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A proposed legal regime is outlined in the Cannabis Control and Legalization Bill, but there is no legal obligation for it to be adopted if the referendum passes. The end-of-life election bill is binding and will become law if passed.
Ardern has explained how she believes that her role as Prime Minister is to facilitate the referendum on cannabis without influencing the public vote, because she wants to allow the result of it in any sense.
“I see my vote as good as my neighbor’s and equal to theirs and I want to be able to hold the position that if people vote up or down then I can be seen to objectively facilitate that to happen.
Collins said he has heard Ardern’s reasons for not revealing his stance on recreational cannabis, but says he “has a duty to New Zealanders” to tell them how he feels about it.
“I have noticed that there is a difference in Ms. Ardern’s attitude towards her wishes to supposedly influence New Zealand voters,” Collins said Tuesday.
“We know where you are voting in the referendum on the end of life election; you are voting in favor. We do not know where you are voting on the sale and use of recreational cannabis.
“She has a duty to New Zealanders to tell them what her views are. I have made it very clear that I am going to vote for the end-of-life election referendum and vote against cannabis.”
Helen Clark, who served as Prime Minister from 1999 to 2008, said she understands Ardern’s reluctance to say where she stands on the issue.
“I can understand why Jacinda has not given up her position, she said ‘people are being made to decide and I’m going to take a step back,'” Clark told The AM Show.
Clark is a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy and is urging voters to mark ‘yes’, but said it is “totally up to her” if Ardern wants to keep her lips shut.
“I think she will be very attentive to the Chief Scientific Advisor’s report, which was a bit balanced: ‘there is this, there is that and there is another’, but it did not come out saying ‘this is a disaster.
The government announced in May 2019 that Kiwis would vote on legislation to legalize recreational cannabis in the 2020 election, and at the time Ardern did not reveal whether he had tried it before, but offered a hint.
“I was raised a Mormon and then I wasn’t a Mormon. I let other people determine what that means.”
