Meet the Hamilton Woman Who Called the Cops on Her Rip-Off Drug Dealer

Meet Betty Kumeroa Tamihana. When she turned to Facebook to procure a "drop-off" of weed, the dealer took her money and went offline, not answering calls, and delivering nothing. But despite weed's illegal status in New Zealand, Tamihana followed in the footsteps of many a disgruntled customer: she called the cops.

As it turns out, the move may backfire—even attempting to buy drugs is illegal in NZ. Betty thought she couldn't face any criminal charges as she never actually received the cannabis. But speaking to Fairfax, Hamilton police senior sergeant Rupert Friend said there was a charge for attempting to procure a drug, even if the hapless buyer ends up empty-handed.

We caught up with Betty to see what happened and whether she'd had any more luck on her quest for justice—and found she's become an unexpectedly public advocate for the legalisation and regulation of medical marijuana.

As to how the whole thing unfolded? Betty had initially posted her request on one of New Zealand's many buy, sell and exchange Facebook groups, where the dealer responded. She paid, and he went offline.

"A day went by, still no sign of him," she says. "I tried numerous times to contact him, no replies. I warned him in a text that I will expose his criminal activities towards me if he didn't turn up with what he promised"

It was initially reported by the Waikato Times that Betty had attempted to buy a whole ounce of weed for for $40—a too-good to be true deal if there ever was one. But Betty says she was actually just chipping in on the ounce, and her dealer had promised to pay her back $60 worth of cannabis.

He told her he'd return the money, but when another day passed she took matters into her own hands with a call to the cops and a Facebook name and shame. "I got sick of his promises and lies and stalling tactics so I posted."

Following the attention her case has drawn, Betty's decided to use her unexpected platform to make a case for legalising medical marijuana.

Betty says both her and her 37-year-old son use the drug in a medicinal capacity, to treat anxiety and insomnia.

"I am an activist for good reason," she told VICE.

"I suffer from high-functioning anxiety. I can't eat, sleep or think clearly without weed. [With cannabis] I'm very content eating, sleeping and so much calmer. It keeps me in check—without it I would be a walking pharmaceutical zombie."

Her son has a bipolar diagnosis, she says, but is calmer using cannabis than on the regimen of pills he'd previously been prescribed.

"I'm terribly upset at the fact that there is a completely safer option to big pharma. I'm totally tired of all that money-over-people business set up by the big money makers"

Recent high-profile cases of union activist Helen Kelly—who died of cancer this year—and Alex Renton, who died of severe epilepsy, have brought the medicinal cannabis debate into the spotlight in New Zealand.

While the drug remains illegal, associate health minister Peter Dunne has now said he supports further testing of medical marijuana.

Last year, the Green Party pledged to legalise cannabis if it formed a government in 2017.

Under its proposal, people would be able to legally grow and possess marijuana for personal use, and the law would urgently be amended so sick people using medicinal marijuana were not penalised.

Betty is a big supporter. "For my sake and the health of the people including my son it is pertinent that this medicine is legal. They denied Helen Kelly and Alex Renton while in their last days of existence."

She added that if scientists were looking for people to test and trial the drugs she knew many people yearning to help out in that area—"myself included".

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