The referendum on legalising cannabis was held at the General Election on Saturday 17 October. The final result was 50.7% against to 48.4% in favour of the proposed bill.
The Government’s draft Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill sought to minimise the social and health harms of New Zealand's most widely used illicit drug. The Bill has a special focus on protecting young New Zealanders.
The Drug Foundation supported a ‘Yes’ vote - find out why here.
Nearly half of all adult New Zealanders have tried cannabis. It’s clear our current law doesn’t stop people using it.
That makes our law a waste of valuable Police resources. Legalisation will free up Police to focus on serious crime.
Right now, people who use cannabis get it from the black market, outside of any government control.
Legalisation is not about creating a new cannabis market – it’s about putting controls around the existing one, from seed to sale.
We will all benefit from as much as $490M in new taxes from legalising and controlling cannabis.
The government has promised to put this money into health and education programmes that will benefit all New Zealanders.
Cannabis can be an effective medicine for some serious conditions.
Patients should be able to access the medicine that works for them without fear of prosecution. Legal cannabis would mean easier, cheaper access for patients to a wider range of products.
Cannabis products will be sold in plain, child-proof packaging with health warnings on every packet.
Prohibition is a waste of valuable Police resources. Free up time for them to focus on keeping communities safe.
Legalising cannabis will mean improvements in health, justice and economic development for Māori.
Hundreds of millions of new tax dollars will be put towards health and education programmes to benefit all New Zealanders.
Cannabis will be sold from specialist stores only. Use will be restricted to private homes and licensed premises.
19 November 2020
As the dust settles from the cannabis referendum, policy and Advocacy Manager Kali Mercier offers her thoughts on a path forward.
06 November 2020
The Drug Foundation accepts that the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill is now unlikely to be put forward to Parliament in its current f...
03 November 2020
Even if reform is not in the form of the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, New Zealanders have shown they want change.
01 September 2020
A new report from the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor makes key findings supporting the Drug Foundation’s view that legalisation is t...
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