Yes

Look to America with their war on drugs. More people now addicted than ever before.
Addicts need support from whānau not locked up.
If we decriminalise drugs then the gangs etc can’t make as much money illegally
People will make safter choices with their drug use.
Frees up prison spaces which saves money too

Our most harmful drugs are already legal - Alcohol and Tobacco. Around 9% of NZers smoke daily, around 19% of all adults (people over 15) use alcohol in a way that is harmful to them or the people around them.
Recreational drug use is much lower. While around 93% of adults have tried alcohol at least once, only 49% have used recreational drugs at least once. Marijuana use is also very low, with 15% of adults using once in the last year, and only 4.3% using monthly. Marijuana has no recorded deaths in NZ - can we say the same for alcohol or tobacco?

Decriminalisation removes the stigma from addiction. No one chooses addiction and hiding use in the dark corners of the world only serves to remove help from those that need it.

Countries like Portugal and Switzerland that have decriminalised drugs have seen improvements, countries that continue the war on drugs get worse
In Portugal:
Drug-related deaths have remained below the EU average since 2001
The proportion of prisoners sentenced for drugs has fallen from 40% to 15%
Rates of drug use have remained consistently below the EU average

Sending addicts to prison almost guarantees that they will not get better. It puts them into a harsh scenario, costs us all a lot of money, and is most likely to see them back in prison for the same thing.

To provide additional context, consider Portugal's success with decriminalization, leading to lower drug-related deaths and HIV transmission. Studies also support medical marijuana for specific conditions with fewer side effects. In the U.S., states that legalized marijuana saw economic benefits through tax revenue and reduced criminal justice expenses, pointing to the potential of a 'Yes' stance on drug policy

I'm in favor of decriminalizing drug use because we've had an issue with overpopulation in prisons before and it will happen again due to processing of people consuming drugs. Those that want to change will change if they get the support. Those that don't want to change should be isolated from those that the habit is hurting but also given help and support like rehab so that they have the tools they need to stop. There is also multiple studies done in to the positives that some drugs can provide under the right setting and dosage which can help with mental disorders like MDMA…  Read more (Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2017 Feb; 101(2): 194–196. Published online 2017 Jan 13. doi: 10.1002/cpt.565). Yes that doesn't account for drugs that have a negative impact on society like Meth, however dealing with it in a reverse business sense where you manage the demand instead of looking supply will slowly filter out the huge demand that is seen around the country in the long run. Additionally, access to drugs that have shown medical benefits will reduce the amount of people looking for something harder and more easily accessible. Those that are argue with this probably haven't tried drugs before and have trusted the stigma around them.

I think they should be regulated but available.

Some sort of licence with different classes that you pay a yearly fee or something. You have to learn harm reduction and safety to get the licence.

The fee also goes towards rehab/help with any issues people may have. All drug purchases are taxed.

People having access to clean drugs rather than the dirty stuff we get on the street would almost certainly cause less people needing medical care which would save the country money as well.

I feel like we could do this in a way that would end up with us getting more revenue, and where its easy for drug users to have safe products and less stigma around getting help.

This article provides information and good references
https://transformdrugs.org/blog/drug-decriminalisation-in-portugal-setting-the-record-straight

Uruguay decriminalised drugs and has statistics on the reduction of drug use and deaths from misuse of drugs

Portugal saw a massive decline in drug use after decriminalizing all drugs. I dont have references on me. I dont work here

decriminalisation will create a taxable and safer product that will create a wealthy New Zealand. The tax made could be put into health and education. Doing this would drastically take away from gangs. A win win.