Another cannabis referendum? Proposed vote on decriminalization

Another referendum on cannabis is proposed, this time to decriminalize, but not legalize, the drug.

A public notice in today’s Herald advises that a citizen-initiated referendum has been proposed asking: “Should New Zealand decriminalize the possession of cannabis for personal use?”

The proposal, presented by Wellington Central Young Greens activist Mathew Bouma, is open for comment on the proposed wording until February 1.

House Secretary David Wilson and Bouma must agree on a final wording, and the issue will go to a referendum if Bouma can gather valid signatures from at least one-tenth of the country’s 3.55 million voters (355,000 people) within 12 months.

The initiative comes just six weeks after a narrow majority of 50.7 percent of New Zealanders voted against legalizing cannabis.

Bouma, 20, said she believed that many people voted against legalizing the drug because it would have created a commercial market for big business, but that did not mean that voters wanted cannabis users to be fined or jailed.

“I don’t think people support people convicted of minor crimes, but legalization was a step too far,” he said.

“Decriminalization would mean that if you are caught with a small amount of cannabis, you will not be convicted, you cannot go to jail.

“But legalization opens it up to commercialization, big business, a lot of money. I think that was a concern for a lot of people.”

Bouma, the New Zealand-born son of a Dutch immigrant, is a software developer and said his participation in the Green Party was “only as a volunteer.”

He has not yet discussed the proposed referendum with Green Party drug reform spokesperson Chloe Swarbrick or any other MP.

“I haven’t had that conversation yet. It’s very recent, it’s like getting started,” he said.

“It is mainly a personal initiative. I was chatting with some friends. After the results of the referendum, we saw comments from the government about decriminalization.”

The government already amended the law last year to give the police the discretion to prosecute people for possession of illicit drugs, stating that “prosecution should not be initiated unless required by the public interest.”

The law now says: “In considering whether prosecution is required in the public interest, in addition to any other relevant issues, it must be considered whether a health-focused or therapeutic approach would be more beneficial to the public interest.”

But analysis by Herald political journalist Derek Cheng found that only 10.7 percent of offenders in whom drug possession was the most serious offense received a health referral in the first 10.5 months after that the law was changed.

The proportion of people prosecuted dropped from a third of drug users to a quarter, with the rest receiving alternative warnings or resolutions. In real terms, that equates to 1,200 people charged since the law change, or about 114 people a month.

Former Justice Minister Andrew Little said he wanted the prosecutions to drop to “zero or more or less.” But he also said that completely eliminating the offense of possession of illegal drugs “would be disrespectful to the result of the referendum.”

The Salvation Army, which campaigned against the legalization of cannabis, called after the referendum for the decriminalization of the occasional use of cannabis and increased funding for drug addiction treatment.

“The Salvation Army supports a form of cannabis decriminalization, particularly a shift from society’s punishment response to a more compassionate health response when cannabis possession is considered to be for personal use,” the Army said.

“The Army, however, advocates a strict legal prohibition for those who produce and supply cannabis.

“Cannabis is not the benign substance that many people would have us believe. Cannabis can have significantly harmful effects related to addiction, mental illness and motivation, and we see this in our addiction treatment services.”

The new Justice Minister, Kris Faafoi, said the government “is not currently examining the issue of decriminalizing the use or possession of cannabis.”

Citizen-initiated referendums are not binding on the Government. There have been 48 petitions for referendums since the process was established in 1993. Five obtained enough signatures to vote, but successive governments ignored all of them.

Citizen-initiated referendums

1995: Maintenance of the number of professional firefighters – 88% support.

1999: Reduction of the number of parliamentarians from 120 to 99 – 82% of support.

1999: Imposition of minimum penalties and forced labor for all serious violent crimes: 92% support.

2009: Should a slap be a crime as part of good parental correction? – 87 percent against.

2013: Up to 49 percent sale of Air NZ, Genesis, Meridian, Mighty River Power and Solid Energy – 67 percent against.