quarters of New Zealanders having tried cannabis by the age of 25, and nearly 10% cannabis-dependent by this age.
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