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EXPLANATOR:
Even if there is a majority “yes” vote in the cannabis referendum, it would take about 18 months before people could legally smoke a joint at home or in a specialty cafe.
The preliminary results of the referendum on cannabis will be announced tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.
It will be one of the final steps in a process that began three years ago when the supply and trust agreement between Labor and the Greens included the promise of a referendum on the legalization of cannabis for personal use.
That led to the drafting of the cannabis control and legalization bill, which has yet to come before Parliament, but which spells out the framework for a legal market.
But tomorrow is not the final count. That won’t be revealed until November 6 and will include the 480,000 special votes.
If tomorrow’s preliminary count is close, the final verdict may well depend on how the special votes fall.
What happens if you vote “yes”?
With a parliamentary majority, Labor does not need the support of any other party to push through the bill.
The bill would be presented and, after its first reading, would be sent to a selection committee where parliamentarians would listen to the public and experts.
Labor has said that the existing controls in the bill will be maintained as the bare minimum.
After strengthening controls after the committee stage, the bill would pass its second and third reading and then become law.
How would it work?
Under the current bill, those over the age of 20 could carry or buy up to 14g of cannabis (around 30 joints) a day, but could not legally consume it anywhere except in a private venue or a specialty cannabis cafe.
They could grow two plants at home, or up to four plants in a house with at least two over 20s.
They couldn’t shop online, and the ban on advertising would make it illegal to put a huge cannabis leaf on a storefront or on a billboard along the highway.
There are no specific provisions in the bill that protect regular consumers, but general ones include a 15 percent limit on THC (the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis) content, price controls, health information at the point of sale. sale and responsibility of the host in cannabis cafes.
It would be against the law to supply or sell it to a person under the age of 20, or to expose an underage person to cannabis smoke or vaping.
There would be a cap on national supply and controls to ensure that disadvantaged communities can participate in the market.
A sales tax would be limited to boost health services. This jackpot has been estimated to be worth up to $ 675 million a year, although the value of the tax has yet to be determined.
When will it come into effect?
Typically, it takes about a year to introduce a bill and pass three readings in Parliament before it becomes law.
Subsequently, it would be necessary to create the Cannabis Regulatory Authority, which would oversee how the law is put into practice, and a panel of experts to advise the authority.
This means that it will probably be 18 months before people can expect to be able to use cannabis under the new legal framework.
Meanwhile, the government and the police will debate whether to take a more lenient approach to criminalizing cannabis users.
What happens if there is a “no” vote?
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said that some of the issues that legalization sought to address, including the referral of cannabis users to health services rather than the justice system, will be discussed regardless of the outcome.
A change in the Drug Misuse Act last year sought to take a more health-focused approach for those found in possession of any drug, not just cannabis.
It has led to fewer prosecutions and increased use of police warnings since it was implemented in August last year.
But he also codified police discretion into law, and a Herald investigation found that the change has done nothing to alleviate the uneven application of the law, which disproportionately harms Maori.
In the 10 and a half months since the law was changed, about 10.7 percent of drug users who came into contact with the police were referred to health services, a rate described by the Drug Foundation as a complete failure.
In this month’s campaign, Ardern noted the 500-odd medical referrals that had been made so far under the new law.
“Regardless of the outcome of the vote, we will look at how the amendments to the Drug Abuse Act are being implemented, making sure we have the treatment and addiction facilities we need, making sure those referrals happen in cases where it should, “Ardern said at the time.
He also said that the government will closely monitor the legal regime for medical cannabis to see if the standards for the product are too high, making the drugs inaccessible to too many patients.
